General Convention 2018: A Time to Celebrate

Less than a year from now we will have finished General Convention (GC) 2018. This is the first opportunity Integrity USA has had to actually celebrate what happened during General Convention 2015.

GC 2015 represented the accomplishment of a legislative mission that began in earnest about 26 years ago. At the Episcopal Church-wide level, canon law now exists that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity…among all of the other prohibited discriminations in the life of the church, access to the ordination process and a myriad of areas that impact the lives of all, but especially the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer-plus (LGBTQ+) members of the church.

Similarly, we now have rites to celebrate same sex unions, including the first reading of changes to the language of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer to make marriage rites gender neutral. These rites in conjunction with the Supreme Court ruling in July 2015, makes marriage between members of the same sex available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of the United States. We do note that the bishops of eight of the 101 domestic dioceses still do not permit same sex marriages in their dioceses, in clear violation of canon law.

The overarching mission of Integrity USA has been accomplished at the church wide legislative/canonical level. What still remains to be accomplished needs to be done at the diocesan/parish level as grass roots missionary work.

So yes it is time for celebration.

Integrity USA wants to celebrate at GC 2018 in two ways: One is in staffing a booth in the exhibit hall. The other is in sponsoring a Celebratory General Convention Eucharist. The cost of both is outside our budget. So we turn to you.

We need to raise approximately $42,500 to support our booth in the exhibit hall and to cover the expenses of a General Convention Eucharist (space rental, communion supplies, bulletins, etc., usual expenses for a large Eucharist outside our normal church setting.)          

Those of us whose names appear below have served as national presidents of Integrity USA. We seek your prayerful support and your financial support to help us make GC 2018 a holy celebration for the accomplishments achieved over decades of work. Will you join us?

Donate to the General Convention 2018 fund

Kim Byham
Fred Ellis
Bruce Garner
Matt Haines
Caro Hall
Michael Hopkins
David Norgard
Susan Russell

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

Ubi caritas et amor deus ibi est

Where there is charity and love, God is there.

We were married on April 26, 2014 at All Saints Pasadena. Our procession was led by the dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit and peace. Later, after The Rev. Susan Russell accepted our declarations of consent and our rector, The Rev. Ed Bacon, accepted our solemn vows, we were blessed.

Blessed by the church, yes. But also and as importantly, we were blessed by the cloud of witnesses who were present around us, who enfolded us in their love, support, and encouragement. We were raised high by the Holy Spirit to unite our flames and create more Light to shine around us.

I didn't read Susan's blog post This is the Day the Lord Has Made until the next day. The next day happened to also be the day we held a celebration memorial for Stephen's brother -- my brother-in-law who passed on two weeks exactly before the wedding day. I read her blog that morning and it set my wheels turning.

We celebrate God and each other when love each other, when we give of ourselves. Our church, our friends, and our families gave their blessing to us. On our knees at the altar, we felt the gift of life and strength on our shoulders, in our hands, on our head. When we celebrated Tim's life, we accepted his gift of love, sensitivity, and personal commitment to honesty.

Giving and loving. What a blessing our world is when the Holy Spirit shines bright in all God's children. It makes no sense to restrict this to the few. Grace is there for us and we can't decide who gets it and who doesn't. We can only love. And give.

To love another person is to see the face of God.

Mel Soriano

Integrity Board of Directors (Director of Communications, Secretary)

Vestry/Coventry Choir/Taizé/Labyrinth All Saints Pasadena

facebook.com/melsoriano

twitter.com/melsoriano

letallwhoarethirstycome.blogspot.com

Church Task Force on Marriage Issues Progress Report

The Church Task Force on the Study of Marriage, created by Resolution A050 at the 2012 General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, today issued a report on the progress it has made since convening last year.

A video presentation was sent to both the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies (clergy and laity elected to represent their dioceses), with written reflection questions. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Task Force gave a presentation at the meeting of the House of Bishops at Camp Allen in Texas last month, at which the responses were presented.

"It became clear from the input we received that there is a profound level of support and concern for the work we have been asked to do," said the Rev. Brian C. Taylor, Chair of the Task Force. "Episcopalians care deeply about marriage and its potential for bringing joy and grace and for helping people become more fully alive and faithful as God’s agents of love and reconciliation in this world."

One of the key charges of the task force is to address the pastoral involvement of clergy in places where civil same-gender marriage is permitted. The response thus far has been piecemeal as dioceses choose to (or choose not to) craft their own policies, some using the provisional rite created to bless such relationships and also adopted by the Convention. The Task force "“feels that it is part of our responsibility to propose something for the church’s consideration that could offer consistency to what is currently taking place," Taylor explained.

In June, the Task Force will release a portfolio of resources for individuals and groups to use to discuss the issue.

The group also created its own Facebook page and Youtube channel encourages Episcopalians to interact with them via social media.  One-minute videos reflecting on "how you see God in relationships" may be emailed to taskforceonmarriage@gmail.com.


  Integrity's Communications Director, Mel Soriano, Created this video for the Task Force on Marriage  

The Task Force was created as a directive of Resolution A050 at the 2012 Convention of the Episcopal Church in Indianapolis.   The Rev. Canon Susan Russell, former President of Integrity, and the Rev. Cameron Partridge, Co-Convener of TransEpiscopal, are among the members.

To learn more about the report, visit Episcopal News Service.

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.