Episcopalians Cheer SCOTUS Actions on DOMA, Prop 8

From coast to coast, Integrity members and other Episcopalians took part in celebrating the actions of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, which struck down the section of the Defense of Marriage Act denying Federal benefits to married same-gender couples and let stand a lower court ruling that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, paving the way for marriage equality to return to the nation's most populous state.

In Washington D.C. the bells of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter & Saint Paul (popularly called the National Cathedral) pealed for a full hour from noon to celebrate the ruling.  The Very Rev. Gary Hall, Dean of the Cathedral, told the Huffington Post, "We are ringing our bells at the Cathedral to celebrate the extension of federal marriage equality to all the same-sex couples modeling God’s love in lifelong covenants. Our prayers for continued happiness are with them and with all couples who will be joined in matrimony in the years to come, whether at Washington National Cathedral or elsewhere."  A special worship service was held at the Cathedral that evening.

In New York, a crowd had gathered at the iconic Stonewall Inn in the morning, and the celebration continued all day, spilling out into the street.  By nightfall, Christopher Street was closed to traffic as hundreds of people paid respect to the place where the gay-rights movement is widely regarded to have begun with several days of riots in June 1969.  Diocesan Organizer Paul Lane and NYC-Metro Chapter Convener Mary O'Shaughnessy were there.

The crowd outside the Stonewall Inn following SCOTUS ruling

"Christopher Street was again full of LGBT people with signs, placards and flags. This time however, the NYPD was there to keep order and prevent any harm, and the LGBT community, their friends and families, were there to celebrate. How things have changed!" Among the politicians and others who gathered, Lane said " the undisputed star of the evening had to be Ms. Edie Windsor, along with her attorney, Ms Roberta Kaplan, whose courage and determination to fight an injustice through the courts led to the Defense of Marriage Act (sic) being ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States."

The crowd (many Episcopalians among them) cheered, some weeping, as the 84-year-old Ms Windsor told her story. Bi-national couples, who the day before had to fear the deportation of one, could now look forward to the day that they could apply for a US Green Card for the non-American spouse, just like any other married couple. "Everyone was there: gay, straight, bi, lesbian, trans, drag-queens, even Rollerena, although without the roller-skates," Lane recalled. The party went on long into the night.  

Footage from the street in New York featuring footage of Chapter Convener
Mary O'Shaughnessy, courtesy of allout.com

"I can't wait to celebrate this historic moment at NYC Pride on Sunday. I am still stunned, and grateful to all the activists who made this day possible. I know that the 40-year history of Integrity's Christian witness is part of what made yesterday possible, and I am grateful to Louie Crew, Susan Russell, Louise Brooks, Elizabeth Kaeton, and all those whose names I don't know," said Marie Alford-Harkey, Integrity's Province I Coordinator, whose "day job" is at the Religious Institute for Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing.

"I wrote and we at the Religious Institute held a Twitter worship service (which you can see by searching  #SCOTUSworship). My own reaction was one of great joy - I immediately texted and emailed April when the DOMA ruling came down. It's tempered of course, by the gutting of the voting rights act the day before. My African American lesbian wife says it's hard to know how to feel at this point, and I agree."

 In Atlanta, LGBT organizers were invited in advance to be present at a popular intersection in the city's "gayborhood" to be together whatever the outcome.  When Province IV Coordinator Bruce Garner arrived, hundreds were already gathered.  "People honked their horns as they arrived at the intersection – except for one woman in a Lexus who would not even dare look toward the sidewalk! We noticed another parishioner driving past and waved…..he was headed home and his year old son was in the car too. He and baby soon joined us. Then his partner, the baby’s other Dad drove by and saw them, so we yelled for him to join us. So we ended up with a little All Saints’ contingent with baby Harrison in the middle stealing the show with his HRC flag." There, too, the celebration kept bars and restaurants busy late into the night.

