Change at Coral Ridge?

Lost in all the coverage of the inauguration today is a story in the Miami Herald about a leadership change at Fort Lauderdale's Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church which has been a driving force in the anti-gay agenda. Coral Ridge was founded by D. James Kennedy, a homo-hater of the first order and a founder of the "Moral Majority" that lighted the fires of the culture wars and set the stage for the Kool-Aid drinking crowd to begin the take over of the GOP. Coral Ridge under Kennedy was also among the most dishonest "Christian" organizations in terms of disseminating anti-gay lies and promoting the "choice myth." Kennedy continued selling books and videos recounting Michael Johnston's false "cure" claims literally up to the very day that the Southern Voice broke the story about Johnston's conduct in Tidewater Virginia - even though it was know among the the leaders of the anti-gay crowd that Johnston had had a "moral fall." When Kennedy died in 2007, my thoughts were ones of good riddance and that the world was now a better place. Now a grandson of Billy Graham has been selected as the new leader and he has stated that he intended to take Coral Ridge out of politics and the culture wars. One can only hope that such is in fact the case. Here are some story highlights:

*

When D. James Kennedy, the influential pastor who pushed conservative politics from the pulpit of Fort Lauderdale's Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, died in 2007, members lost the fiery leadership of the man who built it from a congregation of a few dozen to more than 10,000 with internationally viewed television and radio programs.

*

Now, successor William Graham Tullian Tchividjian, 36, grandson of evangelist Billy Graham and head of Margate's relatively small New City Church, is ready to take Coral Ridge in a new direction. . . . he is expected to modernize the thinking of the church over which Kennedy presided for more than five decades and take it back to the basics of teaching the Bible instead of reigniting the culture wars.

*
Energetic and easygoing, he will be a stark contrast to the often stiff and formal Kennedy, people familiar with the church say. Kennedy, a notable member of the Moral Majority before its dissolution, rallied against same-sex marriage and evolutionary theory and sought to ``reclaim America for Christ.''

*

''The impression out there of Coral Ridge is that they are a church that is stuck in the past and unwilling to change,'' said Tchividjian, a father of three who lives in Coconut Creek. ``This move on their part corrects that assumption.'' . . . 'He is not going to be interested in addressing cultural issues ideologically,' Wood said. ``His interest isn't getting up there and waving the American flag.''

*
That may reflect a larger shift as the vanguard of the traditional religious right passes the torch to a new generation for whom the old lines of the culture wars are not as impenetrable as they used to be, say scholars of religion and politics. Many theologically conservative Christians voted for Barack Obama, whose inauguration invocation will be given Tuesday by controversial pastor Rick Warren of California's Saddleback Church, a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage.

*
''Polling data has shown that a lot of Americans are not comfortable with politics in the pulpit,'' said Rob Boston of the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ``It could be the beginning of a time when people start to look to churches for more traditional reasons, such as fellowship, spirituality and a connection to God.''

Compound of Anti-Gay Tony Alamo Raided By Police and FBI

Self-styled Christian and homo-hater Tony Alamo (who claims that homosexuality is caused by "demon possession”) had his headquarters compound raided by both police and FBI agents on reports that the "ministry" was involved in pornography and/or the sexual abuse of underage minors. I am continually amazed at the number of people who fall for such frauds as Alamo who seems to be a nutcase by almost any standards. The Southern Poverty Law Center has even described Alamo's "ministry" as hate group. While Alamo may be more whacked out than others in leadership positions among the Christian Right, in my opinion the only real difference is one of the degree of craziness and hate. In essence, they are all cut from the same cloth. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times' coverage which indicates an arrest warrant is expected for Alamo:

*

FOUKE, ARK. -- FBI agents and state police raided an evangelist's headquarters Saturday as part of a child pornography investigation, and social workers interviewed children who live at the complex in southwestern Arkansas to find out whether they were abused. The raid at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries south of Texarkana started an hour before sunset, but state police said no one was arrested. Armed guards regularly patrol the headquarters of the group -- which critics call a cult -- but there was no resistance as agents moved in, state police said.

