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Point of contact: Methodism’s anti gay policies, Gay man’s death

Posted on May 20, 2013

FilmingStonewallGlobal to local news headlines pass over our various internet screens so often and in such great numbers that we often don’t have time to see how the issues intersect and where there is a cause and effect. Gil, though, latched onto two headlines in the New York Times, one on May 5, 2013 and the other May 18, one about a United Methodist pastor who may possibly be put on trial for performing his gay son’s wedding, the other about a gay man being shot on the street in the West Village. Below are my reflections on the juxtaposition of these headlines. ~Marilyn

“Caught in Methodism’s Split Over Same-Sex Marriage”

“In Shadow of the Stonewall Inn, a Gay Man Is Killed”
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DEAR UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: What If the Church Gave a Trial and Nobody Came?

Posted on May 10, 2013

The Rev. Kathryn Johnson’s pointed memo, below, to the United Methodist Church is in response to charges being brought against the Rev. Dr. Thomas Ogletree. He is facing charges in a possible United Methodist Church trial because he performed a same-sex wedding in New York City, where such marriages are fully legal. The wedding was his son’s.

RevKathrynJohnsonSince her ordination in 1985, Kathryn has served as a United Methodist missionary in the Philippines, the pastor of Bethany United Methodist Church in Roslindale, MA and the West Roxbury United Methodist Church in West Roxbury, MA, Executive Director of the Church Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, Executive Director of the Methodist Federation for Social Action and Interim Executive Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

MEMO

TO: The United Methodist Church

FROM: The Rev. Kathryn Johnson

DATE: May 9, 2013

RE: What If the Church Gave a Trial and Nobody Came

OgletreeThe Rev. Dr. Thomas Ogletree. Seriously? This is just becoming silly.

In the event that this is for real, I just want you to know that I’m done. I am so far over this whole “charges and investigations and trials thing” that it isn’t even funny.

I’m not done following Jesus. In fact it’s because I intend to keep following Jesus and his word and example of loving God and one another that I’m done with spending any more time even thinking about church trials, something so contrary to the Gospel and so utterly devoid of love and grace. Let this serve as my notice that I intend to totally ignore the unjust laws of the church related to sexual orientation and same-gender weddings from here on out. (more…)

Signing of Montana Senate Bill 107 – removing the unconstitutional gay sex law from the books

Posted on April 29, 2013

On April 18, 2013, Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed SB107, the revision to the Deviate Sex Acts law in Montana. It removes the unconstitutional language from the books that listed LGBT individuals as felons. It’s been nearly two decades in the making. Here is the bill signing ceremony in full.

BIG THANKS to Kev Hamm and Studio 19 Productions.

Bishop Gene Robinson: “Race is still the Festering Sore in American Society”

Posted on April 25, 2013

TIP had the great pleasure of interviewing Retired Bishop Gene Robinson last weekend when he was in Billings, MT to speak at a screening of the excellent film about him, “Love Free or Die.” The event was sponsored by Fair is Fair in Montana. This clip delves into how racism and white privilege still thrive just below the sanitized surface of American society.

Retired Bishop Gene Robinson was the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. He now works as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and policy organization, on issues of faith and gay rights.

Here is an excellent interview, “Retired Bishop Gene Robinson On Being Gay And Loving God,” on the NPR program Fresh Air.

Truth in Progress needs your support. Click here to find out how!

Bishop Gene Robinson: “You get to meet God”

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TIP had the great pleasure of interviewing Retired Bishop Gene Robinson last weekend when he was in Billings, MT to speak at a screening of the excellent film about him, “Love Free or Die.” The event was sponsored by Fair is Fair in Montana. This is a powerful clip about what happens when you do justice work!

Retired Bishop Gene Robinson was the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. He now works as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and policy organization, on issues of faith and gay rights.

Here is an excellent interview, “Retired Bishop Gene Robinson On Being Gay And Loving God,” on the NPR program Fresh Air.

Truth in Progress needs your support. Click here to find out how!

Bishop Gene Robinson: “Gospel Trouble”

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TIP had the great pleasure of interviewing Retired Bishop Gene Robinson last weekend when he was in Billings, MT to speak at a screening of the excellent film about him, “Love Free or Die.” The event was sponsored by Fair is Fair in Montana. This inspiring clip is about what it means for Christians to be prophetic and live the Gospel.

Retired Bishop Gene Robinson was the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. He now works as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and policy organization, on issues of faith and gay rights.

Here is an excellent interview, “Retired Bishop Gene Robinson On Being Gay And Loving God,” on the NPR program Fresh Air.

Truth in Progress needs your support. Click here to find out how you can help!

Linda Gryczan of Gryczan v. the State of Montana responds to vote to revoke the sexual deviant law

Posted on April 10, 2013

Linda Gryczan, plaintiff in the Gryczan v. the State of Montana, responds to today’s vote of the MT State House of Representatives to repeal the sexual deviant law that criminalizes homosexual sex. In 1997 the MT Supreme Court found the law to be unconstitutional, but it has taken until this day for a bill that would remove the law from the books to pass both the state senate and house.

The “Day After” The Supreme Court Spent Two Days Discussing Marriage Equality for Same Sex Couples

Posted on March 28, 2013

Rev Gil H CaldwellThe “Day After”* The Supreme Court Spent Two Days Discussing Marriage Equality for Same Sex Couples

I promised myself last night that I would not wake up this morning (Thursday, March 28th) and sit at my computer seeking to write something about that I have read, heard and felt during the last 2 days. When I realized that today is March 28th, I remembered that in my “count down” to reaching the glorious age of 80, October 28, 2013, there are exactly 7 months left. Possibly, because of that fact, I share the following. (more…)

DAY 2: “Judges, Judges, Judges”

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Rev Gil H CaldwellTwo Judges who have unique places in history were rememberedby me as I followed the deliberations of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices as they considered the Constitutional merits of California’s Proposition 8 on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. (more…)

DAY 1: I, as an African American Christian am pleased for the existence of the Constitution

Posted on March 26, 2013

Rev Gil H Caldwell“I, as an African American Christian am pleased for the existence of the Constitution”

I am writing this on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court has considered the Constitutional validity of California’s Proposition 8 that defines marriage as being valid only between a man and a woman. On tomorrow, March 27th the Supreme Court will consider the same question as it considers the Defense of Marriage Act/DOMA. It has been the Constitution and not the Bible that has guided us as a nation to move from segregation to desegregation. And, it will be the Constitution and not the Bible that initiates marriage equality. (more…)

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