Speaking Up for LGBTQ Rights

United Church of Canada Moderator Gary Paterson's blog has a post focusing on the need to speak for LGBTQ Rights.  Here are some excerpts:

What is it about homosexuality that seems to rile up so many Christians, as if this were something that was about to destroy the world? Seems to stir up far more passion than issues of poverty, war, or climate change. It turns out that playing the “homosexual card” and stoking the fears of a “gay agenda” (i.e. “They’re taking over the world!”) often leads to the most successful religious fundraisers in the United States; that troubles me!
...
 In the last few weeks we have seen the reaction to World Vision’s decision in the U.S. that married gay couples were “acceptable,” or, at least, could be hired to work for the organization. Reactions from various evangelical churches were swift and condemning; some denominations leapt into the fray, telling their membership to immediately stop all financial support, even to the point of reneging on commitments to support foster children. Faced by the power and pressure of money, World Vision reversed its position within two days, and ate humble pie; it was not a pretty sight.
...
I am so grateful to be part of the United Church, where last August we celebrated 25 years of recognizing LGBTQ people as full members of the Body of Christ, of the church. Sure, our denomination is not perfect, and there are times and places where prejudice still rears its head; but it’s changing, and it continues to get better, more just, and inclusive. I want this news to make the headlines, at least on occasion, so that the world, the “spiritual but not religious,” the great and growing numbers of the “un-churched,” don’t think that what they hear and see in the headlines is the sum total of a Christian understanding of homosexuality. I want them to hear our message about acceptance and affirmation – “There’s a place for you!”


You can read the article by clicking here.

- Submitted by Bob

Are Western evangelists responsible for Uganda’s homophobia?

Written by Patience Akumu
New Internationalist Magazine
March 17, 2014

Image Source:  Creative Commons

They came in brandishing the bible and promising hellfire to the man who walked around the neighbourhood in a dress and high heels singing and dancing and making the children happy for a change.

The entrance of Western evangelism into Uganda was fervent but seemed quite benign. Getting drunk with the Holy Spirit, claiming all the riches of the world and giving a twist to God’s name – Gawd! Who would have thought that a ludicrous campaign would turn into a full-blown witch-hunt of those who dissent?

Today, thanks to the evangelists, Uganda is one of the countries with the harshest anti-gay laws in the world, following President Yoweri Museveni’s agreement to the Anti-Homosexuality Act in February.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

- Submitted by Gareth

They came in brandishing the bible and promising hellfire to the man who walked around the neighbourhood in a dress and high heels singing and dancing and making the children happy for a change.

The entrance of Western evangelism into Uganda was fervent but seemed quite benign. Getting drunk with the Holy Spirit, claiming all the riches of the world and giving a twist to God’s name – Gawd! Who would have thought that a ludicrous campaign would turn into a full-blown witch-hunt of those who dissent?

Today, thanks to the evangelists, Uganda is one of the countries with the harshest anti-gay laws in the world, following President Yoweri Museveni’s agreement to the Anti-Homosexuality Act in February. - See more at: http://newint.org/blog/2014/03/17/evangelist-preachers-uganda-lgbt/#sthash.TY4S1eRO.dpuf

They came in brandishing the bible and promising hellfire to the man who walked around the neighbourhood in a dress and high heels singing and dancing and making the children happy for a change.

The entrance of Western evangelism into Uganda was fervent but seemed quite benign. Getting drunk with the Holy Spirit, claiming all the riches of the world and giving a twist to God’s name – Gawd! Who would have thought that a ludicrous campaign would turn into a full-blown witch-hunt of those who dissent?

Today, thanks to the evangelists, Uganda is one of the countries with the harshest anti-gay laws in the world, following President Yoweri Museveni’s agreement to the Anti-Homosexuality Act in February. - See more at: http://newint.org/blog/2014/03/17/evangelist-preachers-uganda-lgbt/#sthash.TY4S1eRO.dpu

Study: High schools with gay-straight alliances have reduced risk of student suicide

[Canadian] research suggests anti-homophobic policies benefit high school students regardless of sexual orientation 
From Salon.com, January 24, 2014
By Aaron Cantú, AlterNet

Image Source:  Flickr Creative Commons

The presence of gay-straight alliance (GSA) groups in schools reduces the risk of suicide among both LGBTQ and straight teens, according to a study published in the International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies and funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

Using data from the 2008 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey for grades 8-12, the study found that in schools where gay-straight alliance groups have been in existence for three or more years:

• The odds of homophobic discrimination and suicidal thoughts were reduced by more than half among lesbian, gay, bisexual boys and girls compared to schools with no GSA.
• There were also significantly lower odds of sexual orientation discrimination for heterosexual boys and girls.
• Heterosexual boys were half as likely to attempt suicide as those in schools without GSAs.

