Let's Hear if for Stan Kimer!

And congrats to Stan Kimer, a lay leader at St. John's Metropolitan Church in Raleigh, NC, who is now the face of the North Carolina Council of Churches as President of the Council. This is a one year term, in which a second year is not unheard of. He is not the Executive Director, which is a whole other title and office with certain responsibilities.

What is interesting was the reports re: how other denominations and Churches, e.g., some Baptists, United Methodists, and Roman Catholic Church thinks about this because of their reservation about openly LGBTQ people in ordained positions (from AP report):

The election also doesn't necessarily reflect a major change in Christian thinking in North Carolina. Most of the council's members are mainline Protestant groups whose national denominations have been moving in recent years to accept expanded roles for gays and lesbians. The state branch of the Southern Baptist Convention, arguably the most prominent Christian group in North Carolina, is not a member of the council of churches.

Both Roman Catholic dioceses in North Carolina are members of the council, and Reed said Kimer's election was more about his personal qualities and the role of the council as an organizing body for activism than about theological changes in the member churches.

"Most of our members are still having internal conversations, dialogue and debate about this issue, at varying degrees of intensity," he said.

Please! Stop it! This is homophobic writing. First, Mr. Kimer is not being ordained, nor is he ordained, even in his own denomination which is openly LGBTQ. Second, he is simply the President of the Council for a term of one year, and does not have any power for celebrating any sacraments. By the way, I did not see anyone asking the MCC how it squared its belief system with homophobic denominations and churches of the NC Council. Interesting, yes?

However, he is the public face of the Council, and this is good, because it shows the ability to hold together a diversity of faith traditions under one umbrella, which is what most Councils do, e.g., the NCCC and WCC.

Congrats, Stan!

And for those who are wary of all this, welcome to what God is doing in this world: still creating and promoting justice, peace, and love.

Pace!

B

Congrats to new parents, Elton and David!

Here's a note of "congrats" and "Mazel Tov" to Elton John and David Furnish, and the surrogate mom, for the birth of a new baby boy.

What makes all of this "stand out" while other LGBTQ couples or singles have babies is the notoriety of Elton John. Like Ricky Martin, he will become a "face" of gay(s) parenting.

Part of the normalization process.

Again, congrats!

Pace!

B

Christmastide...

I love celebrating the period of Christmastide...12 days of happiness, unwrapping the gifts of life, good will to all.

Maybe there will also be a time of unwrapping same sex marriage from ties that bind in an ugly way; the end of discrimination in the workplace; the end of hatred of LGBTQ people in the States...

...well, Christmastide blessings!

Brett

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

...and all through the house, we are exhausted!

Been fighting a lot of battles in the name of gay parents this season, with another essay on being a gay parent, the Boy Scouts, and Chapel Hill/Carrboro YMCA.

Working hard on DIVINITY, which an agent is waiting to push.

Raising money for my religious non-profit School of the Pilgrim, www.schoolofthepilgrim.com (go to "Contribution" side bar).

Getting ready for courses in the spring of 2011 at NC Central University.

Family time.

But thankful for it ALL.

Merry Christmas!

B

The Unraveling Begins: Marriage, Civil Unions, and Beyond

This morning the media--gay and straight alike--were discussing the "evolution" of President Obama's thinking about same sex marriage. He is "thinking about it," "wrestling with it."

But of course! Wrestle on...but act quickly, or the courts will.

Here's what you do:
1. Overturn the DOMA. Work with your folks in the Dept. of Justice to figure out the best way to un-do this little bit of damage...also a big "thanks" to former President Clinton who gave us BOTH DADT and DOMA (he was listening to Dick Morris, his counsel at the time). Obama is having to undo a lot of Clinton's mistakes.

2. Proclaim marriage or civil unions as a "good," and a good that either gay or non-gay couples can use in creating their contract of union. After all, a marriage certificate is simply a piece of paper that acts as a contract between two consenting adults.

3. Make this equality of marriage for all part of your '12 campaign, and fulfill the promise that you will provide ALL people an opportunity to be in a relationship that provides the same federal and state tax advantages, as well as other provisions in case of emergency.

There!

Pace!

B

Adoption and the Boseman Case in NC

On the opposite side of progress marching forward, there is this from the state of NC, in which adoption among LGBTQ couples has been made more of a challenge. From Equality NC:
On Monday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision in Boseman v. Jarrell, a case challenging the validity of second parent adoption in our state. Unfortunately, the Court voted 5-2 to invalidate the adoption, claiming such adoptions are not allowed under state law.

