Scotland will be first country in UK to legalize gay marriage

Scotland announced on July 25 it will allow same-sex weddings as early as 2015, becoming the first country in the United Kingdom to do so.

“We are committed to a Scotland that is fair and equal, and that is why we intend to proceed with plans to allow same sex marriage and religious ceremonies for civil partnerships,” said Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who made the announcement.

The Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church were against the move, but gay-friendly Christian groups said they were “relieved” by the announcement.

The Rev. Fiona Bennett, minister of Augustine United Reform Church (Protestant) in Edinburgh, told ENInews: “We’re delighted. It’s been some time coming.” She described her church as an inclusive one, friendly to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual community in Scotland .

Sturgeon promised religious organizations that oppose homosexual weddings the Scottish Government will bring forward no legislation impinging on an individual’s freedom of speech or freedom to practice or preach religion.

“The Scottish Government,” she said, “will take all necessary steps to protect churches and individuals within those churches who do not wish to conduct same sex weddings if they do not agree with them.”

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church said: “The Scottish Government is embarking on a dangerous social experiment on a massive scale.”

The Rev. Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform (a conservative evangelical network within the Church of England), said in a texted statement: “God designed marriage to be the union of one man and one woman, reflecting the union of Christ as bridegroom and the Church his bride. God is not a person with whom even U.K. prime ministers can negotiate a more congenial set of commands.”

The announcement came as U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron hosted a meeting of prominent gay leaders at his London home, 10 Downing Street.

“I am absolutely determined that this coalition government will follow in that tradition by legalizing gay marriage in this Parliament,” he said.

“The prime minister’s sneering remarks show his own intolerance of religious people who disagree with him on gay marriage,” said Mike Judge of the Christian Institute. “It is incredibly arrogant of him to tell churches what religious beliefs they should and shouldn’t hold. No wonder huge swathes of churchgoers are suspicious of his motives.”

Did early Christianity betray Jesus?

Rowan Williams writes:

Religions that claim universally relevant and abidingly truthful revelations have a clear interest in showing that their history is one of continuity. If you believe that your vision of God and reality in general is in some sense a gift from outside the human psyche, it won't do to allow unlimited adjustments to that vision.

But all human language does adjust to historical change, even when trying to stay the same; as Cardinal Newman observed, to say the same thing as your ancestors said, you may well need to say something apparently very different. So how do you resolve the question of what is genuinely an "unfolding" of the original vision and what is an arbitrary elaboration that distorts that vision?

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Police protection prevents local official from shutting down Kampala religious conference on human sexuality, theological diversity and religious freedom

by Rev. Stephen Parelli

Executive Director, Other Sheep, www.othersheep.org

July 20, 2012

Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

On Wednesday July 18, Bisexual Movement of Uganda conducted a one-day seminar at a public establishment in Muyenga, Kampala, on "Religious Freedom in the Context of Theological Diversity and Human Sexuality."Brian Ochieng, director of Bisexual Movement Uganda, reported that 190 people, including 36 university students, 80 plus high school students, local community people, and clergy, attended. 

Morning Session on 'Liberty of Conscience'

In the morning session, Rev. Stephen Parelli, Executive Director of Other Sheep, spoke on 'Liberty of Conscience,' a human rights' principle that teaches that in matters of faith and practice each individual's conscience is free to answer to God alone without the interference or molestation of the government.  Parelli said the anti-gay-marriage laws in America, and the Uganda anti-gay bill are, in effect, a denial of the free-exercise of the individual's 'liberty of conscience' in matters of what God has or has not said about homosexuality.

Parelli, referencing the Iowa Supreme Court April 3, 2009, decision for gay marriage, cited the court's statement that religion was the driving force behind the laws against gay marriage throughout America, and that, therefore, state governments, by legislating religious teachings, are acting unconstitutionally. Parelli said the Iowa Supreme Court upheld 'Liberty of Conscience.' 

Throughout the morning session, Parelli gave out complimentary copies of the book The Children Are Freeto attendees who answered correctly questions Parelli put forth on 'Liberty of Conscience.'  Parelli wove his personal story throughout the presentation, illustrating his theme, keeping the interest and connecting with his audience.  Four individuals from the audience volunteered to come to the platform and represent four different historical characters from the Reformation and British-American Colonial periods as Parelli related the historical development of 'Liberty of Conscience.'