Garner knows Integrity's work goes on. The ruling has no impact in states that do not recognize same-gender marriages, which includes all of the Southeast, where Province IV is located.  "God is good….ALL the time. In Georgia, some of God’s children don’t quite yet understand that God’s goodness applies to ALL of God’s children. With the help of our bishop, we continue to try and educate them."

Integrity members in Oregon gather for a rally.

In Portland, Oregon, Integrity members and supporters including Vice President for Local Affairs Matt Haines, gathered at St Stephen's downtown for a brief prayer and then processed through the streets to join hundreds of fellow Oregonians across the from Portland's City Hall for a rally to celebrate the Supreme Court victories and to look forward to winning the freedom to marry in 2014. The mayor of Portland and the state's former governor were among the speakers. Along the way the Integrity team, which included a number of local clergy, was greeted with honks, waves and shouts of support.  A photo gallery was placed on the chapter's Facebook page.

Northern California clergy gather
on the State House steps in Sacramento.

Clergy and others including the Very Rev. Dr. Brian Baker (in cowboy hat at left), Dean of Trinity Cathedral, and Diocesan Organizer Shireen Miles also gathered at the State House in Sacramento, where the Supreme Court's decision not to overturn a lower court ruling means that Proposition 8, which suspended same-gender marriages in California, will soon be repealed.

Integrity's founder, Dr. Louie Crew said, "We marry ourselves. God is always present when any two persons say, even with no others present, 'I thee wed.' No court or church can change our marriages. A court or a church may only recognize or refuse to recognize them."

Dr. Crew called the court's bold action on Wednesday a union between justice and liberty. "Their swoon brings with it more than 1,000 benefits too long denied to LGBTQ persons. 'Sweet Land of Liberty' indeed. 'God bless America.'"

These are just some of many celebrations that took place across the country.  In many places, much work remains before safety and equal treatment are a reality in both religious and civil life. For today, please celebrate this incremental step with us, and give thanks to God.

Integrity Welcomes Supreme Court Rulings; Our Work is Not Done

Integrity USA welcomes today’s decision by the Supreme Court to strike down section three of the Defense of Marriage Act.  This means that lesbian or gay couples must be treated fairly by the federal government and so, for the first time, married same-gender couples will receive the same 1,138 benefits, rights and protections provided to heterosexuals on the basis of marital status. This removes the inequality that had been enshrined in federal law and will provide greater protection for married same-gender couples and their families. At the same time it increases the inequality between those gay couples who live in the thirteen states that have marriage equality, and those who do not.

"I am delighted to learn that the Supreme Court has determined this law to be unconstitutional,” said the Rev. Jon Richardson, Integrity’s VP for National Affairs.  “While I am confident that this is good news for LGBT people across the country, I look forward to learning the many ways that this development will be implemented in the months and years to come.  While there is great cause for celebration, we know that the work for full equality must continue."

Regarding California’s Proposition 8, Integrity USA is saddened that the Supreme Court has declined to rule because it determined that the proposition’s proponents did not have standing in the Court. This is good news for all Californians because it means that once again marriage licenses will be issued to same-gender couples, and once again wedding bells will ring in the state. California rejoins the other twelve states which currently enjoy marriage equality. However it leaves the basic question of whether states can constitutionally maintain bans on gay marriage untouched and unanswered.

Since 1976 the Episcopal Church has been committed to working for civil rights for gay and lesbian people. Its work, together with the work of other churches, allied organizations and thousands of dedicated individuals has resulted in this enormous leap forward for equality in our country. “I am so grateful for all the people who have worked, and will continue to work for true equality in this country,” said Rev. Caroline Hall, President of Integrity USA, “this is a day Californians have dreamed of for so long, and one which can bring hope to all LGBTQ Americans that gradually equality is coming.”