Gay-straight alliance groups stem back to the late 1980′s, when discussions of sexuality were much less open than they are today. GSA’s have proliferated in universities and secondary schools since then, with the goal of creating safe spaces on campus for all students–regardless of sexual orientation.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

- Submitted by Gareth

Moral Compass

Although he officially retired in 1996, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has remained a voice of conscience for South Africa and the world, speaking out on issues including poverty, AIDS, women’s rights, Syria, and world peace.

This year, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate took a strong stand in support of gay rights, saying that he would refuse to enter a “homophobic heaven” and would rather go to hell.

While same-sex relationships are legal in South Africa, gays and lesbians still face discrimination and brutal violence, and homosexuality remains illegal in 38 countries across Africa, according to Amnesty International.

Tutu said today’s struggle for gay rights is as important as the 1980s movement he helped lead to end apartheid, and he called on his fellow clerics to support the principles of human dignity and equality.

“I would not worship a God who is homophobic,” he said at the launch of a United Nations-backed gay rights campaign in Cape Town. “That is how strongly I feel about this.” 

See more by  CLICKING HERE.

-submitted by Nancy P.

'I will never be silent again'

Jury suspends pro-gay pastor

SPRING CITY, Pa. -- A United Methodist minister from southeastern Pennsylvania who was convicted under church law of officiating his son's same-sex wedding ceremony was suspended for 30 days Tuesday and told he will lose his credentials if he violates any of the church's rules in that time.

The same jury of fellow pastors that convicted Rev. Frank Schaefer on Monday of breaking his vows told him he must surrender his credentials if he can't reconcile his new calling to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community with the laws from the church's Book of Discipline.

Before the punishment ruling, Schaefer, who officiated at his son's 2007 wedding in Massachusetts, told the jury Tuesday he is unrepentant and refused to promise he wouldn't perform more gay unions.

Rather than beg for mercy Tuesday in the trial that has rekindled debate within the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination over church policies on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, the pastor upped the stakes, telling jurors that he has been called by God to be an advocate for the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people.

 The church "needs to stop judging people based on their sexual orientation," he said. "We have to stop the hate speech. We have to stop treating them as second-class Christians."

You can read the whole article on the Winnipeg Free Press website by CLICKING HERE.
 

-submitted Nancy P.

 

Augustine's presentation to Bill 18 Hearing

Augustine United  Church Support for Bill 18

August 2013

Audience gathered on evening of Augustine's presentation (Source: CBC News)

Good evening.  Thank you for this opportunity to speak.  My name is Kathleen Venema and I am here today representing Augustine United Church, where my husband and I are long-time members.  Many of you likely know Augustine as an architectural landmark near the corner of River and Osborne, and one of Winnipeg’s historic churches, originally established in 1887.  Many people may also know that Augustine was the first Affirming United Church in Canada.  Let me provide just a bit of background to explain that designation.  Almost 30 years ago, in 1984, after extensive theological study and discussion, the United Church of Canada specifically affirmed its recognition that all human beings, regardless of sexual orientation, are made in the image of God.  At that point, it issued a call for repentance for the church’s collective history of rejecting homosexual persons.  In 1988, after four more years of study and discussion, the United Church’s General Council affirmed that “all persons, regardless of sexual orientation […] are welcome to be or become full members of the church,” and specifically articulated its readiness to ordain gay and lesbian clergy

[http://www.united-church.ca/exploring/orientation/timeline]. 

In 1995, having been open and supportive of gays and lesbians since the late 1970s, Augustine became the first Affirming United Church Congregation in Canada.  From that point on, Augustine has “intentionally and publicly welcom[ed], recogniz[ed], support[ed], and accept[ed] lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, two-spirited, [and heterosexual] people as full and equal participants in all aspects of life, work, and worship” (2011 JNAC 10).  And we are not alone:  by now there are over 75 Affirming Congregations across Canada [http://www.affirmunited.ca/english/looking.htm]. 

I’ve taken time to sketch this history because we are very aware, at Augustine, of the ways in which some other Christian groups and individuals have characterized and articulated their opposition to Bill 18. 

"Sermon rips anti-bullying bill" (Headline & photo: WFP)

Those oppositions, ostensibly in the name of Christianity, have received a great deal of media attention and for that reason, we agreed that we would take this opportunity to speak to you, and to outline our quite different understanding of Christianity and the Bible.  As Christians, we seek to follow the example of Jesus, whose life, as we learn about it through the New Testament, was characterized by an ethic of love, a radical inclusion of, and standing with, the people in his society who had the least power:  women, children, people impoverished by unjust economic structures, people rendered marginal because of illness and disability, people reviled and disadvantaged because they were from other cultures and religions. 

Photo source:  CTV.News

We understand Jesus to have willingly engaged with these people and to have expressed his allegiance with them.  Indeed, having studied these issues for over thirty years, we understand that our religious and spiritual heritage necessitates our support for the Bill, as part of our active engagement in bringing about a world that welcomes, honours, and supports all the diversity of creation.  

