Integrity Celebrates Marriage Equality in The Episcopal Church

Press Release: Salt Lake City, UT - July 2, 2015

Integrity USA celebrated the passing of two significant pieces of legislation at the General Convention of The Episcopal Church on June 30, 2015. The House of Deputies voted to concur with the House of Bishops to pass Resolution A054 (87% yes, 11% no, 2% divided), a measure to offer gender neutral marriage rites and urge bishops to provide ways for couples to get married when in dioceses or churches with marriage equality restrictions. Later, the House voted to concur to pass Resolution A036 (82% yes, 13% no, 5% divided), a measure to alter the church canon.

Both these measures passed within days of the Supreme Court decision to recognize marriage equality throughout the USA.

Integrity President Matt Haines said, "I am overjoyed that our relationships and marriages as same-sex couples are finally recognized by both church and state.  The Episcopal Church spoke to this justice overwhelmingly, beyond our expectations, affirming the equality of our love.  Integrity has joined with allies for 40 years, proclaiming the blessing and holiness of our lives, which we offer to the church. We celebrate God's grace!"

Haines, recognizing that there are still faithful Episcopalians who live and engage in ministry in dioceses where their bishops will not permit full marriage equality, said that the Board of Directors will continue to work on making the rites available to everyone. Rev. Jon M. Richardson, Integrity Vice-President of National Affairs, pointed out, "While we are overjoyed at the strides we've made toward having all of our marriages recognized and blessed in the Episcopal Church, we are also acutely aware of the reality that this does not mean that the work of striving for equality is now finished in the Episcopal Church or in our society at large. LGBTQ people remain particularly vulnerable to discrimination in employment and in housing in many places in the country. LGBTQ teens remain significantly more likely than their heterosexual peers to be homeless, to commit suicide, or to endure the humiliations associated with bullying. Transgender people continue to face threats to their very survival each time they go out in public. The church continues to have a responsibility to speak to these injustices and to be agents of change, not just within our own halls, but in the hearts and minds of all people whom we encounter. We have taken great strides, but there remain many miles to go."

"In this spirit," Haines added, "we must continue to seek out those on the margins and join them as they too seek the love and support of the Episcopal Church.  We are obligated to work hard until all in this church and the world it serves are open to the grace and beauty of God's creation of humanity.  We are all one body in Christ Jesus, we must never forget our interdependence."

Paving the Road to General Convention 2015

As we approach the triennial General Convention in Salt Lake City in a couple weeks, we're reflecting on 40 years of LGBTQ events in The Episcopal Church during past conventions. Some photos are shown below. You can see these and more as they get added daily at http://bit.ly/int40memesbeforegc78.

You also can join our journey at General Convention by watching some of the following Internet resources:

• Web at http://www.integrityusa.org/general-convention-resources
• Facebook group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/integrityusa
• Twitter at @integrityusa as well as searching for #int40

Consider becoming a member or renewing your membership. We also would be grateful for your generosity to help pay for equipment, rentals, and other convention center expenses in Salt Lake City. Donate at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/integrityusa

We have made space for God's grace

One parish priest’s response to those who say "more study" is needed before the adoption of sacramental marriage equality in the Episcopal Church:

I’m convinced we do not need more time to study before we amend the canons on marriage. In fact, from my pastoral chair as a busy New England rector, the time has long since come to bring all fully into the sacraments of the church. Those of us leading parishes see families every day praying to make their lives in Christ personally relevant to the context of the speeding, swirling world in which they live. None are asking for another Task Force to study anything.

They look to us and the sacraments, precisely for the selflessness and endurance of God’s love, unambiguously alive with generosity and coherence right at the heart of their lives. Today. This is particularly true of the many young people and young families I am so heartened to see in the church. The change in the canons is an overdue pastoral need for them and the global church as well. And it is emblematic of so much more than the marriage question. It is about our capacity to be truly alive in Christ. And the change is also much needed by those of us ordained to share our small, equitably offered part in a sacramental life we are not guardians of, but ministers to as we share in the renewal of the world.

