News Round-Up: July 19, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• For a little #TBT - I apologize I don't know where the photo above came from, but it always makes me stop and smile.

• Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, becomes the latest city to ban the harmful practice of so-called "conversion therapy" on LGBTQ minors.

• Same-sex couples will now be able to marry in their home parish even if their local bishop has moral objections to gay marriage, Episcopal Church leaders decided last Friday.

• California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill into law officially recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month. California is the first state in the U.S. to legislate such a statute.

• Transgender people in Puerto Rico can now change their birth certificates to accurately reflects their gender.

• Russian singer Emin recently trolled the world with his new music video which utilizes lookalikes for Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, Hillary Clinton, Stormy Daniels, Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

You may recall it was Emin's music publicist, Rob Goldstone, who set up the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between a Russian government attorney and Donald Trump Jr.

You do the math.

The Russian calls his video "a satire on the news of the past 12 months." It looks to me like the Russians are laughing at the U.S.

Episcopal Church Approves Same-Sex Marriage For Every Diocese

There’s good news for LGBTQ folks who belong to the Episcopal Church.

At the Episcopal Church’s General Convention last week, a triennial event, the Church’s House of Bishops and House of Deputies approved resolution B012, which will allow gay and lesbian couples to be married in their home parish even if their local bishop has moral objections to gay marriage.

At the Church’s 2015 convention, gender-neutral marriage rites were approved for use in same-sex marriage ceremonies to be performed by clergy who were willing to participate. But, bishops were still allowed to forbid such ceremonies in their diocese if they disapproved.

Under the new resolution, which goes into effect in December, when a same-sex couple wishes to marry in a diocese where the same-sex marriage is not condoned, the priest who has agreed to conduct the ceremony will be allowed to reach out to an Episcopal bishop in another diocese who can step in and provide pastoral support for the couple.

To be clear, though: no priest can be forced to perform any marriage ceremony they do not wish to be a part of.

The majority of convention attendees agreed with the solution.

From LifeSiteNews:

One priest said, “For 40 years our LGBT brothers and sisters have been at the back of the bus and, every so often, they are invited to move forward one row at a time.”

Another delegate who is a longtime pro-LGBT leader said she supported the resolution “recognizing that this is a hard-won compromise but one which I believe will lead us forward into that work as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.”

The chairman of the General Convention’s Task Force on the Study of Marriage, “implored deputies to complete convention’s actions on marriage. ‘We are fond of saying around the Episcopal Church that all are welcome, and all means all, y’all,’” according to an Episcopal News Service report.

According to the Episcopal Church website, the 8  bishops who did not condone same-sex marriages were: Albany Bishop William Love, Central Florida Bishop Greg Brewer, Dallas Bishop George Sumner, Florida Bishop John Howard, North Dakota Bishop Michael Smith, Springfield Bishop Dan Martins, Tennessee’s Bauerschmidt and U.S. Virgin Islands Bishop Ambrose Gumbs.

Episcopal Church Votes To Approve Religious Same-Sex Marriages

Just days after the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, leaders of the U.S. Episcopal Church voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to allow clergy to wed same-sex couples.

The decision once again puts the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion at the forefront of mainstream Christian acceptance of gays and lesbians.

Presented at the church's triennial General Assembly on Wednesday, the resolution strikes the words "man and woman" from a marriage canon and replaces them with gender-neutral language.

Clergy, however, will not be compelled to perform same-sex marriages under the resolution. A clause in the revised canon states it "shall be within the discretion of any member of the clergy of this church to decline to solemnize or bless any marriage."

The vote on Wednesday represents the latest move by the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, which claims roughly 2 million members, to embrace the LGBT community.

(from Buzzfeed)

Missouri's Episcopal Diocese supports challenge to same-sex marriage ban

Bishop George Wayne Smith

Welcome news from the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.

The City of St. Louis recently issued marriage licenses to four same-sex couples in opposition to the state's ban on same-sex marriage.  The Attorney General for Missouri, Chris Koster, subsequently sued the city to stop further licenses from being issued.

Now, Episcopal Diocese of Missouri has issued a statement in support of overturning the ban:

Bishop George Wayne Smith said in a statement that he “supports St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and City Counselor Winston Calvert in their challenge to Missouri law prohibiting same-sex marriage.”

“Even as the Episcopal Church works to clarify our theological understanding of and pastoral practices around same-sex blessings, I believe that it is not the place of the State of Missouri to deny the privileges and responsibilities of marriage to anyone, basing that denial solely on the gender of the couple,” Smith said.

(via OnTop)

Michigan: Four Episcopal Bishops applaud overturn of state ban on same-sex marriage

Four Episcopal Bishops have released a statement applauding the ruling in Michigan which overturns the state's marriage equality ban:

As Christians and leaders in the Episcopal Church, we applaud Judge Friedman's decision to overturn Michigan's ban on equal marriage as a step on the right side of history.

As the case of DeBoer v. Snyder continues to work its way through our judicial system, it is our hope that future judges will continue to find that the denial of marriage to same-sex couples is a denial of human dignity and a denial of rights under the law. We look forward in hopeful anticipation to the day when we can recognize all faithful and covenantal relationships between any two people regardless of sex, both within the Church and within our society.

Signed,

The Rt. Rev. Wendell N. Gibbs, Jr. - Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Michigan

The Rt. Rev. Whayne M. Houglund, Jr. - Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan

The Rt. Rev. Todd Ousely - Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan

The Rt. Rev. Rayford Ray - Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan

(source)

Michigan: Episcopal Bishop supports marriage equality

With the ruling in the Michigan marriage equality lawsuit due anytime time, Bishop Wendell Gibbs, of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, has issued this statement in support of marriage equality:

“Picking and choosing whose rights should be protected or which civil rights the church will support is neither American ‘justice for all’ nor supported by the God of salvation history. I stand in support of marriage equality and pray that our justice system will work to break down the walls of segregation, promote the humanity of all and calm our irrational fears."

(via Pink News)

Episcopal Church approves ceremony for blessing same-sex couples

Episcopalians have approved a churchwide ceremony to bless same-sex couples, the latest major step toward accepting homosexuality by a denomination that nine years ago elected the first openly gay bishop.

The liturgy can be used starting Dec. 2, the first Sunday in Advent.

At the Episcopal General Convention, which is divided into two voting bodies, about 80 percent of the House of Deputies voted Tuesday for the provisional rite for same-sex unions over the next three years. A day earlier, the House of Bishops approved the rites 111-41 during the church meeting in Indianapolis.

Supporters of the same-sex blessings insisted it was not a marriage ceremony despite any similarities. Called the Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant, it includes prayers and an exchange of vows and rings. Couples must complete counseling before their unions or civil marriages are blessed by the church.

Via AP

Episcopal Church may allow marriage blessing for same-sex unions

Good news out of the Episcopal Church, via The Los Angeles Times:

Sixteen years after allowing gays and lesbians to become priests, the Episcopal Church appears poised to introduce a rite that would specifically bless the unions of same-sex couples.

If the liturgy is approved, which is expected, Episcopalians will become the first major denomination to endorse such a ritual for homosexual couples.

On its face, the blessing seems similar to that of a marriage rite -- including “I do,” “we have gathered together today” and an exchange of rings. Notably absent are the words “husband,” “wife” and “marriage.”

The committee says that while the liturgy is not called "marriage," there are "significant parallels." A hearing on the liturgy will be held on Saturday, but no vote is set as of yet.

Via Towleroad