Rev. Richardson said  "While I rejoice that marriage equality is returning to California, I remain disappointed that the Supreme Court has failed to act as broadly as they could have in spreading marriage equality across the country.  We continue to pray for an end to discrimination in all its forms, both in our laws, and in the hearts of all people.  The Episcopal Church has been a growing beacon of hope for LGBT Christians for 37 years - leading the way for our wider society.  We believe that above all else, the Christian call is for all people to act with love.  Today we are closer to realizing that dream, and we will not stop working until it is a reality for all people."

Decision Day

by The Rev. Canon Susan Russell

As predicted, the Supreme Court waited until the “eleventh hour” to announce the long awaited rulings on the two marriage equality cases: Perry v Swarzenegger (Prop 8) and Windsor v United States (DOMA). I write this on the eve of those decisions – surrounded by much nail biting, handwringing and tea-leaf reading. I’ve been asked over and over again what I expect and – being both an optimist and a pragmatist – I expect both movement forward and more work to do.

Because of course I don’t know exactly what the Supreme Court will do. Nobody does. One of my smart lawyer friends compared predicting what and when the Supremes would do what and when with playing “Whack-a-Mole,” saying “It’s entertaining for a little while but eventually frustrating and never productive.”

Whatever the Court decides, I cannot sit here on the eve of Decision Day and not reflect on how far we’ve come to be even sitting here on the eve of Decision Day!

Rev. Dr. Caro Hall, Rev. Canon Susan Russell,
and Rev. Winnie Varghese

I’m remembering lobby days on Capitol Hill when the question wasn’t how far forward we’d move on marriage equality but whether we could prevent the “Federal Marriage Amendment” from writing discrimination against same-sex couples into the U.S. Constitution.

I’m remembering the deep disappointment of the Prop 8 campaign here in California where a bare majority of voters were able to take away the fundamental right to marry from gay and lesbian couples and we were deflated at what looked to be a marriage equality movement derailed.

And yet I’m also remembering what we learned from that campaign. That we learned two of its greatest failings were [a] failure to strategically utilize the witness of people of faith and [b] failure to effectively use the stories of gay and lesbian couples. And since that time we as a movement got smarter, we got more organized and we started changing hearts and minds … and votes.

And now – on the eve of Decision Day – there are 12 states (plus the District of Columbia) with marriage equality and the likelihood (if not the certainty!) that both Prop 8 and DOMA are headed for the dustbin of history.

We are where we are because we refused to give up. Like the “persistent widow” in Luke’s gospel we kept returning again and again seeking justice – and no matter what the Court rules tomorrow we will keep coming back until the job is done – until the mission is accomplished – until justice rolls down like waters for LGBT couples and their families and for every member of the human family.

It is both an exhilarating and an exhausting thing to be smack dab in the middle of history being made. But that is precisely where we find ourselves, my brother and sisters. This is the day that the Lord has made – let us rejoice and be glad in it. And then let’s keep on keepin’ on until there is not a single stranger left at the gate.

Coverage of Marriage Rallies in DC & Beyond

Rally at L.A. City Hall: (L to R)
Lori Kizzia, Diocesan Organizer Jim White,
Randy Kimmler, The Rev. Susan Russell

Last week, Integrity encouraged its members to participate in the "Light the Way to Justice" events which were taking place as the Supreme Court considered cases involving both California's Proposition 8 and the "Defense of Marriage Act."

From Los Angeles to Virginia Beach, our members took part in rallies as elected officials, activists and people of faith spoke about the importance of having our relationships recognized.

The timing was both hugely inconvenient and profoundly significant for religious leaders as the hearings fell squarely in the middle of the busiest and most important week in the Christian calendar, as well as during Passover.  Integrity's former president, the Rev. Canon Susan Russell, wrote in the Huffington Post:

I'll admit my first reaction to the announcement that the arguments had been scheduled for March 26 & 27 was an incredulous "Seriously?" And yet as the clock has ticked down to Holy Week, it has become clear to me that the preparation happening for the work in the halls of justice is just as holy as the preparation happening in the halls of worship. I have come to see a profound synchronicity between a core value I hold as an American -- "liberty and justice for all" -- and a core value I hold as a Christian -- "love your neighbor as yourself." And I have been deeply gratified by the number of people of faith standing up and speaking out for equality -- not in spite of their faith but because of it.

