Creative Joy

t’s hard out there for a pope these days. On Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI launched what he is calling “The Year of Priests,” exhorting Roman Catholics to spend the coming year honoring the sacrifice of their local pastors and directing priests to encourage each other so that they might, among other things, “be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Conservatives Push For Rival U.S. Anglican Church

By Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Weekend Edition Sunday, June 21, 2009 · Martyn Minns recalls the
moment he knew he had to leave the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch
of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It was 2005. He was rector of
Truro Church in Fairfax, Va., and he was talking with a young family
who told him they could no longer attend a church that accepted gay
bishops or diverged from what they called Orthodox Christianity. Read the rest of this entry »

Affirmation: Gay and lesbian Mormons has officially endorsed the 2009 March for Equality planned for October 10 and 11 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In a letter to March organizers, Affirmation Executive Director David Melson Stated, “As the largest and oldest organization representing LGBT Mormons, we regret the actions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to attempt to restrict the freedoms, rights, and=2 0dignity of gay Americans and to try to impose the religious tenets of one faith upon all citizens. We feel that we have an obligation to speak out.”
Affirmation has pledged to provide organizational support, speakers, and any other assistance that it can offer to the march organizers. Affirmation was a part of the first March on Washington in 1979, and has continued to speak out on the national forum ever since.

Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons was founded in 1977, and is the largest support and advocacy organization for gay Latter-day Saints and their families. More information is available at:
www.affirmation.org Read the rest of this entry »

Every death leaves a void, and in “Facing East,” that void is not only figurative, but literal.

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The Episcopal Diocese of California will mark this year's San Francisco Pride Celebration & Parade by celebrating a Pride Mass, staffing a booth one the Pride Festival grounds and sending a diverse contingent down Market Street during the Pride Parade. Set for Saturday June 27 and Sunday June 28, Pride events are free and open to the public.
The Pride Mass
Our Bishop, the RT. Rev. Marc Andrus, will join Lutheran Bishop Mark Holmerund in celebrating our annual Pride Mass. Set to start at 10:30 AM, we will worship on the street at the location where we gather to march in the parade (check back here or at www.oasisca.org a few days before the parade for the exact location). Members of the Lutherans Concerned contingent will join us for this special outdoor Eucharist.
The Celebration Booth
On Saturday and Sunday, volunteers from Oasis California will staff a booth on the Pride Celebration grounds near City Hall. Oasis Board Members Judy Lebens and Justin Cannon are coordinating this aspect of our celebration. For the first time in several years we'll be able to talk with people about our work to include LGBT as full members of our church, our stand for marriage equality, and the location of LGBT friendly Episcopal congregations around the Bay Area. We'll also be distributing information on the Bible, homosexuality, Anglicanism and Oasis California. To volunteer or find out where to send information about your parish please e-mail Judy and Justin at booth@oasisca.org.
The Parade & Cable Car
On Sunday our diocese will be represented by a contingent of LGBT Episcopalians and their straight allies, friends, family members, fellow congregants and children. This year we will have a cable car bus so that people who can't walk the route can join in the parade. The cable car offers a great way for children to be part of the parade. As we march down Market Street we'll be distributing more than 1,000 "Blessed Bubbles" kits to help people "spread joy & dispel fear of marriage equality."

We Need Parade Monitors!
Once again we are recruiting people to serve as monitors, a post that requires a brief training session and comes with a neat button. There is also the fact that without enough parade monitors, our contingent will not march. Two Oasis volunteers, Fernando and Charles, are coordinating our monitors. To volunteer as a monitor, please e-mail them atparade@oasisca.org.
Monitor training programs include:
Wed 6/17 7:00 pm Kaiser Permanente, 1800 Harrison, Oakland
Fri 6/19 7:00 pm Ceremonial Room – The Center, 1800 Market St.,SF
Sat 6/20* 12:00 pm Koret Auditorium – SF Library, 100 Larkin St, SF
Sat 6/20 3:00 pm Women's Building Auditorium, 3543 18th St, SF
Tue 6/23* 8:30 pm Head over Heels, 4701 Doyle St # F, Emeryville
(Additional sessions will probably be scheduled in San Francisco just before Pride.)
If you can't join us, Watch on TV
There are four ways to watch the 39th annual San Francisco Pride Parade:
LIVE Broadcast: On Comcast Digital Channel 99 starting at 10:00 a.m. in all Comcast serviceable areas throughout California.
LIVE Webcast: Clear Channel Radio on SFPrideLive.com Live & Uncensored from 10:00 a.m. until the end.
Prime Time: KOFY TV 20/Cable 13, starting at 8:00 p.m.
Comcast: Comcast Channel 1 On Demand/Local Events starting June 29th at 7:00 p.m. until July 31st Read the rest of this entry »

Community members to hold anniversary events across the state, honoring historic milestone

Faith leaders, same-sex couples, friends and family will gather across the state to celebrate in honor of the one-year-anniversary of couples who married last year when same-sex couples were able to legally marry. Faith leaders will offer brief remarks, and couples will gather for a group photo at each event.

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Delegates to the annual meeting of the Florida United Methodist Conference on Friday expressed disapproval of a proposed change to the churchs national constitution that would ensure gays are not denied membership in local congregations. <!–
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Citing the “ongoing struggle” homosexuals face in areas outside of Tel Aviv, Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz, the second openly gay elected Knesset member, was one of seversal speakers who met with 50 people at the Gay Community Center in Tel Aviv on Thursday to discuss the role and evolvement of gay rights and activism in Israel as part of the five-day program iPride, culminating in Tel Aviv’s Gay Pride Parade next Friday.
“The main problem is that most of the gay rights achievements have been won in courts, not through law Court rulings can be reversed, which is why it’s so important to establish gay rights in the legislation,” explained Horowitz.
As Tel Aviv prepares to celebrate its centennial, the gay pride parade is included as part of the celebration. “I feel that there has been a change. We are part of mainstream [society],” said Jonathan Danilowitz, a former El-Al flight attendant.
He filed a complaint with the Labor District Court in 1989 to procure an equal right for his then partner of 10 years to receive free flight tickets.
“I felt an outrageous discrimination against me as a gay man,” Danilowitz told The Jerusalem Post. “I wasn’t going to put up with it and now feel a sense of pride.”
The court ruled in his favor, marking an Israeli precedent granting gay rights. Equality under law and inheritance rights for gay couples also were approved during the same period. See iPride brings homosexuals together in time for parade
Jerusalem Post

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