A gracious conversation on this has been held and continues. We have made great space for God’s grace. Decades of good space. I don’t see any accusations of “uncritical” readers of the scripture or shouts about homophobic postures. (Perhaps I’ve missed a blog or two.) In fact, the conversations in the church I hear are increasingly sweet. Paying attention, we see that this is mirrored in the civic dialog in the recent and amazing Irish experience, a catholic nation coming together with joy and dignity. And forgiveness. And now in 37 states day by day married gay folks and their children are taking their places of dignity in communities and schools and scout troops. The Court may very well make this goodness the law in all fifty states, possibly acting during our Convention. This is the context in which we seek the Way and build the church. Today.

Another Task Force is not needed because we’ve already had a very fine one, working with great care within a budget and calendar given them. It was graced by wise lay leaders and those ordained as well. Their work is a gift to us and most importantly to those we serve in our parishes. In fact, I think it would be great to applaud the hard work of our thoughtful working teams.

All change has cost. And each of us will have friends who are saddened by whatever action Convention takes. There is no need to worry that sadness will be irreparable. With grace all healing is possible. No growth need be forgone. The status quo, a deadly creature the church knows so well, also has enormous costs. Not the least of these is the continued and sometimes deadly harm the church does to those it shuts out or puts on the lower shelf. They have been paying costs for generations. All those on the upper shelf are also paying a cost in the denying of the sacrament to the other, the lesser. All marriage is tarnished by permitting only some to enjoy it.

The time has come to say yes, to truly witness to Christ’s embrace.

Timothy Boggs is the rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

2015 Louie Crew Clay Grants Announced

The Oasis, the LGBT outreach ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, is pleased to announce its 2015 Louie Crew Clay Grants.

Three grants will fund Oasis/Integrity Legislative Aides to General Convention 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah. These grants will be used to cover the cost of airfare, hotel room, meals and other expenses associated with attending General Convention. The recipients of these grants are:

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Chris Harding is the 25 year old Youth Minister at All Saints Episcopal Church, Glen Rock, NJ. He grew up in Florida and graduated from Nyack College in Nyack, NY with a degree in History and Religion. He spent a year in San Francisco with the Episcopal Service Corps, living in intentional community and working with Episcopal Senior Communities. Chris lives in New York City with his partner, Andrew.

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Meghan Johnson is 24 years old and from Minneapolis. She teaches high school French and is youth leader at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN. She has attended the Episcopal Youth Event as an adult leader and attended General Convention 2012 as a part of the Young Adult Initiative through the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. A member of a Gay-Straight Alliance in High School and PRIDE at St. Catherine’s University, she self-identifies as “a straight ally for as long as I knew what that meant.”

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Kacei Conyers is a 23 year-old postulant in the Diocese of Northern California. Kacei attended Berkeley, worked in Episcopal Camps for over 6 years as a counselor, and recently received a grant from The National LGBTQ Task force to attend Creating Change Conference where Kacei learned different organizing strategies and different avenues for LGBTQ justice. Kacei presently works at Yale as a Graduate Professional Programs Coordinator for programs like W(Holy) Queer, an interfaith LGBTQ group, and Beyond the Binary, a closed group for trans, genderqueer and gender questioning people.

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Chris, Meghan and Kacei will work as part of the Integrity Legislative Committee where they will learn the legislative process through which we believe the Holy Spirit moves to renew The Episcopal Church in the continued revelation of God’s word. Their responsibilities will be to follow pertinent resolutions in committee, to attend committee meetings and hearings, and to participate in late night debriefing sessions with the Integrity legislative team. They will also attend General Convention House of Deputy sessions and House of Bishop sessions, assist with the Integrity Eucharist, and as time allows help at the Integrity Booth.