*

About 100 state and federal law officers raided the 15-acre compound housing the ministry, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a cult that opposes homosexuality, Catholicism and the government.

*

John Selig, head of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, said state workers were talking to children. "I can't say whether we will be removing any children," Selig said, adding that he did not know how many lived there. U.S. Atty. Bob Balfe said before the raid that he expected an arrest warrant would be issued later for Alamo.

*

Alamo was once accused in California of directing the beating of a church member's 11-year-old son.

Fire and Brimstone

A church in Columbus, Ohio, is displaying a sign which no doubt would be well received by Sarah Palin and her fellow churchgoers as aell as a good percentage of the attendees of the Republican Party Convention. Especially now that the GOP has become an unofficial religion based party. The sign was posted in reaction to Katy Perry's pop song lyrics "I kissed a girl and I liked it" which flirts with same-sex attraction. To me, the sign is illustrative of the Christianist mind set on display in St. Paul at the GOP Convention: condemn those who are different and subconsciously endorse the concept that these "others" can be mistreated with impunity. It's hardly the message of the Gospels, but it is the core of the Christianist religious beliefs. Here are some highlights from the Columbus Dispatch:

*

I kissed a girl and I liked it. Those lyrics have made Katy Perry's pop song a big hit on the radio.
But when a local church put the song lyrics on its marquee -- followed by the words then I went to hell -- some people got angry. People driving by Havens Corners Church in Blacklick yesterday morning noticed the sign, aimed to warn people about what the church says is the sin of homosexuality.

*

[Rev. Dave Allison] said "We meant that as a loving warning to teens. … The Scriptures tell us that you should not do what the song tells you to do. The Scriptures are not ambiguous on this issue."

*

Lynne Bowman, director of Equality Ohio, a gay and transgender advocacy group, said every church has a right to its beliefs. Havens Corners has made it clear to everyone who drives by that it is not a welcoming place that accepts all people, she said. She noted that the church's vision, stated on its Web site, is to grow in membership. "Obviously they're making a statement as to how they don't want to do that," she said.

*

She said Equality Ohio has identified at least 300 churches in Ohio that welcome gay people looking for a church home. "That sign just tells them where they cannot go to find the love and faith in Christ," she said.

Presbyterians Drop Gay Clergy Ban

This vote by the Presbyterians shows that gays are slowly winning the war, if you will, and I suspect more denominations will follow suit . The ELCA hopefully being one of them when it votes next year on a new statement on human sexuality, especially now that some of its sister churches in Europe are recognizing gay unions. It truly disgusts me that supposedly Christian people who ignore all kinds of other passages in the Bible continue to cling to a few passages to condemn and discriminate against gays, even as medical research shows more and more that one's sexual orientation is not some simple choice we make. Are these folks really so insecure in their own sexuality/identity that they must have others to look down upon? Thankfully, the younger generation is increasingly ignoring the bigotry of their elders and, in time, religious denominations will need to change or wither away. I know my own children and their freinds strongly disagree with anti-gay churches and will not attend them. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

*

The denomination's General Assembly, meeting in San Jose, Calif., voted 54 percent to 46 percent Friday to drop the requirement that would-be ministers, deacons and elders live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." The proposed change to the church constitution requires approval from a majority the nation's 173 presbyteries, or regional church bodies - a yearlong process that has proven to be a barrier to similar efforts in the past.

*
Of equal importance to advocates on both side of the debate, the assembly also voted to allow gay and lesbian candidates for ordination to conscientiously object to the existing standard. Local presbyteries and church councils that approve ordinations would consider such requests on a case-by-case basis. That vote was an "an authoritative interpretation" of the church constitution rather than a change to it, so it goes into effect immediately. The interpretation supersedes a ruling from the church's high court, issued in February, that said there were no exceptions to the so-called "fidelity and chastity" requirement.

