Catholic Chaplain: “In this Bethlehem, there’s always room for everyone in the inn.”

It may be rare to encounter a multicolored gay pride flag upon entering a church. But Brandeis’ Catholic chaplain, the Rev. Walter Cuenin, proudly displays the rainbow flag in the Bethlehem Chapel’s foyer. With the word “Peace” written across the middle, the flag symbolizes a proclamation of acceptance and unity for each person who may walk through the Bethlehem Chapel’s doors.

Cuenin bases his decision to exhibit a gay pride flag on a tale about Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. According to Christian tradition, when Mary and Joseph arrived at a Bethlehem inn, Mary was forced to have her baby in an outside stable since there were no rooms left at the inn. Cuenin connects this story to Brandeis’ Bethlehem Chapel by using the multicolored flag to portray that “in this Bethlehem, there’s always room for everyone in the inn.”

Cuenin is currently an ally of Brandeis’ LGBT group, Triskelion. He claims that while the Catholic Church does not support gay marriage, it does welcome gay people to its churches. In fact, when he was a pastor for a larger church nearby, Cuenin had even performed a baptism for the baby of a gay couple.

“The Catholic Church opposes gay marriage, so I cannot directly say I support it, but I have seen from my experience that for many people it creates a much healthier environment … For example, if you were to go to Provincetown in the summer time, where a lot of gay people go, it’s a radically different place today than it was 20 years ago,” Cuenin said. “They are there with children and married, raising kids, so they go home at night. In other words, it has transformed the whole gay scene … it hasn’t led to total debauchery. In some ways, it has pulled people back together,” Cuenin said.

via The Brandeis Hoot .

Related articles

• "A Catholic Case for Same-sex Marriage": Gramick, DeBernardo
• Valentine's Day: Same Sex Lovers in Church History
• Soho Masses - Supporting Church Teaching.

• ALL ARE WELCOME: A Priest With An Extravagant Sense of Hospitality (New Ways Ministry / Bondings 2.o)
• Robert McClory on the Embarrassment the Catholic Bishops Have Become (and How They've Gotten There) (Bilgrimage)
• Imagining the Church Catholic: What You See, What You Get (Bilgrimage)
• Dominic Holden on the Uproar Within the Catholic Church Over Gay Marriage (slog.thestranger.com)

For Full Inclusion in Church, Be “Comfortable in Your Own Skin”

Whatever the election result, San Diego's next mayor is guaranteed to be gay-friendly: two of the four candidates are openly gay, the other two are known to be straight allies. (Log Cabin Republicans have endorsed one of the straight candidates over the gay man and the lesbian in the race). This is an interesting illustration of the political changes over the last four years. In 2008, when the current mayor Jerry Sanders came out in vocal support for marriage equality, and opposition to California's Proposition H8, he met with serious opposition from his Republican colleagues, and almost failed to get his party's endorsement for his re-election.

There is a lesson in here though, for queers in church, as well as in politics. I believe firmly that wherever possible, we should be aiming to participate and worship fully and openly in our local communities (in addition to specifically LGBT congregations). These words by the lesbian candidate, Bonnie Dumanis, could easily be read as applying to coming out in church:

“In my view, if you feel comfortable in your skin then people will feel comfortable with you,” she said. “You don’t have to make a big deal out of it. You just do your thing and people respond to that. And as more people have been more comfortable being openly gay then more people see that there’s somebody in their life that … they now know is gay and it changes views.”

via  UTSanDiego.com.

I once heard a wise priest say about the Soho Masses that "at it's best", the congregation enables people who have long been estranged from the church, to return, once again recognize the value of sacramental life of the church, and then to begin participation in their local parishes.

In other words, the Soho Masses, as well as Dignity, Quest, Integrity and the multitude of their counterparts in other denominations and countries, help us to become "comfortable in our own skins" - the essential precondition to accepting and creating full inclusion in church.

"All we want for Christmas.....": Filipino Message to the Bishops.

In terms of sheer numbers, the Philippines is a major Catholic country one that doesn't often make the headlines in the Catholic press elsewhere, except at Easter (when many Catholics re-enact the Passion by volunteering to be crucified themselves).

Perhaps progressive Catholics should pay more attention. Filipinos have demonstrated remarkable imagination in finding ways t0 protest the actions of their politically powerful, conservative bishops. A few years ago, a group of women protested the bishops' active campaign against the government's proposed reproductive rights bill, by delivering to the bishops' conference, colourful baskets of blown up condoms. (My favourite placard carried the message "Bless our reproductive rights").

Now, in this advent season, a group of LGBT Catholics went carolling for the bishops - with significantly altered words.