Afternoon Session on Theological Diversity and Human Sexuality 

In the afternoon session, Parelli and Mr. Jose Ortiz, Other Sheep Coordinator for Africa, enacted a conversational dialogue on what the Bible does and does not say about homosexuality.  Brian Ochieng, who had attended the 2008 Other Sheep Kampala seminar, translated the Parelli-Ortiz enactment into Luganda with spirit, conviction and animation, himself familiar with the material being presented.  One hundred copies of the paper "Talking Points" on the Bible and homosexuality were made available to the attendees.

NGO/ Religious Leaders Comment 

Following the seminar, Eddy Kalayango, Executive Director of Rainbow and Diversity Organization Uganda (RADO) texted Rev. Parelli saying "thanks for your teachings and sharing this knowledge with us; I hope one day society will accept the LGBTI community in Uganda and respect its liberty of conscience" (used with permission).

Rev. Michael Kimindu, President of Other Sheep Africa, sent greetings to the attendees from Nairobi, Kenya, which Parelli relayed to the audience. 

Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo of Kampala expressed his support of the meeting in emails to Rev. Parelli.

Police Prevent Local Official from Stopping the Conference 

Following the morning session on 'Liberty of Conscience' the seminar was put on hold when a local official entered the grounds demanding that the police, already present by arrangement of the hosting NGO, immediately shut down the conference.  The local official maintained that homosexuality was being promoted illegally.  An attendee of the morning session had left the grounds to report his disapproval of the seminar to the local official.  Police protection had been arranged prior to the conference by the NGO organizers of the day-long seminar. 

Parelli, after finishing the morning session, was escorted by a police officer to an area on the grounds, a distant from the conference hall, where he was asked to remain while. at the same location, other police, the objecting local official, the offended attendee who reported to the objecting local official, and Brian Ochieng, discussed the matter.  Mr. Jose Ortiz accompanied Parelli.  Lively but controlled and subdued dialogued ensued between Brian, the police and the objecting local official.  Brian maintained that the conference was on the Bible and religious freedom, and not the promotion of homosexuality as a lifestyle.  Upon the arrival of another NGO leader who had assisted Bisexual Movement Uganda in obtaining the police protection, the matter was resolved and the conference continued without being aborted.  Police protection continued.  

Objecting Local Official, Addressing Attendees in the Conference Hall, Apologizes for Interruption

While attendees waited, seated in the conference hall, for the final preparations for lunch to be completed, the objecting local official asked to speak to the gathering. He spoke in Luganda.  According to one NGO leader who spoke with Mr. Ortiz, the objecting local official apologized for the interruption he caused and announced that the seminar would continue.  The room erupted into applause, Mr. Otiz reported.

In keeping with certain accepted practices as the norm, because the objecting local official was working on behalf of his community without compensation, after the police refused to cooperate with him, he requested Other Sheep to cover his cost of transportation for reporting his objections to the police.  Other Sheep, following the recommendation of NGO leaders, covered the traveling costs of the objecting local official.

190 Assisted with Meals and Transportation 

A light breakfast, substantial lunch and transport money was provided the 190 attendees. 

Other Sheep, a Worldwide Organization 

Other Sheep, situated in the USA, is a non-profit, faith-based organization with Coordinators in Asia, Africa, Europe and North and South America.  Rev. Parelli works full time as a volunteer with Other Sheep.  Since 2005, Parelli and Ortiz, legally married in 2008 in the state of California, have spoken in 17 countries worldwide.  Other Sheep works worldwide for the full inclusion of LGBT people of faith within their respective faith traditions.

NGO leader Brian Ochieng on the Conference and the Uganda anti-gay Bill 

Brian Ochieng, commenting the day before the July 18 Kampala seminar was held said he is hoping people will see the Uganda anti-gay bill issue from a new perspective.

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Links to Parelli's papers: 100 copies of each of the following two papers were made available, free of charge, at the Kampala July 18 Conference:

On Liberty of Conscience with Application to Uganda

Talking Points - What the Bible does and does not say about homosexuality 

______________________

Note:  Other Sheep was in East Africa from July 3-19, 2012.  Two separate NGOs in Uganda each sponsored one Other Sheep seminar; one NGO in Rwanda sponsored one Other Sheep seminar.