The Oasis is pleased to be able to honor the rich legacy of Integrity founder Louie Crew Clay by helping to raise up another generation of LGBTQ and straight ally leaders who will gain experience in and understanding of the legislative process in The Episcopal Church.

A 2015 Louie Crew Clay Grant has also funded the Rev. Liz Erdman in the production of five short films entitled “Queer Virtue,” which explores themes from the book authored by Rev. Erdman concerning what LGBTQ people know about life and love and how that can revitalize Christianity.

And a 2015 Grant helped to fund one of the Newark ACTS interns as an interim case worker for the LGBT RAIN Foundation Shelter in East Orange, NJ, which provides emergency shelter and related services to LGBTQ young adults experiencing crisis that lead to acute and chronic homelessness.

The Case for Marriage - a Study Guide for General Convention 2015

Claiming the Blessing (CTB) was convened in 2002 as "an intentional collaborative of organizations and individuals within the Episcopal Church advocating for full inclusion of all the baptized in all sacraments of the church."

In 2002 a CTB Theology Statement was distributed to all bishops and deputies prior to General Convention in 2003 making the case for the blessing of same-sex relationships. That resource remains available online here

As we head toward #GC78 CTB has created "Claiming the Blessing 2015: The Case for Marriage" - which is available online here and will be available in print onsite at General Convention in Salt Lake City.

The content includes:
* Introduction to the Marriage Task Force Blue Book Report
* Q&A re: the Marriage Task Force Report
* Summary of SCLM liturgical proposals
* Legislative history timeline
* Michael Hopkins' essay "Recognized Holiness" making the case for marriage.

I just have to add what a deep delight it was to receive the outpouring of response to our request for photos from weddings of same-sex couples around the church. The avalanche of joyful pictures representing just the tip of the iceberg of the couples in this church in in this country longing to make that profound commitment to love, honor and cherish the love of their life as long as they both shall live was a reminder to me of the tremendous impact our work together in Salt Lake City will have on the lives of those we will never know.

Will we be a church that continues to travel forward on that arc of history that bends toward inclusion? Or will we reduce these precious lives, loves and relationships to "an issue" we continue to study and argue about?

With tremendous gratitude for all who have brought us thus far on the way -- and with thanks for the privilege of continuing the work -- it is time to let our "yes be yes." (Matthew 5:37) It is time to Reimagine the Episcopal Church with Marriage Equality.

The Rev. Canon Susan Russell has served as Integrity's President and is currently the convener of Claiming the Blessing, a national collaborative ministry focused on the full inclusion of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender baptized into the Episcopal Church. A senior associate at All Saints Church in Pasadena CA, she is also a founding member of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion Council and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post's religion forum. Her personal blog may be found at An Inch at a Time.

Reimagine the Episcopal Church, with Marriage Equality

In 1976 the Episcopal Church adopted a resolution promising "full and equal claim" to the LGBT faithful. Nearly 40 years later, we are still working to make that resolution a reality.  This summer at our 78th General Convention we will consider resolutions calling for an end to discrimination against the marriage of same-sex couples in the Episcopal Church. In that process, the Episcopal Church has the chance to proclaim the Good News of God's inclusive love and embody a theology of marriage that transcends the gender of the couple promising to love, honor and cherish each other until death do they part.

We have the opportunity to lift up "fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God" as the values that make a marriage holy. We have the chance to talk about marriage as vocation of holy love, grounded in biblical values of faithfulness and forgiveness. And we have the opportunity to say we are a community of faith focused on supporting all who are called into the vocation of marriage - not discriminating against some who are called into the vocation of marriage.

We believe that the time is now to Reimagine the Episcopal Church -- with Marriage Equality. Join us!

Visit the Facebook page that will contain the latest news and resources supporting the full inclusion of all the baptized in all the sacraments: https://www.facebook.com/MarriageEquality4TEC


Rev. Susan Russell
Senior Associate, Communications, All Saints Pasadena
Past President Integrity USA