LGBTs go caroling at CBCP to protest 'discrimination' 

Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community on Thursday went caroling in front of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) headquarters in Manila to press for their rights against discrimination.

The protesters, led by political organization “Ang Ladlad,” trooped in front of the CBCP office in Intramuros clad in red and green, with some even wearing Santa hats, and carrying a banner which says “All We Want For Christmas is our Human Rights.”

LGBT members also sang Christmas carols such as “Pasko Na Naman” and “Jingle Bells” with edited lyrics to focus on human rights.

The protesters, for example, sang “All We Want for Christmas is our Human Rights” instead of the usual “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” an original composition by Don Gardner.

via- GMA News Online

More information comes from the Philippine LGBT Hate Crimes Watch:

"We sing our carols not only for bishops and senators, but also we want the Filipino people to fill our socks and our hearts with blessings of equality by approving the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity, or SOGI, in the Senate Bill (SB) 2814 or the Anti-Ethnic, Racial or Religious Discrimination and Profiling Act of 2011," Bemz Benedito, Ladlad chairwoman, told the press.

The CBCP came out recently against the bill claiming that SOGI is a personal choice of LGBTs and do not need legal safeguards. The bishops have also traditionally maintained in the nine years that pro-gay bills have tried to pass in Congress that equality bills will lead to same-sex marriage.

LGBT groups however countered that SOGI is a deeply ingrained attribute and that many homosexuals and transgenders suffer lifelong violations of human rights from a bigoted majority, prompting them to campaign for legislative action.

The activists took turns singing medleys of traditional Filipino and English tunes rewritten with witty lyrics that sounded out their demands. Jingle Bells was rewritten this way:

We want you to know, that lesbians and gays
Transgenders and bi's, have equal human rights
Don't discriminate, we need more love, not hate
All we want for Christmas is our equal human rights!

(Chorus)

Human rights, human rights, we want human rights!
Lesbian, gay, transgender, bi have equal human rights!

Comment at New Ways Ministry Bondings, where I first came across this story, notes:

Anger over the bishops’ conference position was inflamed when it was reported that a lawyer for the conference, Jo Imbong,  said that LGBT people  “should not be protected from discrimination”  because they had the power to choose their sexual orientation.

It sounds like the Filipino bishops are having the same problem that the U.S. bishops had recently when their adviser on marriage issues, Daniel Avila, suggested in a column in a Catholic newspaper that homosexuality was caused by the devil.  Under pressure, Mr. Avila resigned.

Let’s hope and pray that Jo Imbong either resigns or is dismissed.

Related articles

• First ever United Nations report on LGBT human rights presented to General Assembly (thoolen.wordpress.com)
• In the News: Continued Shifts in American Attitudes re: LGBT Persons, Continued Challenges for People of Faith (bilgrimage.blogspot.com)
• Catholic Bishops Oppose LGBT Protections In The Philippines (thinkprogress.org)

Christian Support For LGBT Equality – From Africa.

There was a time when opponents of LGBT equality or inclusion could claim, without contradiction, that these were "obviously" and necessarily contrary to scripture. No more. Bible scholars, theologians, pastors and other people of faith, from all denominations, are increasingly visible with the counterpart arguments that Biblical values, and those of other faiths, are based primarily on love.

The arguments in favour of acceptance and inclusion have become familiar. What makes this voice fresh and new, is that it comes from Africa - specifically from Malawi.

Why the Church must embrace gays.

IT’s ironic that churches in Malawi are leading the charge against gays contrary to the fundamental basis of Christianity teaching which is love for all of God’s children.  Christianity was built on the premise of unconditional love; as such, a church should be a place where everyone can go for comfort and solace.  A place of refuge where everybody should feel accepted and loved.  Therein lays the tragedy when Malawian churches are at the forefront of the anti-gay movement.

Christians of every persuasion need to understand that the Bible isn’t anti-gay; particularly because of its ability to shape the hearts of people when legislation and social activism fail to do so.  There is no book, chapter or verse in the Bible that teaches Christians to hate anyone. In South Africa, Christians supported apartheid.  Eventually they withdrew their support for apartheid as they came to recognize that apartheid was a system fueled by the hatred of blacks and therefore contrary to Jesus’ teachings.

-Read the full article at Maravi Post

Related articles

• Dan Savage, Bullying, and the Catholic Church.