*

Jon Walton, co-moderator of the San Francisco-based Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which advocates a broader role for gays and lesbians, hailed the ordination votes Friday, calling it "a day we've been waiting almost 30 years to see happen." He also expressed hope church members can move forward together.

Religious Debate Rages Over Homosexuality

The Los Angeles Times has an article today that looks at the debate between Christianists and other religious conservatives on the one side and moderates who do not seek to use the Bible and Koran as abasis for demonizing gays. I guess what gets me personally is that Christ had a very much affirming message and in the Gospels ministered to and socialized with those marginalized by the legalistic and santimonious religious leaders of His day. Yet this fact utterly escapes the hate merchant element of today's Christian denominations. Rather than look at this broader message, they seek out isolated passages to condemn gays. Not surprsingly, many of their forebears also used the Bible to justify slavery, segregation and the subordination of women. If one takes the selective passage approach that these less than Christian individuals apply to gays, then using their analysis, slavery should still be permissible today. As would the application of the death penalty to all sorts of ridiculous infractions. Here are some story highlights:

*

With same-sex marriage now legal in California, people of faith are renewing a passionate debate over whether homosexuality is sanctioned by God. Christians, Jews and Muslims on both sides of the issue cite the holy writings of their religions. Some note that the Bible depicts man-lying-with-man as an "abomination," while others say it speaks of God's love for all people created in his image. Both sides defend their positions with the zeal of the biblical warriors who inhabit their scriptures.

*

"Homosexual intimacy is out of bounds. It's not what God created us for," said Richard Mouw, president of the evangelical Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.Mouw cites Romans 1 in the New Testament that decries men and women abandoning "natural relations" and men "inflamed with lust for one another" committing "indecent acts with other men" -- behavior that carried death as punishment."Sexuality within the context of marriage is the order of creation," he said.

*

Nonsense, says the Rev. Mel White, a former Fuller professor and evangelical author who married his partner of 27 years in a ceremony Wednesday at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. White calls the Bible a living document that must be understood in its historical context -- a view shared by reform-minded clergy and theologians from other faiths.

*

Perhaps the most frequently cited is Leviticus 18:22: "You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman: It is an abomination."The passage from the Torah is repeated, with slight variations, in Christian scripture, which, like the Jewish text, orders death for violators. The Koran also denounces homosexuality, in Chapter 7, Verse 81: "For you practice your lust on men in preference to women: You are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds."

*

But other clergy criticize what they see as a selective analysis of the texts. Jesus condemned divorce and remarriage, they point out, but that hasn't stopped many Christians from splitting and remarrying. The Old Testament not only denounces adulterers and children who curse their parents, it demands the death penalty for both. It prohibits sex between husbands and wives during menstruation, even though theologians acknowledge the practice occurs without any formal reprimands.

*

One small Muslim group voiced objections, calling on the faithful to embrace a more pluralistic view of gays and lesbians."We're not reinventing the faith," Ani Zonneveld, president of Muslims for Progressive Values, which claims about 1,500 members nationwide. "The Koran says that it is a book for all times and all generations. It is not a stagnant text."If Muslims cannot interpret the Koran, she said, "then it is irrelevant to how we live our lives today."

More Wrongheaded Thinking at Southern Baptist Convention

Faced with declining attendance, fewer baptisms, and congregations changing their names to remove "baptist" from the name, one would think that the Sourthern Baptist Convention ("SBC") might figure out that more of the same is perhaps not a formula for future success. But such is not the case and the SBC seems to have a "stay the course" mentaility as loopy as that of the Chimperator. All of which is fine by me since I regard the SBC leadership as one of the centers of un-Christian charlatans who talking constantly about being Christian yet are the authors of a message that is, in fact, anything but Christian unless, of course, hate, intolerance and Pharisee like behavior have somehow become the hall marks of true Christian conduct. Moreover, the SBC intends to continue fusing religion and politics. Hopefully, such wrongheaded thinking will lead to a further weakening of the denomination or a revolt by rational mamebers of the SBC. Here are some highlights from a Washington Post story concerning the new president of the SBC:

*

The Rev. Johnny M. Hunt, the pastor of an Atlanta area megachurch, was elected yesterday as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and will take over as head of the nation's largest Protestant denomination as it is struggling with declining membership and decreasing number of baptisms.

