Grappling with patriarchal language: Father's Day edition

Grappling with patriarchal language: Father's Day edition

Episcopal Café.

Canadian Supreme Court Denies Leave to Appeal

Statement by the Bishop of New Westminster

Thursday, June 16, 2011 the Supreme Court of Canada released its Decision refusing Leave to Appeal from the November, 2010 decision of the BC Court of Appeal. At that time, the Court of Appeal upheld the Trial judgment which found that the four parish properties under dispute are to be held in trust by the Diocese of New Westminster for those who wish to worship in the Anglican Church of Canada. We are thankful that the litigation launched against the Diocese of New Westminster is now at an end.

The money, time, and energy taken up by this long and unnecessary conflict can now be directed back to the real work of the Church.

We are, and continue to be, respectful of genuine differences of conviction among faithful Christians. In a spirit of mutual respect, it is now time to move forward together.

No member of any congregation in this Diocese need leave the buildings in which they worship. However, the clergy who have left the Anglican Church of Canada must now leave their pulpits. I will work with these congregations to find suitable and mutually acceptable leaders, so that the mission of the Church may continue in these places.

I pray that in time these sad divisions may be healed.



The Right Reverend Michael Ingham
Bishop of New Westminster

JUDGMENTS of the Supreme Court of Canada

Click the link for a pdf of this STATEMENT

Also See:

• Canada’s top court denies appeal to dissident Vancouver churches
• Vancouver Sun Top court refuses to hear appeal over four parish properties
• National Post Breakaway Anglicans lose last legal avenue to claim ownership of church buildings, land

Checking in with a friend turned ex-gay

New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis profiles his friend, Michael Glatze, whom he once worked with at XY magazine -- a publication that aimed to send positive messages to gay youths. Glatze, now 36, rejects gay identity and is studying at a bible school in Wyoming. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (6/16)

U.S. Dept. of Ed Vows to Support GSAs; Support Well-Being of LGBTQ Youth

Today, Sec. Arne Duncan of the U.S. Department of Education reaffirmed the government's support of allowing Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) to form under the Equal Access Act. The announcement was made at the Federal LGBT Youth Summit, and is the second broad-based federal announcement promoting the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Yesterday's announcement came from the Centers for Disease Control. The Trevor Project affirms that the availability of a GSA at a school can greatly improve outcomes for LGBTQ youth in crisis, and the CDC data supports this need.

"Today's announcement from Sec. Duncan is a welcome step in supporting the psychological well-being of LGBTQ youth. Even though the formation of Gay-Straight Alliances has been protected under the Federal Equal Access Act since 1984, youth in many communities across the country have been barred by their school districts from forming these supportive safe spaces," said David McFarland, Interim Executive Director and CEO of The Trevor Project. "Today Secretary Duncan has taken a stand to ensure that youth in public schools no longer have to go to court to start a GSA in their school, a step which can help improve outcomes for LGBTQ youth in crisis."

Yesterday, the CDC released analysis of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) that LGB youth are at a greater risk to attempt suicide than their straight peers. Data from The Trevor Project's crisis Lifeline for LGBTQ youth reflects the CDC findings.

McFarland stated, "To youth-serving organizations like The Trevor Project, the CDC results are not surprising. LGBTQ young people face prejudice, fear and hate, each of which harmfully affects the psychological well-being of these youth and increases the likelihood of a suicide attempt. The CDC report highlights the immediate need to address the environments that fuel the disproportionately high risk for suicide, and the Department of Education's support of GSAs across the U.S. is a healthy step in the right direction."

McFarland continued, "For the first time, the challenges faced by lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are no longer invisible to policy and lawmakers on the national, state and local levels. As a broad population study, the CDC report validates the argument for stronger protections for sexual minority youth, and makes clear that suicide prevention must be an imperative of our federally elected officials."

Seattle's Dan Savage, Starbucks Win "Make The Change" Digital Disruption Award

SEATTLE, WA -- The University of Washington's Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM) program has awarded two Seattle-based initiatives with its Anthony Giffard "Make The Change" Award for digital disruption in communication. The awardees are Dan Savage and Terry Miller for their "It Gets Better" campaign on YouTube, and the Starbucks Digital Network in partnership with Yahoo!