Equality NC Foundation partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal to file an amicus brief in this case in support of second parent adoption. We are deeply saddened by this decision and will continue to work to secure basic protections for childern of same-gender parents

Many LGBT family law experts are analyzing through the decision to understand its full effect. However, we can share this basic information with you now:

New Second Parent Adoptions

The NC Supreme Court has ruled that judges do not have the authority to grant such adoptions. This means that same-sex parents can no longer obtain second parent adoptions in North Carolina.

Existing Second Parent Adoptions

The Court only ruled on one case. If other second parent adoptions were challenged, a court would have to find the adoption was invalid. However, the impact, if any, on existing adoptions that are not challenged is not yet clear. If you have an existing second parent adoption, we encourage you to contact the attorney you worked with for further advice.

Joint Custody

This portion of the decision was actually very positive. For the first time the NC Supreme Court has affirmed the same-sex parent cases that were decided by the Court of Appeals two years ago. Family law attorneys Sharon Thompson and Corye Dunn explain: "There will now no longer be any legal question in North Carolina that if you were jointly raising a child with your partner who is the legal parent, then you will be entitled to pursue a claim for custody if you were to unfortunately break up."

DADT: History

Though DADT was signed into law by one Democratic President (Clinton), it took almost a generation to overturn this law by another Democratic President (Obama). Former President Bush could've done this to, especially with all the LGBTQ people in his administration, but he instead chose to push forward with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

What a difference a vote makes.

The story of this tale?
1. Tell our story;
2. Re-tell our story;
3. Keep telling our story.

It is in relationships with others that this world can change. What happened was people started to tell their story of serving in the military service with other LGBTQ people, and LGBTQ people told their story of serving with non-LGBTQ people. Join Chief of Staff Commander Adm. Mullen and Sec. of Defense Gates were eloquent.

Tell our story.

Pace!

B

Let the great unraveling begin...

This was one of those "straws that broke the camel's back." And having been on a camel lately, that's a lot of straw...

Here's what can now happen: with LGBTQ people accepted in the military service, a defense that will now be used for promoting repeal of other discriminatory laws and actions that "if they can accept gays in the military service, with full benefits, they can do that in the ____" (fill in the blank, like "church" or "university" or " Boy Scouts").

Time for a change...

Pace, B

"On my honor, I will do my best..."

On Tuesday, I sat among a group of Board members of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA (CHCYMCA), where we met with a leader of the Boy Scouts troop and another Scout, both members of a Troop who use CHCYMCA space at our Meadowmont connection. Gentle, kind folks. Nice people. But they were adamant: they could and would not accept a gay youth or gay Scout leader...at least one that was out.

Sitting there was an out-lesbian mom with a son, who is an administrator of the CHCYMCA. Even though the Scouts DO accept mothers/women as leaders, they would not accept her as a leader because she is an out-lesbian.

This is, in part, what will be unraveled once DADT is repealed. The Boy Scouts of America, much like the U.S. military service, lives in a world in which if you don't ask, and you don't tell, then you can be a closeted gay Scout member or leader.

I asked: "Even with all these gay youth committing suicide, you wouldn't accept them?" No, was the reply.

Let the great unraveling begin.

Pace!

B

Students at NC Central University

A humbling moment(s) for me this semester at NCCU where I currently teach is all the students--women and men--who have come out of their "closet," and shared, often in class, that they also happen to be a lesbian or gay. In class!?

The novelty for me is simply this: at Duke Divinity School--where I taught for over a decade--no students came out of the closet IN CLASS itself. There was one student my last year at Duke Divinity School, who finally shared--after some awkward talking "about the issue"--that he was gay. And that was incredibly brave then...and my hunch is now.

Kudos to my students at NCCU!

your humble teacher,

Brett

DIVINITY

I'm re-writing--for the third time--the proposal for DIVINITY. It is like writing the book itself. I am writing it for people who are not acquainted with theological seminaries or the academy or the church/Church...or queer lit, queer theology, or queer "culture," whatever the heck that is.

Watch out, world, here it comes!

Pace!

B

The Great Unraveling: This is the Fear of the Repeal of DADT

History reminds us that the late-President Truman helped bring about the integration of the military services, with African Americans serving next to Caucasian Americans.

This was followed a few decades later by the overturning of the state laws that prohibited "mixed races" from marrying in the 1960s.

This is the genesis of the great fear of Republicans in the U.S. Senate, who happen to be primarily old white and largely white haired men. They know what we know as historically informed people: the overturning of DADT will begin the great unraveling of laws that prohibit LGBTQI people from living full and fuller lives...just like heterosexual people. Marriage will soon follow, as will ordination of LGBTQI people in faith communities.