*

His election, at the SBC's annual meeting in Indianapolis, is seen as a victory for the more fundamentalist wing of the denomination, which led the conservative resurgence that began in the late 1970s and which takes a hard line on the inerrancy of scripture. It is seen as a rejection of young reformers, who have questioned the SBC leadership's reluctance to consider a wider range of issues, such as its bans on alcohol consumption and female pastors. "This signals that the establishment conservatives are definitely in charge," said Greg Warner, executive editor of the Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.

*

During a speech to pastors on Sunday, Hunt acknowledged the difficulties facing the SBC. Baptisms -- a key sign of spiritual health for Southern Baptists -- have fallen to a 20-year low. Membership dipped to 16.27 million last year, from 16.3 million. Except for a drop in membership in 1998, the last decrease was in 1926.

*

In terms of meddling with politics and a continued push to subvert the U. S. Constitution in an effort to abolish religious freedom for those of different faiths and biblical interpretations in favor of a Taliban like theocracy, the WP also reported in part as follows:

*

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - America's largest evangelical denomination adopted a resolution on political engagement on Wednesday signaling its intention to flex its muscles in the November presidential election.

*

The 16 million-strong SBC is a bedrock of political and cultural conservatism and a key plank in the Republican Party's evangelical base which is credited with helping secure two White House terms for President George W. Bush.

*

But several Southern Baptists interviewed over the course of the conference left no doubt that they were in the Republican fold even if they viewed the party's presumptive nominee John McCain as the lesser of two liberals in the White House match-up with Democratic rival Barack Obama.

*

"We plead with all Christians to exercise vigorously their responsibilities to participate in the political process by registering to vote, educating themselves about the issues, and voting according to their biblical beliefs, convictions and values," read the resolution. Voting by "biblical beliefs" is often code in such circles for supporting candidates who oppose abortion and gay rights and support moves to bring back school prayer.

Court Rules for Breakaway Episcopal Churches

A Northern Virginia circuit court judge has ruled in favor of the break away elements of the Episcopal Church diocese in Virginia. The legal war is hardly anywhere near over and the constitutionality of the 1860's vintage law has yet to be determined. I cannot find a great deal on the judge in the case, Randy I. Bellows, other than he is a former Assistant U. S. Attorney and that he was appointed to the bench in 2002 when the GOP had a strangle hold on the General Assembly and judicial appointments. Such being the case, I can only assume he is very conservative on social issues such as gay rights.

The irony of course is that the law Judge Bellows relies on to reach his result was passed in the Civil War era and was passed so that the Baptist churches that became the Southern Baptist denomination - and which supported slavery and often worked against civil rights for blacks in later years - could retain their property when they parted ways with the northern branch of the denomination. In short, the motivation behind the law was to protect the breakaway Baptist churches from the consequences of their racial bigotry and support of slavery. Judge Bellows has now used this arcane law to once again find in favor of bigots who see other citizens as less than fully human. In Virginia, some things never change.

The other irony is that the self-anointed, self-rigtheous members of these breakaway parishes have aligned themselves with Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola around whom controversy swirls because of his possible involvement in the massacre of Muslims – oops, I forgot, Muslims aren’t Christian so killing them doesn’t count with these folks – and other possible misdeeds. I cannot think of a poorer choice of leader for those who sanctimoniously claim they are Christian. Am I missing something? In any event, here are highlights from the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040401925.html):

A Fairfax County judge has given an initial victory to conservatives from 11 Virginia churches in their battle to keep tens of millions of dollars in buildings and land after breaking away from the Episcopal Church. The decision is a first step in a multi-trial case and does not settle who gets the properties. But it is a boost to the breakaway churches and to a national movement that is battling the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, over what it believes to be an un-biblical liberal slant in the national church.

