LOS ANGELES: All Saints, Pasadena, clergy opt out of civil marriages until gay couples can legally wed
Clergy at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, are opting out of performing civil marriages until gay couples can legally wed–and are encouraging other clergy to do likewise, according to the Rev. Ed Bacon, rector.
“At the heart of Jesus’s moral vision and All Saints’ historic mission is respecting the dignity of every human being,” Bacon said in a June 3 press release announcing the decision, which is effective immediately.
“The California Supreme Court in its recent opinion has ruled that those of same-gender affections are second-class citizens,” Bacon added. “Denying fundamental rights to a certain classification of humanity is blatant discrimination with which our governing board, the other clergy of All Saints, and I will not participate. We invite other clergy and congregations to join us in this stand for marriage equality.”
Bacon referred to the May 26 state Supreme Court ruling that upheld the controversial Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment providing that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid in California.” Their decision sparked nationwide rallies by both advocates and opponents of the measure.
The Rev. Susan Russell, an associate at the Pasadena congregation known for its social activism and progressive politics, said on June 4 that clergy are meeting with couples whose nuptials were already planned “to explain the new policy and hold pastoral conversations about the impact on them.
“We only do member weddings, so folks married here at All Saints typically share our values of inclusion and would be on board, we think, with making arrangements to have the civil part of their marriage take place external to All Saints clergy,” said Russell, who is president of Integrity USA, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Episcopalians.
But she added that: “We will continue to serve and marry them civilly if that’s what the couple prefers for whatever reason because that was the contract going in.”
All Saints vestry, at its June 2 meeting, had unanimously passed a resolution declaring that “the sacramental right of marriage is available to all couples, but that the clergy of All Saints Church will not sign civil marriage certificates so long as the right to marry is denied to same-sex couples.”
The vestry’s decision acknowledged “our active participation in the discriminatory system of civil marriage is inconsistent with Jesus’s call to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” The resolution states “civil marriage in the State of California is, as a result of Proposition 8 and the Court’s decision, a constitutionally-mandated instrument of discrimination, which furthers injustice and denies same-sex couples the fundamental dignities to which each human being is entitled,” Bacon said. Russell said there was little discussion in the vestry meeting. “It was just a no-brainer that of course we want to take steps that keep us from being complicit in state-sponsored discrimination.
“I keep thinking I couldn’t be prouder to work at All Saints church than I already am and then our leadership keeps taking steps that make me even prouder,” Russell said. “It was it is such a part of the DNA of All Saints Church to stand with those in need of solidarity. This stand is so deeply rooted in our baptismal covenant, it gives us such a strong theological place to stand. It feels like very firm foundation, indeed.”
The Rev. Neil Thomas of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Los Angeles, a petitioner in the Proposition 8 case, said the 40-year-old 500-member congregation likewise is observing a moratorium on signing civil weddings.
“We will not sign the paperwork” for civil marriages, said Thomas, whose ministry is primarily, but not exclusively, to the LGBT community. He is also the president of California Faith for Equality, a progressive interfaith movement of about 6,000 clergy, which submitted an amicus brief advocating that the California Supreme Court overturn Proposition 8.
– The Rev. Pat McCaughan is Episcopal Life Media correspondent for Provinces VII and VIII and the House of Bishops. She is based in Los Angeles.
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Faith forms a bond for a lesbian priest and a Mormon father of three
Who could have foreseen what would happen between the Mormon filmmaker and the lesbian priest?
Not Douglas Hunter, even after he took a leap of faith and trained his camera on the Rev. Susan Russell.
And maybe not even Russell, who had undergone a remarkable transformation from one-time suburban soccer mom to priest and outspoken champion of gay rights.
But the friendship that took root when Hunter asked Russell to play the central role in his documentary about same-sex marriage and theology would lead two people from different worlds to a new understanding of themselves and their faiths.
“We’re all telling the same stories about God’s work in our lives,” said Hunter, 40, a father of three from Pasadena who discovered Russell on the Internet.
Technology may have provided the bridge, but it was an ancient religious calling that drew Hunter to Russell, a senior associate priest at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena.
Hunter felt a religious obligation to cross the same boundary Jesus is said to have traversed 2,000 years ago when he spoke of embracing the outsider.
No group was further outside Mormon circles, Hunter thought, than gays and lesbians. Mormonism, he knew, viewed homosexual acts as sins, and Mormons would become among the most generous supporters of California’s Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage that was approved by voters last fall.
See Faith forms a bond for a lesbian priest and a Mormon father of three
Los Angeles Times – CA,USA
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Powerful New Allies Join Equality California and Equality California Institute Boards
New board members include UFW Co-founder Dolores Huerta, Actress Wanda Sykes and former Assembly member Lloyd Levine; leaders represent important allies from labor, faith communities, entertainment industry and electoral politics
San Francisco – Powerful new allies have joined the fight for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in California. United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, Actress Wanda Sykes and former Assemblymember Lloyd Levine are among the newest members of Equality California (EQCA) and the Equality California Institute (EQCAI) boards of directors.