• The Faith Journey of One Ugandan LGBT Activist (mlp.org)
• A Letter to Queer Youth from Neely Stansell-Simpson (mlp.org)
• Presbyterian Church Joins Umoja Project for LGBT Acceptance (mlp.org)
• Bishop Senyonjo Preaches the Gospel in San Diego: One Doesn't Need to Be Converted to Another Sexuality to Be Loved by God (bilgrimage.blogspot.com)

Edit Post ‹ Queering the Church — WordPress

In an unseemly echo of last year's story from Boulder, Colorado, where a Catholic school refused to educate the children of two lesbian mothers, a school in Broken Hill, Australia, likewise attempted to refuse admission to the kindergarten class to a child with two moms. The local bishop intervened, instructing the school to reverse its decision - but too late. The damage has been done, and the parents have now refused to enrol the child at a school wish demonstrated homophobia in the first place.

This is how the saga began:

The girl's parents, one of whom was reportedly baptised Catholic, enrolled her into kindergarten at Sacred Heart Primary School in Broken Hill for next year, but their application was rejected.

One of the mothers told the ABC the principal had phoned her and said the women's relationship and living situation was the reason the application had been turned down.

Trevor Rynne, principal of the Sacred Heart school, yesterday confirmed the girl had been rejected because of her parents' relationship but declined to comment further.

The Australian

Mr Rynne no doubt believed, in common with so many others who use their Catholic or other Christian allegiance as a cloak for their prejudice, that he was protecting the Catholic faith, but Bishop Kevin Manning put him smartly in his place, pointing out that he was misunderstanding the Catholic position.

Bishop Emertitus of Parramatta, Kevin Manning, who has responsibility for the Wilcannia-Forbes district covering Broken Hill, told The Australian this morning there was "no way in the world that we can persecute a child because of what their parents did".

"I've instructed (the school) to offer her the position," Bishop Manning said.

Bishop Manning said he was "absolutely appalled" by the girl's case, and that he had not been aware of it before it was reported in the media yesterday.

He said blaming a child for her parents' "sins" was not the attitude of the Catholic Church.

He described the girl's case as "most unusual" and said he would be raising the matter within the Catholic hierarchy.

"I will be taking this to the Australian bishops and asking them to make some pretty clear statements," he said.

He said the move by the school was out of step with Catholic teaching, and that something between the school's principal and priest must have got "twisted up or misinterpreted" for them to reach such a decision.

The Australian

However, the latest reports are that the parents have turned down the offer of enrolment:

A SAME-SEX couple whose daughter was refused a place at a Catholic school because of their sexuality has turned down a subsequent offer of enrolment after a senior bishop intervened on their behalf.

Related articles

• Australian Bishop Overturns School’s Exclusion Decision (New Ways Ministry)
• Good On You Kevin (andrewdoohan.wordpress.com)
• The Hill ain't broken, but the Catholics are cracked (thepunch.com.au)
• NSW school ordered to offer girl place (news.smh.com.au)

Out in Africa, in Church.

For a man to be both both married, and an active churchgoer, should be unremarkable.   That Mooketsi Sedimo's marital status and church participation is different, is because his spouse is a man, and he and his husband live in Africa - in Botswana.  We are all familiar with depressing headlines about the homophobic hysteria in some African countries, but too easily overlook the more encouraging stories that also come out of the continent.

Botswana does not have the constitutional protections available to the LGBT community in neighbouring South Africa, and there is substantial popular suspicion directed against gay men and lesbians, just as there is in many other countries. However, as has been amply demonstrated for prejudice of all kinds, in all places, familiarity does not breed contempt, but understanding and acceptance. Instead of trying to escape prejudice by hiding in a closet, Sedimo adopted the unusual tactic (for Botswana) of simply coming out openly, even to his pastor. This he did in completely unambiguous terms, by explaining that he had married a man, in South Africa.

Sedimo is in a same sex marriage, having wedded his partner in South Africa early this year. "I let my pastor know, as well as my family members. My pastor explained the matter to the church later. What is pleasing is that the church decided to accept me and not to judge me, because judgement is for the Lord," says the soft spoken and cigarette liking man.

Sedimo is an active and talented member of the church band, which probably has a lot to do with the acceptance he has received.

Soho Masses (and Me) on National Television.

The UK's rule-book Catholics who so visibly oppose London's gay Masses have been vocal in their fervent hope and prayer that Pope Benedict's impending visit will bring order to a wayward flock, and bring "unity" (by which they appear to mean whipping everybody else into conformity with their own, very narrow, understanding of Catholicism.) They will be disappointed. Already it is abundantly clear that our Masses will not be stopped, and may well come out of the Papal visit stronger than ever.

Lutheran Inclusion: LGBT Clergy Welcomed in San Francisco.

This past summer, the PCUSA General Assembly voted to recognise openly gay and lesbian clergy. Last summer, the ELCA did the same. In neither case, did the decision immediately end the problems of the past. First, ratification was required, which the ECLA have since done, but not yet the PCUSA. That still was not enough.  We can all too easily overlook the long years of hurt inflicted on queer clergy prior to this decision. Changing the law is not enough: hurts must also be healed.