In the decision issued Thursday night, Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows ruled the breakaway churches' votes to leave in late 2006 and early 2007 constituted a legal "division" in the Virginia diocese under a Civil War-era statute. The diocese and the national church have said that the votes constituted a minority of diocese members and that the diocese, not congregants, owns the properties.

They also argue that the state law is unconstitutional because it lets the government tell a religious denomination how to govern its affairs. Bellows agreed to hear arguments in May on whether the state law is constitutional. The court, he wrote, "does not decide today any issue related to the constitutionality" of the law.

William Etherington, a lawyer specializing in church-state law who is not involved in the case, said he expects that it will be decided on grounds of constitutionality and that it could have an effect that extends beyond the Episcopal Church. "The constitutional issues cut across any denomination. It's something that's going to affect, certainly, any hierarchical church," he said yesterday.

Homophobia in Black Churches Fuels HIV

I have long thought that the homophobia in black churches fuels HIV and causes countless black men to be on the down low. In this area a large number of the black churches - some within a mile or so from my office, in fact - are the most vocal of any in denoucing gays and are routinely cynically manipulated to to do the bidding of the Virginia GOP and the white Christianists, most of whom are the descendants of those who supported segregation, opposed inter-racial marriage and still are racially bigoted. Why black pastors cannot figure this out is a bit baffling to me. In this area, HIV infection is the highest among blacks as a percentage of the population - in both men and women - yet all too often one hears nothing but hate filled language from pastors that guarantees that many gay blacks will be on the down low. Now, PageOne Q has an article (http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/bishopjohnselders.html) wherein a black Christian says what I have been thinking for a long time. Here are some highlights:

Even more than this vital educational work, however, now is the time for those of us in the Black church to also start having the difficult conversations about the inconsistencies we've witnessed in our churches. For more than two decades, I've found myself in the midst of a continual stream of conversations both private and public regarding sex, sexuality, sexual orientation and the Black church. What all the conversations have taught me (all the weeping with families who lost someone to the disease, all the counseling with those living with an HIV diagnosis) is that we must start preaching a different message. We have to start talking honestly about the gift of our love and our sexuality.

[I]n the multiple ways we perpetuate the "down low." We do this most obviously when we deny our attraction to people of the same sex. We also perpetuate the down low when we turn a blind and hostile eye to our friends, neighbors, family members and ministers who are looking for a place where they can be honest about who they are. We perpetuate the down low yet again when our pastors and church leaders start HIV/AIDS ministries as community outreach services in our churches while simultaneously abusing our same gender loving brothers and sisters in the pews.

The most prevalent way that HIV/AIDS spreads is through secrecy and shame. If all religious people in particular stopped being agents of the closet and started being agents of healing and honesty, we could stop the down low and could make a mighty dent in the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Discrimination Results in $20,000 Bill In Rollback Property Taxes

Some time ago I did a post about a religious organization in New Jersey, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which was facing the possible loss of its tax exempt status for real estate tax purposes due to its refusal to allow two lesbian couples to have their civil union ceremonies in the pavilion. That action has finally resulted in the tax exemption in fact being rescinded and the Meeting Association being presented with a bill for retroactive taxes in the amount of $20,000.00 (http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080223/NEWS/80223002/1004/NEWS01). Clearly, in this case discrimination has a price.