Behold the eve of the great unraveling of one more place, locale, and situation of fierce bondage.

Pace!

B

Sad, Because It Is Happening All Over the Place

During Presbytery's gatherings, in which bills and overtures are being voted upon, there are those traditionalists who don't want to see the Church split apart, losing members, crying out: isn't there a way we can all be happy and united? And then the traditionalists vote down amendments to our Constitution because we will lose members. This last time, a pastor I thought would be a supporter spoke about voting "abstain," which is a no vote. I still don't understand that tact.

I read this on Bruce Reyes-Chow's posting on Facebook, and simply thought it sad. God bless Charles.

Read below.

Pace, B

Friday, December 3, 2010

Leaving PCUSA

This blog has been silent for a while and I feel that I need to give everyone some kind of explanation for that. I have know for some time that I needed to give some kind of response to my church and the presbytery for what they did to me. I knew that anything I wrote here would be inauthentic because I was not ready to address that issue. Well, yesterday, I finally wrote the letter, and I literally sent it minutes ago. I have no idea how they will react to it.

It was not an easy letter to write, and it was harder to share, but for better or worse, here it is:

Dear Word of Life Church of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Presbytery,

While this communication may not be able to convey to you the incredible sense of betrayal and injustice that has been inflicted upon me, I will nevertheless attempt to help you to understand. I was baptized at First Presbyterian Church of Oxnard shortly after my birth in 1979. This summer, I celebrated my 31^st birthday. For that entire span of time, I have been a member of the Presbyterian Church USA. Never did it cross my mind that I would ever be anything other than Presbyterian for the remainder of my days.

As you know, I am currently in seminary working towards a Masters in Divinity. My intention was to attempt to go through the ordination process in the Santa Barbara Presbytery. I was told almost from the very beginning that this was probably not a wise course of action, but I believed that the denomination I grew up in would have grace enough to see me through the process. Even if the end result was not ordination, as I feared from the beginning it would not be, I had hoped that there would have been some loving, compassionate and Spirit-led discussions along the way.

But, for reasons that I am only beginning to understand, and perhaps never will, this was not meant to be. The support of the congregation I have come to know and love so well was revoked, and the presbytery that I have belonged to all of my life demoted me to second-class citizenship, incapable of ever rising to the office of Presbyterian minister. The reason that all of this happened is because I am gay.

My first inclination was to fight to be allowed to go through the ordination process. This is my church and I believed in what this church professes to stand for. The church that I have thought for so long stood as a wonderful example of a Christian community on Earth suddenly shone a little less bright. I will not demand equality from the PCUSA, when equality is not for the denomination to grant. I came to you, with a vulnerable and open heart and was put to the side, and so I am forced to kick the dust from my feet.

It is God, the maker of heaven and Earth that gives me my identity, purpose and meaning, not the PCUSA. As a child of God and a member of the priesthood of all believers, I cannot ignore God’s call to do kingdom work here on Earth. I refuse to participate in the demonic paradigm that pits neighbor against neighbor, promoting hatred and injustice. Instead, I will strive to be an active participant in the Kingdom of God on Earth, here and now. I will not ask for your permission to do God’s work, because it is not your permission to give. I only pray that someday, you will cease your pharisaic judgments against your neighbors and join me in a new community based on love, respect and equality, led by Christ, fed by the Holy Spirit, and in communion with God the Father.

Please accept this as formal notification of my withdrawal from the PCUSA. If you have any questions or concerns about what I have communicated, please feel free to contact me via email. I hope that someday, we can put our differences aside and come together as a family again. Until that day comes, I will keep you in my prayers and I will never stop loving you.

Sincerely,

Charles Furio Wei

A Toast to Benjamin and Michael!

Thinking of Benjamin and Michael who recently got married in CT...and now civil unions in Illinois!

Benjamin Brett Zumsteg and Michael Drucker Leamer were married Tuesday in the Town Hall of Darien, Conn. Mary Pugh, a Connecticut justice of the peace, officiated.

Until last month, Mr. Zumsteg (left), 26, was an associate brand planner at Space150, a marketing agency in Minneapolis, where he conducted research and developed strategy for advertising campaigns. He graduated from DePaul University in Chicago.

He is the son of Julie Bevan of Provo, Utah, and of Brett A. Zumsteg of Gurnee, Ill., and is the stepson of Debbie Zumsteg.

Mr. Leamer, 28, is a manager in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Company, the New York management consultancy. He advises retail companies and consumer packaged-goods companies on strategy, marketing and sales. He graduated from Occidental College.

He is the son of Marjorie A. Drucker of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Edward E. Leamer of Los Angeles.

Blessings!

Brett