Saved!!

Photo by Peter Michaud

This is the sort-of story that belongs in the movies! The movie theater in my home town, built in 1915, was closed and its future was looking bleak... until a group of citizens and a willing buyer stepped up a campaign to save the old place with its huge heavy curtains and balcony seating and revive it back to life as a performance and movie house. Marc Murai signed an agreement on April 23rd with the current owner and pledged that he would come up with $10,000 by May 6th as a good faith deposit. As of May 5th, he was still several thousand dollars shy of what was needed. And so word spread like wildfire over the internet... especially through Facebook... appealing to all of us with childhood memories of movies and popcorn at the IOKA to please, please, please make a financial contribution. We had until 7pm on May 6th. Could it be done?

The answer: Yes, it can! In something akin to Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" when all of Bedford Falls emptied its pockets to save George Bailey... people from across the country, and around the world, made donations to save the IOKA. By 8pm on Wednesday... the lights were back on on the marquee... and the final take was more than $10,500!

Well done, everybody!!

Maine Makes it Five

Mount Katahdin and Baxter State Park, ME

Well... it's becoming obvious to me that I have finally found "Queer Nation" in America, and it's New England! The state of Maine yesterday became the fifth in the country to approve same-sex marriages... and my home state of New Hampshire could become the sixth. A bill is on its way to the desk of Democratic Governor John Lynch. The Governor seems to have mellowed some on his adament anti-gay marriage stance, but hasn't committed to signing the bill. There is a possibility that he will let it become law without his signature. Meanwhile, John Sununu, the former Governor and tyrant for the dwindling Republican Party of New Hampshire, is calling on Lynch to veto the legislation. All the more reason for us to pick up the phone and call Governor Lynch to encourage him to stand up for the constitutional R-I-G-H-T of couples to marry if they want to marry.
In Maine, Governor John Baldacci signed the bill inspite of his own discomfort with same-sex marriage because he believed he had to follow what is in the constitution. And that's how it should be. I don't care if politicians like it or not. That's immaterial. Is it constitutional to deny two consenting adults the right to marry; thus allowing them to protect their joint assets... as well as celebrate their love for one another? We should know the answer to that one.
Maine voters could still repeal this law. And so there will need to be some education done, and I hope church leaders will take part in that. Religion, and faith communities, have been the breeding ground for much misunderstanding and hatred toward LGBT people. And that is a shame. As I've said time and time again... in all that I have read in the Bible up to now, and everything that I have listened to and studied... I have yet to hear where God says, "I only love straight people." God is interested in those people who turn their attention and place God at the center of their lives. People who place God at the center of their lives and recognize that in God we "live and move and have our being" can not then cast out their LGBT brother or sister. It just does not compute. Because God is love... and if love is your motivator... then how can you look at another person as an "other"?
And so I look to God as the Holy Spirit to hold us all in love, and to assist those who have the power of governance to see the Christ in me and my people... and to enlighten our lawmakers by having them contemplate a simple idea: "How is it right to keep these "others" as strangers at the gate?"

More of that Love Thing

In light of all the Anglican Covenant carrying-on in Jamaica this week, I am amused... and in awe... of the readings assigned for the Daily Office. Because today's gospel reading from Luke is the "Love your enemies" message:

But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.* Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.--Luke 6: 27-36.

It seems important to me that the passage starts with, "But I say to you that listen." Because I sometimes wonder if that isn't part of the problem. It seems to me that so much strife in the world... and particularly within the Anglican Communion... comes from a place of NOT listening. I'm sure there are those on the opposite side of gay people who will say we don't listen to their concerns. But that's simply not true. It is not that we haven't listened. We have. We know that there are cultural differences between those of us in the United States and other parts of the world around the issue of homosexuality and the role of women. What we have said, and maintained all along, is that we here in this country have to be who we are. Those in this country who are opposed to gays and women in the ministry are a minority within the Episcopal Church. Vocal, yes... but still a minority. Should we listen to them? Yes. Should we worship with them? Yes. But should they be allowed to set barriers to full participation of those who are different from themselves? No. And that's where, I think, we've had a break down.

To this day, I have not understood those bishops and dioceses within our own Episcopal Church who are still frothing at the mouth over +Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Is he your bishop? If the answer is no, then what are you afraid of? There are also those bishops who openly advertise that they did not vote for Gene's consecration, nor that of our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. I wonder, why is it so important to announce this? Again, +Gene is in New Hampshire, and he should not be of much consequence to the workings of a diocese elsewhere. But why would you want to draw a bright line for everyone that you didn't consent to the election of your own leader? Can they not see the Christ in her... or would they prefer to stew in seeing the devil in her?