We are also acutely aware of the many ways in which the institutional church has been complicit, throughout history, with wrong, hurtful, and oppressive beliefs and actions.  The Bible is a rich and fascinating and complex historical text, and it has been used and misused many times to defend and sanction social practices that we now recognize as clearly insupportable, among them slavery, sexual slavery, polygamy, the subservience of women, the treatment of women as property, and corporal punishment, of children and others.  We understand current attempts to use the Bible to justify homophobia to be similarly misguided.  As members of an active, searching, studying Christian community that depends for its richness and its vitality on all its diverse individual members, we at Augustine support school cultures where equity, acceptance, respect, and support are extended without prejudice, and where all students’ gifts and energies can be nourished and celebrated.

In closing, we would like to note that we think it is likely that if Jesus were a 21st century Canadian, he would not only support gay-straight alliances, he would be helping to organize the meetings.  For all of these reasons, we would like to unequivocally register our support for Bill 18.  Thank you.

- Submitted by Kathleen

Anti-Homophobia Rally, May 16, 2013

A number of the Just Living group attended the anti-homophobia, anti-byphobia, anti-transphobia rally this afternoon.  It was good to be there together, identifying with the Rainbow Ministry banner.  Not everyone who attended is pictured here.

In solidarity with the Rainbow Ministry

Patrick telling a poignant story to the assembled crowd

International Day against Homophobia

Support Bill 18

Rally

May 16, 2013
4:30 to 6pm

On the front steps of the Mantitoba Legislative Building

- submitted by Augustine UC office (Thank you!)

Wpg Free Press: Letters

This letter was published in the Winnipeg Free Press today (March 11).  After yesterday's Just Living meeting, during which we expressed the hope of finding allies in other faith groups to stand up in favour of Bill 18, this letter is very encouraging.  And ... there is a connection to Augustine.  The writer's daughter,  Maggie, attends Augustine regularly with her kids.

"I had hoped that your reporter had misquoted the preacher in his March 7 story 'Sermon rips anti-bullying bill'.  But I listened to the whole sermon on the church's website and, to my dismay, found his words as reported.

As a Christian and a pastor in an evangelical Christian church, I realize that the pastor's words reflect on me by association, and I feel compelled to declare that I am ashamed of what he said.

I believe that he has misrepresented the faith we share and has presented a distorted reading of both the Bible and of the society in which Bill 18 is needed.  He has brought the church into disrepute.  This sermon is destined to become an example for the negative definition of 'bully pulpit'.  

Dan N.

And here's another one, while we're at it:

I am a straight, 20 year-old female Christian and I completely agree with Bill 18.  I, along with many other Christians, am ashamed of the horrendous portrayal of the Christian religion in the media.

I would like to apologize for the judgment and hate towards the LGBT community.  As a Christian, I believe that respect is the bottom line for everyone.  It doesn't matter who you are - bullying is always wrong.

Bethany E.

Notes:  

1. The majority of the letters in today's Free Press write in favour of Bill 18, and oppose the message of Ray Duerksen (Southland Church, Steinbach). 
2. While both of these writers were identified in the Free Press by their last names, full last names are not used in the Just Living blog, to protect personal identities from being 'googled'.

Augustine UC in the Wpg Sun

Good article in the Sun about Augustine - congrats to the team that's getting the messages up on the board and to Bob for doing the interview with the paper.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/03/06/winnipegs-augustine-united-church-makes-sign-supporting-anti-bullying-bill-18

 

Cheers,

Nancy

BILL 18

Kathleen and Gareth have been in touch with their MLA about supporting Bill 18, the legislation designed to protect students from bullying.  Eventually the process of the bill becoming law will go through some stages, including public hearings.  Below is the response from Rob Altemeyer, MLA for Wolseley.  Perhaps others in Just Living will want to register to be heard as well.  Patrick W. (Rainbow Resource Ministry) has already expressed interest in doing so.

Thank you very much for your important email, wonderful to hear from both of you on this.  I of course completely support Bill 18 and the safer learning environment it will create for all students in our province.  Diversity is to be celebrated, not feared!  When this Bill reaches the "Committee" stage sometime this spring, members of the public can make presentations directly to the MLAs sitting on the committee - would you be interested in being contacted about this when the time comes?

Many thanks once again,

Rob Altemeyer
MLA - Wolseley

Manitoba's Bill 18 is legislation being brought forward by the provincial gov't to combat bullying in schools (public and private).  One of the provisions is to require high schools to facilitate the creation of GSA's (Gay Straight Alliance groups), when requested by students.  While a number of Christian private schools have complained loudly that their religious freedoms are being violated, other religious groups have taken a supportive position toward the bill.  Here's Augustine United Church's response, as represented by our church's sign.