When I posted my earlier comments on this story, I received several e-mails from those who thought that it was an outrage that the Meeting Association had to participate in something it did not endorse in order to keep its tax exemption. I disagreed with their analysis then and believe the correct result has been achieved. The Meeting Association knew that in order to receive the exemption, its facility had to be open and available to all. By its own conduct the Meeting Association proved that such was not the case. Actions have often consequences. What I find most humorous and ironic is that those who supported the continued exemption for the Meeting Association - and others who continue to be outraged as the Boy Scouts are stripped of sweet heart deals due to the organization’s non-inclusive policies - is that these folks don’t like living by the standards they apply when the shoe is on the other foot.

A great example of this is what happened some years back when various artists were not being approved for funding by the National Endowment for the Arts based on the content of their art which some found (often correctly) offensive to some religious beliefs. At the time, the artists alleged they were being censored and that their First Amendment rights were being curtailed. In response Christianist types pointed out that the artists could do whatever they wanted with no impact on their freedom of speech/expression, just do not expect public funding to underwrite it. Yet, when the tables are turned and groups discriminate based on religious belief they somehow believe that the public should underwrite their discriminatory actions. True to form, they want a double standard – one for them and a different one for everyone else. At best this is intellectually disingenuous and at worst it is sheer hypocrisy. The correct view is that when one takes public, tax derived funding, there ARE strings attached, namely that one loses the right to discriminate or to produce religiously offensive art as the case may be. If you want to be free to do whatever you want, the answer is very simple: do not take the public funding, or in the case of the Meeting Association, the tax exemption. You do not get to have it both ways. Here are some brief story highlights:

OCEAN GROVE — The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association will have to pay about $20,000 in rollback property taxes for the boardwalk pavilion, the township tax assessor has determined. Assessor Bernard Haney said Friday that he calculated the pavilion's taxes to be about $6,500 a year for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The pavilion had been part of the association's boardwalk and beachfront property that was part of a state Green Acres tax abatement program. The association has not paid property taxes on the property since the program was established. But controversy last year over the association's refusal to allow two lesbian couples to have their civil union ceremonies in the pavilion led the state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the Green Acres program, to re-evaluate the association's application this year. DEP commissioner Lisa Jackson decided that because the pavilion was apparently not open to all on an equal basis — a requirement of the tax abatement program — she would not allow the pavilion to be included.

Hate Merchant Fred Phelps Harrasses Ledger Family

Above is the latest garbage from Fred Phelps via Good As You (http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/01/you-shouldnt-sp.html). To say that Fred Phelps and his hate-filled clan are assh**es is an understatement. Now the bastards are harassing Heath Ledger's family and demanding to protest at Heath's funeral or grave site in Australia. The man truly needs to be committed - along with his more discrete brethren, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, Don Wildmon, et al, who make a career out of disseminating Hate and marginalizing others to make themselves feel better about themselves.

Tutu to Apologise for Persecution of Gays on BBC Radio Tonight

I have become increasingly impressed with retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his willingness to speak out on what he sees is the truth regardless of whether or not it pleases the knuckle draggers in some branches of the Anglican Communion. It is voices like Tutu's that will open minds and change hearts. Speaking of which, I had lunch today with a member of my church (First Lutheran Church) who is a retired professor from the ELCA's Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina, and an advocate for respect and full acceptance of gays in the ELCA. He has even debated Warren Throckmorton, a sometimes fair haired boy of the proponents of the reparative therapy snake oil, at a ELCA conference (Throckmorton had been invited by conservative, homophobic factions in the ELCA). We met to discuss my frustration with some members within First Lutheran who oppose outreach to gays and in the parish's failure to be truly accepting of LGBT individuals in a public way. But I digress, here are some story highlights about Tutu's statements (http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/07/Dec/1702.htm):

MANCHESTER, December 17, 2007 – Archbishop Desmond Tutu has apologised to gay people all around the world for the way they have been treated by the Church. The Archbishop recently criticised the church for being ‘obsessed’ with homosexuality but speaking on the only gay programme on the BBC he goes further and says he’s ‘sorry’.

The Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner says “sorry” to the worldwide LGBT community in an exclusive recorded interview with Ashley Byrne, presenter of Gay Hour, to be transmitted tonight (December 17) on BBC Radio Manchester. “I want to apologise to you and to all those who we in the church have persecuted,” Archbishop Tutu says in the interview. “I’m sorry that we have been part of the persecution of a particular group. For me that is quite un-Christ like and, for that reason, it is unacceptable. “I’m sorry for the hurt, for the rejection, for the anguish that we have caused to such as yourselves.”

Previously, Tutu made similar statements in 2004 during a sermon at Southwark Cathedral in London (http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/20040206001.htm):

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said homophobia is, to him, as “totally unacceptable and unjust as Apartheid ever was.” And the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, in a sermon at Southwark Cathedral in London, fired what amounts to an ecclesiastical torpedo into the school of the Anglican Church that insists homosexuality is wrong.

“The Jesus I worship is not likely to collaborate with those who vilify and persecute an already oppressed minority,” he said. “I myself could not have opposed the injustice of penalizing people for something about which they could do nothing - their race - and then have kept quiet as women were being penalized for something they could do nothing about - their gender, and hence my support inter alia, for the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate. “And equally, I could not myself keep quiet whilst people were being penalized for something about which they could do nothing, their sexuality. “To discriminate against our sisters and brothers who are lesbian or gay on grounds of their sexual orientation for me is as totally unacceptable and unjust as Apartheid ever was.”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Blasts Anglicans Over Gay Feud

As I commented in an earlier post today, some elements within the Anglican Communion - particularly some congregations within the US Episcopal Church - are simply obsessed with homosexuality to the point of being utterly irrational. Hence, it is interesting to see Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu saying exactly the same thing and taking the homophobes to task. Here are highlights from a 365gay.com story (http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111807tutu.htm):

(London) South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Sunday blasted the Anglican church for being "obsessed" with homosexuality. The denomination has been deeply divided since the election of Gene Robinson in 2003 to be Bishop of New Hampshire. Robinson is the first openly gay man to be made a bishop in the Anglican faith. Since then, Tutu told the BBC, the Church has become "extraordinarily homophobic".

Tutu slammed the worldwide leader of the church and Anglican conservatives in a BBC radio program to be broadcast Tuesday. Tutu accused Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams of failing to follow a "welcoming God" and said he was ashamed of what the Anglican Church has become.

"Our world is facing problems - poverty, HIV and Aids - a devastating pandemic, and conflict," Tutu told the broadcaster. "God must be weeping looking at some of the atrocities that we commit against one another. "In the face of all of that, our Church, especially the Anglican Church, at this time is almost obsessed with questions of human sexuality," he said.

Tutu also chastised Church conservatives who say that homosexuality is a choice and gays and lesbians need to repent. "It is a perversion if you say to me that a person chooses to be homosexual," the Nobel laureate said.

Fort Worth Episcopal Diocese Takes Step to Cut Ties with US Episcopal Church

With all the pressing needs and services that are needed by the poor and others who are unchurched, one would think that the Fort Worth Diocese would have more important things to obsess over besides gays in the church. It really makes me wonder why these people are so freaked out by gays in general and so afraid to recognize that our sexuality and its inherent nature was unknown and not understood by the ignorant, nomadic, tribal writers of the Old Testament. I mean, these same authors thought the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun revolved around the earth. Isn't it just possible, they were likewise mistaken about their condemnations of same sex relations? Duh, you'd thing it would be so obvious. I truly cannot envision the mind set/world view of the fundamentalists who refuse to ever admit that the Bible is NOT 100% accurate on all kinds of factual/historical matters. Their religion is a religion of fear and hate of others. NOT what Jesus preached. In any event, here are highlights from the Star-Telegram's coverage (http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/308682.html):

FORT WORTH -- Delegates to the Fort Worth Episcopal Diocese's annual convention took the first step Saturday to cut ties to the Episcopal Church, a move driven in part by the diocese's opposition to the ordination of women and gay men and the blessing of same-sex unions.

