Episcopalians Who Stand Against Bigotry

I am heartened by this photograph.  The bishop is Rt. Rev. Michael Curry of the diocese of North Carolina.  At least one of the priests was identified as being from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Durham, NC.  They have taken a public stand against North Carolina's Amendment One which would put into the state constitution language defining marriage as being between a a man and a woman.  It would also eliminate recognition of domestic partnerships.  

All three of the state's bishops, Curry, Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III of East Carolina, and Rt. Rev. G. Porter Taylor of Western North Carolina, signed a joint letter condemning the proposed amendment.  Part of their letter reads:

“We oppose Amendment One because the love of God and the way of love that has been revealed in Jesus of Nazareth compels us to do so. We oppose Amendment One because every time we baptize someone in The Episcopal Church, the entire congregation vows to ‘strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.’ We oppose Amendment One because it is unjust and it does not respect the dignity of every human being in the State of North Carolina. If passed, it will harm not only law-abiding gay and lesbian citizens but other men, women and innocent children in our state.”

One of my FB friends who is a Christian raised a point that the bishops should be opposing the amendment on the grounds that it is unconstitutional for the state to dictate to a church who it may or may not marry or have participate in any of its rites.  That certainly is AN argument.  But what is more important is to have the church leaders taking a stand on a matter of civil rights rather than sit back and watch from the sidelines as others claiming the mantle of Christ attempt to write their form of religious-based bigotry into a state constitution.   I wish more bishops and priests would speak out on matters such as this.

Now that the bishops have done their part, it is time for the voters to do theirs.  Vote No on Amendment One.