Another thing that occurs to me is that when I read this passage, I can easily conjure up the image of my "enemy". And I have to think that my enemy, when reading this passage, conjures up an image of me. And therein lies the brilliance of God. If both sides are taking in this message, for real, then presumably both sides will have to act on the message that we must love each other... even if we don't really like each other. Thus, when I read that some archbishops and bishops within our Anglican Communion refuse to go to God's table to receive the eucharist with those who they believe are "apostate" or whatever... I believe they are committing a mortal sin. Yes, deadly sin: the failure to love one another as God taught us to love each other.

God, I wonder if we'll ever get this right.

Oh, Come On! The Anglican "Covenant"

I am not the best authority on the machinations of all that is happening with the Anglican Consultative Council meeting and their Ridley draft of the Anglican Covenant... blah blah blah. To get the detailed account of all this, you can do as I do and read Fr. Mark Harris' blog here and here.

From what I've read at Harris' PRELUDIUM, and at STONE OF WITNESS, there is this Ridley document which purports to be some kind of "Take it or leave it" letter to the various provinces and churches of the Anglican Communion which is supposed to define what it is to be a member of the Anglican Communion. However, no one really has to sign on to this thing. But if they don't sign on, then they will be outside of "the covenant". I don't really understand what that is supposed to mean... and I honestly don't know that I'm willing to take the time to try to understand what that is supposed to mean.

So much of what has driven this desire to adopt a new covenant (which should not at all be mistaken with the "new covenant" Christ made with humanity at the Last Supper) all comes back to the retirement of NH Bishop Doug Theuner. When +Theuner retired, the Diocese needed a replacement (duh!) and when it came time for that election, the people of the Diocese voted for V. Gene Robinson, a priest well known to all of them because he had run the Sign of the Dove Retreat Center in central New Hampshire for years... and been the Canon to the Ordinary. His election was, is, and always will be legitimate, fair, Godly, and a no-brainer. They didn't... and won't ever... need a "focus group" approval from the rest of us to pick their leader. No diocese, or province, should need to get prior clearance from people with NO clue about the needs of the folks living and worshipping in that diocese or province.

But because of +Gene, and the ordination of women, and the 1979 BCP, and any number of other "things" that might have caused some members of the Anglican Communion to get their knickers in knots, we now have this Covenant craziness coming into play as a last ditch stand to keep everybody together. Unfortunately, it may end up having the opposite effect of driving us further apart, especially if it (a) doesn't require everyone to actually sign it and (b) if consent to the covenant means sacrificing LGBT people. Let's be clear: that seems to be the real intent of the thing: to find a common ground that commonly punishes queers and the bishops who support them. That's not going to fly. Certainly, that seems to be the attitude that the GAFCON crowd is pushing. That, and a demand that the "liberals" in North America repent for what they have done. Sorry: electing a qualified person to the episcopate does NOT require repentance. And if we're expected to repent for that action, then I would ask Orombi of Uganda and Akinola of Nigeria to repent not only for trying to interfere and instigate theft of church property in the United States... but also for encouraging the persecution, beatings, and terror inflicted on gay Anglicans within their own African provinces. On your knees, gentlemen!! It starts, "Most merciful God: we confess that we've sinned against you in thought, word AND deed..."

But I digress. What I believe the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and all the other members of the church hierarchy ought to be doing is cracking open their prayer books to one of the most important, and God-centered, covenants we already have. It's called the Baptismal Covenant. Truly, if we (and I mean EVERYONE) would spend a good long time studying the words and commitments we make to God and each other in that covenant, and mark, learn and inwardly digest them... we would not need this Ridley document, or any other document.

God has made the covenants with God's people and I believe God is at work in the world, calling those sheep who have felt estranged back into the fold. Bishops and clergy are empowered to serve as the earth-bound shepherds of all of these members of God's people. They shouldn't supercede the authority granted them through Jesus Christ by thinking they can "do it better" than what has already been done through the act of baptism. Please, folks: get a grip and get back to God!

Thought for the Night

It's a good thing that in the evolution of the species we lost our tails. Because I'm sure if I still had one, I would spend an inordinate amount of time chasing it.

Thus sayeth the INFJ.

About love

You may remember that song of the 80's by Tina Turner, "What's Love Got to Do With It?" If you knew her history with the abusive late Ike Turner, you'd understand why she asked the question!

But I find the cool thing in this Easter season is that 1 John has been prominent in our Daily Office as well as our Sunday readings. And if I were to come up with a description of 1 John, I'd say it's the book of love because that's what he talks about... a lot. It is in 1 John that we hear that "God is love". And the words of 1 John 4:20 give us an unambiguous understanding that we must love each other... no matter our differences... in the same way God loves us:


Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.


