Friday, February 20, 2009

Christians + Gays = Lurve

Seeing as WTFWJD has now been plugged by Dan Savage and is therefore the most popular blog ever, I thought it would only be fair to discuss some positive things going on in Christianity. Here's what came up on my news feed today:

Catholic Denomination says Gay Priests are OK

“We walked away from the papacy in 1870,” Michael Seneco, the Archbishop of the NAOCC, said to the New Haven Advocate. Seneco, who is openly gay, said he and his colleagues belive the stances that the Roman Catholic Church has taken on homosexuality and women as priests don’t gibe with Jesus’ teachings. “Jesus was a radical and the church has forgotten that,” Seneco said.
THAT'S the Jesus I'm talking about. Good job, pseudo-Catholics.


Rebel Australian Priest Defies Sacking
A rebel Catholic priest sacked for blessing gay couples and allowing women to preach has vowed to defy his archbishop and lead mass on Sunday.
Father Peter Kennedy of St Mary's parish in the east coast city of Brisbane said he expected a "packed church" to show support against his dismissal this week by Archbishop John Bathersby.
You know, I make fun of Australians a lot. Mostly because I am a horrible person and I make fun of everyone a lot, but you've really got to hand it to a country that will use the word "Sacking" in a newspaper headline. Pretty dope, Australia. You've also got to hand it to Father Peter Kennedy for having the balls to defy the Catholic Church from the inside. Way to stand up for what's right, Padre. Amen.


US Lutheran task force suggests 'structured flexibility' on gay pastors
The long-awaited position on ordaining gay clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America isn't a clear yes or no.

An ELCA task force admitted yesterday that it could not reach a consensus on the issue that has polarised its members for years.

But with the matter expected to dominate this summer's national convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota its position paper offers this suggested solution: The ELCA will allow the ordination of gay pastors but will leave it up to individual congregations and synods whether to ordain or appoint pastors. The term used to describe this compromise is "structured flexibility".
Kay so Lutherans are thinking about it, which is pretty decent of them. I always liked Lutherans. One time when I was a kid, my choir sang at a Lutheran church service. It was just like a Catholic service, except people seemed happy to be there. This is the conversation that happened when I got home:

Me: "Dad, I'm Lutheran now."
Dad: "No you're not. You're Catholic. Go to your room."

A similar thing happened when my choir sang at an Episcopal church service:

Me: "Dad, I'm Episcopalian now."
Dad: "No you're not. You're Catholic. Go to your room."

Anywayz, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty pleased that certain branches of Christianity are at least open to the discussion about accepting gay people as their brothers. Perhaps this means that America will one day follow. Until then, I leave you with this (1 John 2:9-11):
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Way to walk in the light, guys. That's WTF Jesus would do.

3 comments:

Pastor Andrew said...

Having discovered your blog through Dan Savage, and being a former-Catholic-about-to-be-ordained-Lutheran-pastor, I feel compelled to offer this assessment of your blog: Awesomeness. Thanks for doing this.

Your line "It was just like a Catholic service, except people seemed happy to be there" sums up much of the last twelve years of my life, and I appreciate your writing such choice words to describe my experience.

Also, though the ELCA (the Lutherans in question, as opposed to the other ~24 kinds of Lutherans in the US) is finally trying to recognize that gays are people too, the proposal is imperfect. For a solid snippet on that, see what my friend Emily has to say here: http://lcna.org/lcna_news/2009-02-19.shtm.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Maybe you could do what Cake Wrecks does: post the bad stuff all week, then do a positive post on Sundays. Might be a good weekly break from the negative. :)

Jocelyn said...

Thanks, Reverend Killjoy! I'm glad you know what I'm talking about. Catholics are totally still mourning the death of Christ, which seems kind of contrary to the point, but whatever. Good for you for escaping. I think I'm stuck being Catholic forever.

That is an interesting article. I know the proposal is flawed, but I still think the fact that it exists is pretty exciting. Obviously, the whole process of moving forward is going to be a slow one, but the fact that people are trying is a really good sign.

Also, good idea Neptune! That'll be the plan for next week.

Heehee. I am like Cake Wrecks, only with Jesus instead of baked goods.

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