This is why I like this report , of a celebratory admission procedure for seven pastors in the San Francisco area.   Even before the Assembly decision last year, there were many gay or lesbian pastors working in welcoming congregations, but they could not get formal recognition on church rosters. With a change in regulations, it would presumably be a simple matter technically to arrange the inclusion on the roster in a simple, low key way - but that would not address the real problem.

Instead, the ceremony that has been planned will be joyous and festive. In addition to formally welcoming these pastors into full acceptance and inclusion, and making partial recompense for the years of slight, it will also be recognizing the many years of work, across a broad front, that led to the decision.  Chris Glaser and other queer writers on faith have observed that we, as gay, lesbian and trans people in church, have a need for formal ceremonies to mark our own special life transitions - such as coming out- which can be described as truly sacramental. This ceremony is just such a sacramental moment for these San Francisco Lutherans. Let us join with them in giving thanks and sharing our prayers - then extend the work into other faiths which still have further to go.

From the Kansas City Star:

"It's going to be an extremely glorious and  festive  ceremony because it's the culmination of decades of work to welcome LGBT people into the ELCA," said Amalia Vagts, executive director of the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, a nonprofit that credentials openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people for ministry.

Megan Rohrer, one of the pastors who will participate in Sunday's rite of reception service, grew up in South Dakota and attended a Lutheran college where she said students tried to exorcise her "gay demons" by throwing holy water on her. Some of those people are now Lutheran pastors in South Dakota, she said.

Rohrer, who is transgender and a lesbian, was ordained by four congregations in San Francisco in 2006, but could not join the ELCA roster until the denomination's national assembly approved the new policy in August.

"I didn't really believe the policy was going to change as quickly as it did," she said.

Rohrer said she is hopeful Sunday's service will be a "symbol" to young people that the Lutheran church is working toward becoming more welcoming of people of all different backgrounds.

Jeff Johnson, another one of the pastors who will be added to the roster, said the ELCA's position for years of not accepting the choice of some congregations to ordain gay clergy was painful and disappointing.

"The actions the church is taking on Sunday affirms the decisions of those congregations," Johnson, pastor of the University Lutheran Chapel in Berkeley, said. "The church is respecting our family, our partners, the choices we're making."

(Read the full story)

PCUSA General Assembly, Rainbow Scarves

I've already written about the General Assembly and its decisions affecting LGBT inclusion. This report from Huffington Post, though, with its emphasis on the rainbow scarves, prompted a fresh thought: what a contrast this is to the Catholic response to the Rainbow Sash. In both churches, the significance of the sash is the same - a symbol of queer exclusion in church, and a call of full inclusion. At PCUSA, the scarves were openly worn and promoted, not openly at the GA, but also in local congregations ahead of time, preparing the way. In the Catholic Church, even among a gay worshipping community, just talking about them can promote near hysteria.

The rainbow scarves fascinated Libby Shannon. Throughout the Assembly she saw them, hanging proudly over the necks of people over the age of 70 as well as those in their 20s. Men and women wore them as a witness to their support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Libby attended the 219th General Assembly of the PC(USA) in Minneapolis, a biennial gathering of pastors and lay people who make decisions on behalf of our two million-member church, earlier this month. The gathering prays and studies together, seeking God's guidance for their work and making declarations about social justice issues that will focus our energy and mission.

I also noticed the scarves, even though I wasn't there in Minnesota. I saw them hanging from the crochet needles at our church's Wednesday night Bible study. I spotted them at our local governing meetings. Then I noticed them at the General Assembly (GA) as I watched it livestreaming over the Internet.

(Read the full HuffPost article)

Gay Marriage, in Church: Denmark Next?

Last year, Sweden approved full marriage equality, including church weddings if desired, for gay and lesbian couples. Up to now, this has been the only country where it has been possible for same sex couples to have a full religious wedding in a major denomination, and have it recognized by the state. (The other countries which recognize gay marriage, do so only for civil marriages.) However, support for full religious marriage has been building steadily, among voters and in some of the churches themselves. It now seems likely that Denmark will soon follow Sweden's example. This is not surprising - they have similar religious traditions, and similar social outlooks. Denmark was the first country in the world to approve civil unions, but has been slow to convert to full marriage. However, 1997 the bishops approved church "blessings" of civil unions, as long as the words "husband" and "wife" were omitted, so there's not a long way to go.

Now the government is considering a proposal to go the whole way, and allow full religious weddings. With almost two thirds of voters expressing support for the measure, and six out of ten bishops also ready to agree, it looks like an open goal just waiting for the final push.