“From grassroots activists to actors to stay-at-home moms, more people than ever before are joining the cause for equality in California. Our two boards have added important new leaders – including many straight allies – from organized labor, faith communities, the entertainment industry and electoral politics,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of both Equality California and the Equality California Institute.
Kors added, “With their voices, we’ll be able to build even greater support for equality and fairness.”
In addition to Huerta, another labor giant has joined the board. Sal Rosselli, president of SEIU United Healthcare Workers, the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in the Western United States, was also elected to the Equality California board.
The Equality California board includes two new faith leaders: Rabbi Steven Jacobs of Los Angeles and the Rev. Abel Lopez of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. Former Assemblymember Lloyd Levine who represented the 40th Assembly District in Southern California from December 2002 to November 2008 has also joined the EQCA board as well as Kathy Spillar, the executive editor of Ms. Magazine and executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
“We have many new straight allies on our board. They joined the board because they want to live in a state where everyone is treated with dignity, respect and fairness. These are not people who sit on the sidelines. When they see inequality, they are moved to do something about it,” said Cary Davidson, the new president of the Equality California Board of Directors. Equality California is a 501(c)4 advocacy organization.
“We know that when we tell our stories that we are able to change hearts and minds and build broader support for equality and fairness. This new board – in all of its great diversity – will help us succeed in reaching more Californians to share the truth about the lives of LGBT people,” said Gary D. Soto, board president for EQCAI.
Deb Kinney (San Francisco), Vice President
Xavier Barrera (San Francisco), Secretary
Tim Hohmeier (Palm Springs), Treasurer
Brandon Brawner (Los Angeles)
Betsy Butler (Los Angeles)
Larry Colton (San Francisco)
Joe Guardarrama* (Los Angeles)
Susan Guinn (San Diego)
Jeff Haber (Los Angeles)
Mariah Hansen (Palm Springs)
Dolores Huerta* (Bakersfield)
Rabbi Steven Jacobs* (Los Angeles)
Roslyn Jones (Riverside)
Lloyd Levine* (Los Angeles)
Rev. Abel Lopez* (Los Angeles)
Tom Maddox (San Diego)
Jimmy Nguyen (Los Angeles)
Jeff Orr (San Francisco)
Thom Rollerson* (Santa Barbara)
Sal Rosselli* (San Francisco)
Rick Saputo (Palm Springs)
Linda Scaparotti (San Francisco)
Kathy Spillar (Los Angeles)
Alan Uphold (Los Angeles)
Cathy Schwamberger (Sacramento), Vice President
Michael Martinez (Sacramento), Secretary
Randy Clark (San Diego), Treasurer
Chris Carnes (San Francisco)
Jose Cisneros (San Francisco)
Jody Cole (Mendocino)
Troup Coronado (Los Angeles)
Ellen Evans* (Los Angeles)
Carrie Farrell (San Francisco)
Kelly Ferrero (Palm Springs)
Clarissa Filgioun* (Los Angeles)
Andrae Gonzalo* (Los Angeles)
Christopher Heritage* (Palm Springs)
Ben Patrick Johnson (Los Angeles)
Leslie Katz (San Francisco)
Martin Mendelson* (Orange County)
Shannon Minter (San Francisco)
Dennis Rasor (Orange County)
Stacy Smithers (Los Angeles)
Laura Spanjian (San Francisco)
Doug Spearman (Los Angeles)
Wanda Sykes* (Los Angeles)
Phil Ting (San Francisco)
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Episcopal Diocese of LA officially condones the blessing of gay unions
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has announced that church leaders can bless the unions of same-sex couples as a matter of policy.
The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, whose diocese encompasses Los Angeles County and five other Southern California counties, made the announcement Friday during a diocesan convention in Riverside.
Bruno acted just days after hundreds of conservative Episcopal congregations in North America formed a breakaway church amid a rift that began with the ordination of a gay bishop in New Hampshire five years ago.
Bruno’s declaration is not expected to have a major effect on Episcopal churches in Southern California. Many have been blessing gay unions for years. But he has now made it official.
“The practice has not changed. The policy has. . . . It’s sort of like ‘coming out,’ ” said the Rev. Susan Russell, a lesbian priest at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. Russell also is president of Integrity USA, a group representing the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in the Episcopal Church.
The rite endorsed by Bruno also allows the blessing of other relationships, such as those between two senior citizens who do not wish to legally marry because they might lose health insurance or Social Security benefits.
Church officials also noted that, unlike communion, the rite is not mandatory. Clergy may choose not to perform it.
Diocese representatives also passed a resolution at their convention calling on the Episcopal Church to let gays and lesbians become bishops.
See Episcopal Diocese of LA officially condones the blessing of gay unions
Los Angeles Times
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