She attended and spoke at a candlelight vigil on the evening of Sunday, March 24th on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall, along with Integrity Diocesan Organizer Jim White and others from All Saints: Pasadena.

The Right Rev. Gene Robinson, retired Bishop of New Hampshire, also pondered what conclusions could be drawn from this religious and judicial overlap in a guest column in the Washington Post.

"It was not lost on this person of faith that the Supreme Court hearings on marriage equality took place during the season of Passover for Jews and Holy Week for Christians. Was it coincidence, providence or simply God’s divine sense of humor, that these hearings would overlap with the greatest story of oppression-to-freedom ever told, reenacted at every Seder table? Would the justices find any connection between the Holy Week/Maundy Thursday edict from Jesus to “love one another” and the pleas for justice and respect from LGBT citizens? Time will tell."

Bishop Robinson attended the events in Washington D.C., which included both an interfaith prayer service and a themed seder in a nod to the number of people of faith who were taking part.

The Believe Out Loud crew in D.C.
Joseph Ward, James Rowe, Alison Amyx & Leigh-Anne Borkowski

A child shall lead them: 9-year-old
Leo talks marriage equality in D.C.

Joseph Ward, Director of the Believe Out Loud campaign and his team, also attended the D.C. rallies.

"I cautiously entered Holy Week knowing and feeling the mood of America changing, but it was overwhelming to see it confirmed in many ways by so many loving people in and outside of Washington, D.C."

Joseph wrote in a Huffington Post column that he was struck by the testimony of Leo, a 9-year-old boy whose two mothers are unable to get married:

"We cheered him on as he talked and read passionately about his support and love for his mothers. As he left the stage he yelled excitedly, 'Mom, I was the youngest speaker!' He walked past and I told him he did a great job to which he smiled and said, 'Thank you!' It was moving to hear Leo speak out for his mothers and gay people like myself."

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy expressed concern during the Proposition 8 hearings about the effect of the current inequality on the children of same-sex parents, an estimated 40,000 of them in California alone:

"There is an immediate legal injury and that's the voice of these children... that live with same-sex parents, and they want their parents to have full recognition and full status. The voice of those children is important in this case, don't you think?"

Province III Coordinator Susan Pederson and members of
Integrity Virginia Beach at a rally in Norfolk, Va.

Members of Integrity Virginia Beach including Province III Coordinator Susan Pederson attended a rally on the steps of the Walter E. Hoffman Federal Courthouse in downtown Norfolk, Va., on Tuesday March 26th, organized by the Rev. Mark Byrd of the New Life Metropolitan Community Church. 

"The possibility of rain kept some of our friends from coming to the rally but there were folks there from many different faith groups," Pederson reported. "We had a good crowd and the reception by the folks passing on the street was positive. We stood together as one in prayer for marriage equality."

The Rev. Scott Allen and Dixie Dugan White, co-founders of
Integrity Bethlehem, at a rally in Allentown, Pa.

The co-founders of Integrity Bethlehem, the Rev. T. Scott Allen and Dixie Dugan White, were part of an event on Saturday, March 23rd at the Edward N. Cahn Federal Courthouse in Allentown, Pa., which was organized by the Pennsylvania Diversity Network. Since the courthouse is on the Main Street of Allentown and very busy, many people slowed down and honked and gave the thumbs-up sign to the 100 or so gathered there. Speakers included City Council representatives from Allentown and Bethlehem, Labor Union Activists (Teacher's Union), local LGBT activists and a keynote from a woman who described the disadvantages she encountered while settling her late partner's estate.

"It was a cold day with a fairly brisk constant breeze which made it feel much colder!" recalled Allen, "But the people gathered there sang 'This Land is Your Land' and 'Going to the Chapel' with heart and energy! It was a diverse group with straight allies and LGBT from many walks of life present."