Delegates also adopted on first reading an amendment affirming membership with the Anglican Communion, which has 75 million members. They rejected on first reading an amendment stating that church and mission property within the 24-county diocese are held in trust for the Episcopal Church. Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker and his followers say property owned by parishes and missions is held in trust for the diocese through a corporation. The second and final votes on those actions will take place at the diocese convention in 2008, diocese leaders said.

National leaders say that although a diocese may appeal to be dissolved or moved to another province, it cannot leave without consent. In November 2006, national leaders rejected the Fort Worth Diocese's request to be placed under the authority of an alternative, orthodox authority other than Jefferts Schori.

Some diocese members, including a group called Fort Worth Via Media, have remained supportive of the national church's stances. They say an attempt by the diocese to take mission and parish property would be immoral and lead to costly litigation. A measure approved by delegates Saturday would give parishes the option to remain with the Episcopal Church if they cannot resolve their differences through meetings with the bishop and standing committee.

Trial Begins in Clash Over Virginia Episcopal Church Property

This trial will be very interesting to watch. In the Episcopal Church, title to many church properties belongs to the diocese and NOT the individual congregations. Hence, if a congregation wants to leave the church to further their bigoted and anti-gay views, the diocese basically has the right to tell the congregation to vacate the church premises. I truly hope that the courts will uphold the diocese on this point and send this hate merchants packing. Here are highlights from the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111302078.html?hpid=sec-religion):

Tens of millions of dollars of Virginia real estate are at stake in a trial that began yesterday in Fairfax County Circuit Court, where priests, members of bitterly divided churches and lawyers filled the pews. It is one of the largest property disputes in Episcopal Church history. The trial comes almost a year after the majority of congregants in 15 traditional Episcopal churches voted to leave the national church because of disagreements about the nature of God and salvation and about whether gay men and lesbians should be fully accepted. Northern Virginia has since become one of the most active areas in the country for the conservative, breakaway movement, and clergy around the country are watching this trial to see what happens to Episcopalians who want to leave -- and take church properties with them.

Only 11 of the original 15 congregations are involved in the litigation currently in court, including the grand, historic Truro Church in Fairfax City and The Falls Church in the city of Falls Church. Officials with the Virginia diocese said the property in dispute is worth at least $30 million. The trial, which is scheduled to go on until late next week, is actually the first of two trials, and no resolution in the land dispute will come until early next year at the earliest.

The first trial is meant to determine whether the congregations "divided" under the legal meaning of the word. After the congregations voted, they filed court documents citing a Civil War-era part of Virginia code that allows congregations that have divided to vote on where they wish to affiliate. If the court approves the documents, according to the historic code, then the breakaway churches get the property. After voting to leave, the 11 churches placed themselves within a Virginia-based branch of the Church of Nigeria -- another wing in the Communion.

The Virginia diocese is arguing that there was no division, but rather that individuals unhappy with the Episcopal Church chose to leave. The diocese and the national church, which are both parties in the case, say that the Episcopal Church is hierarchical and therefore a "division" can only happen if there is a vote of its governing body.

Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows has said he will rule on this case next month. Regardless of how he rules, a second trial will be held on lawsuits brought by the diocese and national church against the breakaway churches. That action asks the Circuit Court to declare the diocese the rightful owner of all property. The suits also asked the court to force the breakaway congregations off the 11 properties, which they have occupied since the votes in December and January.

Truro Church is very historic and, therefore, the stakes are all the higher:

Truro Parish was created by order of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1732, some 10 years before Fairfax County itself came into existence. The father of George Washington, Augustine Washington, was a Truro vestryman and nominated the first regular rector of the parish in 1736. George Washington himself was appointed to the vestry in 1762. In 1768, a new building was erected with a closer proximity to the Town of Fairfax.