The Anthony Giffard "Make The Change" Award is given annually to a local individual or organization that disrupts traditional communication models with innovative digital solutions. The MCDM seeks to identify the seismic shifts occurring in media, and "Make The Change" Award signals where these types of shifts are having the most significant impact on society.

"Digital technology has dramatically leveled the playing field in communications, making it easier for change-making ideas to be recognized and shared with the world," said Hanson Hosein, Director of the University of Washington's Master of Communication in Digital Media program. "With their passion and innovative work this past year, Dan Savage and Terry Miller and Starbucks have shown just how powerful a great idea can be in today's digital society."

The Stranger editorial director and columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller merely wanted to provide a beacon of hope to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens when they created their own video, "It Gets Better." Within weeks, regular citizens, movie stars, musicians, mayors and heads of state were posting their own videos of support and sharing them on the YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject). The campaign has produced more than 20,000 videos and substantive policy change. "It Gets Better" exemplifies the ability of anyone to effect seismic social change at a near instantaneous pace -- through the equalizing access of readily available digital platforms.

"I want to thank everyone for awarding us the Giffard 'Make the Change Award,'" said Dan Savage. "As Tony Giffard used media, words and stories to disrupt apartheid, everyone whose participated in the 'It Gets Better Project' is using social media and their stories to disrupt homophobia and self-hatred."

California Senate passes the FAIR Education Act

Yesterday, with support from thousands of you, the California Senate passed the FAIR Education Act (SB 48, authored by Sen. Mark Leno), 23-14!

Your letters, emails and phone calls helped your senators understand how critical it is that all students are given the opportunity to learn about the contributions of LGBT people in school. They know that when young people learn about the diverse contributions of many different groups, incidents of harassment and bullying drop -- and schools become safer for all students.

We are thankful for Senator Leno’s leadership, the work of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and your support,but this fight isn’t over yet. We need your support today to build support for this bill in the California Assembly and protect the rights of LGBT youth.

Yesterday’s vote has the most radical opponents of LGBT equality re-invigorated and working hard to sway legislators from supporting this bill. Their attacks are not surprising, but we have to respond as a community. Our legislators care about what their constituents want and say. We cannot let our voices be drowned out by their hatred.

Here’s what our legislators are hearing from the other side:

• A local church in Napa County is claiming that SB 48 “intends to play with the minds of all California's students; even as young as Kindergarten! …You are turning teachers into state-sanctioned propagandists by forcing them to teach our youth about sexual lifestyles that parents do not want taught.”
• Randy Thomason and SaveCalifornia.comclaim that the goal of the FAIR Education Act is “sexual brainwashing, behind the backs of parents, teaching boys and girls to admire those who engage in homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual behavior.”
• Ron Prentice and the California Family Council are claiming that “Senator Leno's intention with SB 48 is to increase every public school student's exposure to the homosexual lifestyle, while disallowing any accurate but potentially unfavorable content to be included in the related curriculum.”
• Even national organizations are joining the attack. WorldNetDaily calls the bill a “lesbians-as-role-models plan.”

We have to counter them. Make a contribution today to help us protect LGBT youth. We're getting expert witnesses such as school board members, teachers, students and school psychologists to Sacramento to defend against the bizarre claims of the radical right, who will be out in full force every time this bill is heard.

Passing SB 48 will be difficult, but thanks to your advocacy, the bill has made it this far. We can’t stop now. Give today to help us fend off their attacks and ensure that every kid in California can feel safe and respected at our schools.

Thanks for all you do for equality,

Jim Carroll
Interim Executive Director
Equality California

Is the KJV still relevant?

Is the KJV still relevant?

The effect of the KJV on the way people write – and think – can be seen in works from the speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. to the spare prose of Ernest Hemingway to Milton's "Paradise Lost" to the text of Handel's oratorio "Messiah" to the style Herman Melville employed in "Moby Dick.

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