Randall Abbott and his partner Jerrod, Integrity life members who attend the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Springfield, Ill., were invited by the Rev. Martin Woulfe of the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation to a silent witness and sidewalk prayer vigil at Paul Findley Federal Plaza in that city, the state's capitol on March 25th.  "We were surprised at the number of horn honkers supporting us, including a Springfield police cruiser, a USPS truck, and several State of Illinois vehicles," Abbott reported.  "I estimated that about half of the passing vehicles did honk to support marriage equality on a cold, blustery day in downstate Illinois."

Abbott described the experience as "particularly gratifying" since the Bishop of Springfield, the Right Rev. Dan Martins, has stated he will not permit the recently-adopted rite for blessings of same-sex relationships to be performed in the diocese. On the other side of the state and the issue is the Bishop of  Chicago, the Right Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, who has spoken out strongly for marriage equality. The Illinois Senate passed a marriage equality bill on Valentine's Day, and the House will take it up before May 31st.  The measure has the backing of governor Joseph "Pat" Quinn II.  

Students, a P-FLAG chapter and others attend a rally on the
campus of Montclair State University in New Jersey

Pride flags on display at St. Stephen's Church
on the campus of Ohio State University

In New Jersey, Integrity Stakeholders' Council Chair Christian Paolino joined a rally organized by student groups on the campus of Montclair State University on Wednesday afternoon.  Members of the North Jersey chapter of P-FLAG were also in attendance.  Among the speakers was State Senator Ray Lesniak (D - Union), who is sponsoring a bill in the state legislature banning "reparative therapy" on LGBT young people.   Senator Lesniak also published a book called What's Love Got to Do With It: Making the Case for Same-Sex Marriage during the effort to legalize marriage equality in New Jersey in 2010.  The bill, which passed in both houses, was vetoed by Governor Christie.

Meanwhile, many others across the country took part in vigils and rallies, or simply prayed that the Court be inspired towards a just and humane outcome.  At St. Stephen's Church on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, the Rev. David Soland reports that a petition for the Supreme Court was included in the Prayers of the People.

Rulings are not expected until June.

Were you in Washington DC or at any of the events across the country?  Please contact us with your thoughts and photos.

Familial Exchange: a Good Friday Meditation

Meditations on the Seven Last Words of Jesus 

Marsh Chapel, Boston University

Good Friday, March 29, 2013

1) Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)

2) Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me i
n paradise (Luke 23:43)

3) Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27)

4) My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34)

5) I thirst (John 19:28)

6) It is finished (John 19:30)

7) Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46)

John 19: 23-27

23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

‘They divided my clothes among themselves,

   and for my clothing they cast lots.’

25And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

In the midst of community we are estranged. In the midst of alienation, community is formed afresh.

The scene before us is unimaginably bleak.  An innocent man hangs before us, being stripped of life.  His loved ones look on from near and afar, nearly crushed by pain.  Yet in the midst of utter desolation, Jesus inaugurates a new creation.  A new community, a transformed family.  To his mother he says, “Woman, here is your son.”  To the beloved disciple, “here is your mother.”  “From that hour,” the gospel reports, “the disciple took her into his own home.” 

Strange as it may seem, this passage echoes the first miracle story in the Gospel of John.  Seeing a connection between this story and our passage, the sixth century Byzantine Hymnist Romanos imagined a grieving Mary querying her son, “Is there once again another wedding at Cana?”[1]   In the second chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus had declared to his mother, who was concerned about the depleted wine supply, “Woman… my hour has not yet come” (John 2:3-4).  He had gone on to transform the contents of six water jars into the finest of wines.  Now, standing in “the hour” of his death, the formation of family has become once more an occasion of transformation.  To and for his beloveds, Jesus performs a relational exchange: I now pronounce you mother and son.