The American Fertility Association Announces 'Family Building Options for Men with HIV'

Education outreach program to launch at International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC

NEW YORK, NY -- The American Fertility Association (The AFA) announced today the initiation of a program designed to reach men living with HIV who want to create a family. The good news is that these men, with proper treatment, can safely have biological children of their own.

The educational outreach program, funded by a generous grant from Growing Generations and International Fertility Law Group, will launch at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, running from Sunday the 22nd of July through Wednesday the 25th of July. The AFA will be staffing a booth that will feature a video with two reproductive endocrinologists and an HIV specialist further explaining the procedures. Information will also be available to all who visit the booth.

"Advances in both the treatment of HIV and in Assisted Reproductive Technology means that men living with HIV can father their own children with virtually no risk of HIV transmission to the female partner, surrogate, or embryo," said Ken Mosesian, Executive Director of The AFA.

Stuart Bell, Owner and CEO of Growing Generations, stated, "With over 5,000 known pregnancies worldwide, using assisted reproduction and the sperm from men living with HIV, there has never been a single incident of HIV transmission reported."

The AFA will be sending information to HIV specialists throughout the country, so they can make their patients aware of the family building options open to them. The AFA will also be exhibiting at the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) conference later this year, and additional conferences in 2013. For more detailed information, visit http://www.theafa.org/hiv.

The American Fertility Association (The AFA) is an inclusive organization committed to helping people create their families of choice by providing leading-edge outreach programs and timely educational information. The scope of our work encompasses reproductive and sexual health, infertility prevention and treatment, and family-building options including adoption and third party solutions. The AFA is a national, not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in New York City. http://www.theafa.org

Growing Generations is the largest surrogacy and egg donor agency in the United States and is committed to assisting all family types regardless of sexual orientation, marital status, or HIV status. In 2006, the company launched a program to provide services to people with HIV, allowing them for the first time to become biological parents through surrogacy. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, and the Ohio Valley, Growing Generations serves clients from over 30 countries around the world and has welcomed more than 1,000 babies.

International Fertility Law Group, Inc. ("IFLG") was founded by Will Halm and Richard Vaughn, attorneys who have specialized exclusively in assisted reproduction and family formation law for over a decade. Will and Rich and their partners became parents themselves by means of egg donation and surrogacy and know first-hand the joy that assisted reproduction can bring to a family. It was from a desire to help create other families -- all over the world -- that they founded IFLG, specializing in providing expert legal services throughout the United States in the areas of surrogacy, egg donation, embryo donation, sperm donation, parental establishment, non-traditional family formation, co-parenting and second-parent adoption.

WALES: Review team offers radical vision for church

[Anglican Communion News Service] A radical new vision for the future of the Church in Wales is set out in a report launched July 20.

Supersize parishes run by teams of vicars and lay people, creative ideas for ensuring churches stay at the heart of their communities and investing further in ministry to young people are among the report’s recommendations following an independent root and branch review.

The Church in Wales commissioned the review a year ago to address some of its challenges and to ensure it was fit for purpose as it faced its centenary in 2020. Three experienced people in ministry and church management examined its structures and ministry and heard evidence from public meetings across Wales attended by more than 1,000 people.

On the review group were: Lord (Richard) Harries of Pentregarth, former Bishop of Oxford, who chaired it; Charles Handy, former professor of the London Business School; and Patricia Peattie, first chairwoman of the Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust and former chair of the Episcopal Church in Scotland’s Standing Committee.

Their report will now be presented to the Church’s governing body for consideration.

It makes 50 recommendations which include:

• Parishes replaced by much larger ‘ministry areas’ which would mirror the catchment areas of secondary schools, where possible, and be served by a team of clergy and lay people;
• Creative use of church buildings to enable them to be used by the whole community;
• Training lay people to play a greater part in church leadership;
• Investing more in ministry for young people;
• Developing new forms of worship to reach out to those unfamiliar with church services;
• Encouraging financial giving to the church through tithing.

Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan welcomed the report. He said, “We are enormously indebted to the Review Group because it has absorbed a great deal of information about us as a church in a short period of time and has made some very perceptive and insightful comments and recommendations. I am also grateful to members of the Church in Wales who in large numbers have enthusiastically engaged with the process. We, as a church, will have to give serious consideration to this report and its recommendations from parish up to province and decide where we go from here.”

Harries said, “The Review Team found the Church in Wales to be very warm and welcoming and there are many good things happening. But in order to serve the people of Wales effectively, particularly its young people, we believe some radical re-thinking is necessary.”

The full report is online here.

The review group held public meetings in all of the six Welsh dioceses — at Cardiff, Abergavenny, Carmarthen, Bangor, St. Asaph and Brecon — between November 2011 and January this year. People were also invited to send in written submissions. Separate meetings were held with senior clergy from each diocese, bishops’ advisers, ordinands and staff from Wales’ theological college, St Michael’s College, Cardiff, and senior staff from the representative body. In March they met a delegation of young people from across the church to hear their views.

At the open meetings people were asked what aspect of both their diocese and the church they felt most positive about and what changes they would like to see to make its ministry more effective. They were also asked how they would address challenges such as the predicted fall in clergy numbers and financial resources.

Episcopal Church, Lutheran Presiding Bishops issue joint statement on 2012 International AIDS Conference

[July 20, 2012] Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori joined Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in presenting the following joint statement on the 2012 International AIDS Conference meeting in Washington DC July 22-27.

We join together as Presiding Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Episcopal Church to welcome the 20,000 people traveling from 200 countries to the United States for the 2012 International AIDS Conference.

The body of Christ is global.  It is impoverished and wealthy; it is diverse in gender and in sexual orientation; it is African, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, and Indigenous; it is old and young; it has large families and orphaned youth.  And it is HIV-positive.

We commend the Obama Administration for lifting the travel constraints that for more than two decades prevented HIV-positive persons, including Lutherans and Anglicans, and all others living with HIV or AIDS, from traveling to the United States.  Faith-based advocates played a key role facilitating this change, which enabled this year’s “AIDS 2012” conference to be housed in our nation’s capital—a city itself deeply affected by the virus.

AIDS 2012 can be a defining moment for the history of engagement with HIV and AIDS. Promising new scientific advances and global investments now make it possible to turn the tide on HIV and AIDS, with new hope for a cure and the end of AIDS within our reach.

Yet the pandemic is far from over.  Thirty-four million people around the world are living with HIV or AIDS and infection rates are growing in many parts of the world.  Each year, 50,000 new cases of HIV infection are reported in the United States alone.  HIV infection is part and parcel of the harmful cycles of poverty, which include homelessness, malnutrition, sexual violence, and incarceration.  Vulnerable populations, including low-income communities, ethnic minorities, adolescents and youth, girls and women, sex workers, injected drug users, and men who have sex with men continue to face higher rates of infection and often have less access to affordable, life-sustaining treatments.  This makes them even more susceptible to the debilitating effects of poverty. 

We urge the United States to continue its leading effort to turn the tide on this pandemic.  Our government must redouble efforts and strengthen funding for strong, comprehensive HIV and AIDS programs.  These programs include the global President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and domestic programs that provide affordable access to antiretroviral treatments, palliative care, health services (including for victims of sexual violence), nutritious foods, HIV testing and counseling, and harm-reduction programs for drug users.

God also calls us, as members of the global body of Christ, to serve those who are suffering with HIV and AIDS with respect, support, and compassion.

Our churches must work to shatter the silence, stigma, and discrimination that perpetuate the invisibility of HIV-positive Lutherans and Episcopalians in our denominations, and continue to push them into the shadows of their own congregations.

We will join in unflagging work toward effective prevention, treatment, and care for all living with HIV or AIDS, tailored to the unique needs, culture, ethnicity, and identity of any given group. 

We praise God for this global opportunity to turn the tide on AIDS—in our pews and our communities, in our denominations and in our state governments, in our Lutheran and Anglican global church bodies and with our interfaith partners—that the body of Christ may, within our lifetimes, be HIV-free.

In God’s Healing Presence,

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
The Episcopal Church

Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

"Let me tell you why we go to Church.

It’s not the sermon. Sermons are usually not about anything we can relate to.

It’s not the music. The music is horrible.

It is the sacrament of Baptism and the Eucharist."

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Why ARE youth in church?