While we mourn the passage of Prop. 8 and support the idea of prohibiting divorce--perhaps another constitutional amendment--in CA, there are wedding bells all over the state of Connecticut today. With marriage legalized for same sex couples in MA, now CT, and recognized in NY, the northeast is becoming a "hot bed" of normality for all couples, straight and gay alike.
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Pace, B
2 comments:
You are by profession "Pastor Brett" to a Presbyterian congregation yet most of your blogs are ladened with sexual innuendos. I know, I know...freedom of expression, however I cannot imagine taking you seriously in the pulpit!
Dear Missy:
I'm not sure what you mean by most of the blogs having "sexual innuendos." If you are referring to the term "hot bed" or "hotbed" in this blog entry, there is no sexual innuendo. As you see from the American Dictionary, the term "hot bed" or "hotbed" is as follows:
1. An environment conducive to vigorous growth or development, especially of something undesirable: a hotbed of intrigue.
2. A glass-covered bed of soil heated with fermenting manure or by electricity, used for the germination of seeds or for protecting tender plants.
There is no "sexual innuendo" in the way I am using this term. The quotes are there because, in my writing style, such a colloquialism I believe deserves quotes as I am openly using a cliche.
As for "Pastor Brett," which should not be in "quotes" since I am, by my vocation and God's calling a pastor, a reverend, a Minister of the Word and Sacrament, a word or two about being an ordained minister. The issue of ordination is fascinating, and worth a look-see as it has changed throughout the centuries. Some people believe, ala the early church, that the elder or leaders or "presbyters" in the church were mature but very human human beings. The idea of being a "priest" comes from the Old Testament and was used by others in the early church who envisioned something a little less than human and more divine. As a Presbyterian clergyperson--and we are not called priests or fathers in my denomination--the one who is called to be a minister is a leader but human. We are considered, to use a Southern term, the "teaching elders" among elders in our church's tradition.
Now, as for sex: I think that the church needs to talk about spirituality, morality, intellectual issues, relationships, emotions, physical issues, and these also involve sexuality. This is nothing new. Sex is part of God's good creation. For the Western Church, it is the Victorian age and industrial age that tried to take "sex" out of the church, and it was the 1960s that saw discussion of sex come back into the church. My denomination, like so many other mainline churches, where there are curricula for talking about sex, which is good! After all, God created us to be sexual creatures.
Thanks for your comment!
Peace, Brett
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