In this week in which the Supreme Court oral arguments on Proposition Eight and DOMA have saturated the airwaves, the transformation of community, of family, of marriage, are much on our minds and hearts.  In a poignant column this week, a fellow Episcopal priest, the Reverend Canon Susan Russell, evoked how painful – and for LGBT people and our families, how triggering – it can be to hear these arguments.

If you find yourself hurting, angry, anxious, scared or snarky reach out and let someone you love remind you that you're loved… And if you know someone who may not reach out, find them where they are and remind them that they're loved.[2]

In this week of “heightened scrutiny,” Jesus’ words reach across the chasms of fear.  For we are family, all of us.  We are made for one another.  However fraught our communion, however intense our disagreement, however frayed our fabric, we are constantly being knit afresh. 

Like Jesus’ garment for which the soldiers cast lots, we are called to be one, mysteriously,seamlessly woven from above.  In this light, the fourth century theologian Ephrem the Syrian challenges us, “Share then, for love of [Christ], the body of him who, for the love of you, shared his garment between those who were crucifying him.”[3] This body of which we all are members: share it.  This is the message we receive at the foot of the cross, that ultimate symbol of stigma and alienation that turns death and division on its head.  This is my body.  This is your family.  Take, absorb, share it in its entirety.  Fling wide the doors of your heart.  Be transformed.

photo from
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/27/175463886/photos-supreme-court-hears-arguments-on-doma

Cameron Partridge is the Episcopal Chaplain at Boston University and a Lecturer at Harvard Divinity School

---

[1] Romanos the Melodist, “On the Lament of the Mother of God,” stanza 1. 

[2] Susan Russell, “The Marriage Equality Debates: The Pastoral in the Political” 

[3] Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on the Diatessaron 20.27

Bishops Petition Supreme Court for Marriage Equality

Twenty-nine bishops in the ten states (plus Washington DC) where same-sex marriage is legal signed an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States which challenges the constitutionality of the "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA), a 1996 law which mandates that the Federal government cannot recognize same-sex marriages. The leaders of all but one of the 24 dioceses where civil marriage is legal signed the brief addressing the case of Windsor v. United States, which is being heard by the Court this month.

The case refers specifically to an inheritance tax burden of over $360,000 owed by a New York woman after her wife died. The couple of 40 years was legally married in Canada in 2007, but DOMA stipulates that the inheritance benefits of marriage do not apply to even those same-sex marriages recognized by some states.

A second brief, signed by the bishops of all six dioceses in California, speaks to the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry and the overturn of Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative which took away marriage equality in California after thousands of couples were legally married. The Supreme Court of California has already found the law unconstitutional, but its overturn was appealed by the initiative's sponsors.

Dozens of groups -- including one by the CEO's over many of the country's largest corporations -- recently filed briefs in favor of marriage equality.  The bishops' campaign was launched by the Right Rev. Marc Andrus, Bishop of the Diocese of California, which includes San Francisco.  Bishop Andrus explained his motives in a Washington Post column published February 28th.

“We overturned nearly two millennia of set tradition when we began ordaining women 34 years ago. We repudiated the traditional tolerance of slavery and racial prejudice in the mid-20th century. We traded our cultural privilege and hegemony as a largely Anglo denomination for the wealthy and have deliberately become more and more consciously a church for all,” Andrus wrote. “In all these things we have prayed and thought and been in earnest conversation in and out of the church, and believed that in the end we have discerned better the mind of Christ than we had in the past.”

“Integrity is delighted that the Bishops have signed on to these two amici briefs. Last year General Convention passed resolution D018 urging members of Congress to repeal federal laws that discriminate against civilly married same-gender couples. Signing the amicus brief in Windsor v. United States is a logical step as it supports the repeal of the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act,” said the Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall, Integrity's President. “However it is a step that might not have been taken had it not been for the courage of the bishops involved and the leadership of the Diocese of California. Once again, The Episcopal Church joins with the leaders in this important witness and commitment to social justice.”

Please join us in thanking all the bishops for speaking out on marriage equality. For a complete list of the signers and more background, please visit this article on the Diocese of California website.