To love as God loved us, I think, may give reason to pause. I mean, for Christians, the way God loved us was through his Son's willingness to be killed on our behalf. And while that is important... there are many other examples that Jesus had shown his disciples and those who were following him on the "I am the way" idea that are not quite as drastic as laying down your life for another... and I think are equally as important as we attempt to do as 1 John asks when he says, "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action."


Recently, Fr. Lee Graham did a homily in which he talked about the "I am the way" passage in John's gospel. And as Fr. Graham noted... the "way" was about how to be with one another... not a mandate that if you don't accept Jesus, then the door to God's amazing love party is locked shut to you, a common misinterpretation over the years. By the time Jesus is telling the disciples, "I am the way, the truth, the life", he has demonstrated to them... again... what it means to serve and love your neighbor by wrapping a towel around himself and washing the disciples feet. A simple, welcoming, loving gesture where the host... even this host... takes on a servant role for his friends. That is love, that is "the way". If we are willing to do that sort of simple action for each other, regardless of who we are, we are doing more than lip service to God.


In the gospel reading from John this Sunday, Jesus is again giving some clues to what it takes to be part of the flock of "the Good Shepherd". And the most interesting line I heard, after he noted that he would lay down his life for his sheep, was:

"I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."--John 10:16


From this statement, I heard two things: one is that God's love is for all... and the second is that God will pursue and find people to bring them into the fold, no matter who they are, what they look like, and who they love. When God calls and we hear it, we will respond... if we are listening. And as I've noted in a previous post, it's sometimes been hard for me to hear the shepherd when the liars and thieves of his message try to imitate that call as a means of keeping me, and other "others", apart from the flock. But the good news is that God of endless love, who is out to find as many sheep as possible, has a way of amplifying the sound of his call... thus breaking through the noise of whacky right-winged liars and a culture of materialism that steals the life out of the soul. The fact that I could hear that call above the din still amazes me. And thus... I believe that's what love has to do with it!

"We are the Shepherds of Change"

Well, we had a lovely protest! The music was great, the coffins were striking, and the motorists... many of whom were people in town for FSU and FAMU's graduation ceremonies... honked in agreement that the future of our state is, indeed, in peril thanks to a punitive legislature.

Lawmakers were still debating... and destroying... bills as we eulogized the state of Florida last night... the end of the 60th day of a 60-day legislative session. But legislators, who were locked in political posturing, back-biting, hair-pulling, fights over the budget were not able to vote on the state spending plan; thus, they'll be back next week to complete their work. Little reported fact: it seems the House Appropriations Committee had co-chairs... both Cuban-American Republicans... who are vying for the same Senate seat next year. Hmmmm... wonder why they weren't able to get anything done??

Yours truly delivered one eulogy; Desmond Seymour delivered the message of hope... and then we danced to "When the Saints Go Marching In". Below is the text of our messages:

Dear friends,
We gather this evening to remember our beloved Florida. Florida had the potential to be a great state, to show the way toward justice for minorities… and be a leader in environmental stewardship. Instead, we must once again bear witness to the death of her dreams of better days in the face of a state legislature that lacks the ability to lead.
She had a good life, once upon a time. But the sunshine is fading behind the failures to hear critical legislation:

Her legislature failed to act on behalf of children in foster care. House Bill 413 and Senate Bill 500 would have removed the ban that prevents gay and lesbian people from adopting these kids and providing them with permanent and loving homes. Instead, the legislature prefers to use Florida’s financial resources to maintain an overstretched foster care system. Senator Ronda Storms calls gay and lesbian families “at risk”. But truly what remains at-risk is the future of Florida when her children can not be placed in a permanent home.

They failed to review the effectiveness of sex education in Florida… preferring to leave our children believing falsehoods such as Mountain Dew can prevent pregnancy… and not teaching them the facts on safe sex practices. And don’t even bother mentioning same-sex attraction! Such a narrow approach only leaves children in the dark… instead of being enlightened about the facts and choices they face.

Florida’s legislature could find no time to debate a bill to expand her civil rights law to cover those oppressed for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet, there was time wasted on yet more license plates… and how to make it harder for people to vote in our democracy.

And Florida Forever… designed to save her delicate environment which is the very life-blood of all life in her… is asterisked for oblivion… and asphalt!

Once again, those proPHets—with a PH—for progress and hope are ignored in favor of the profits with an “F”. And Florida is lowered into the grave of greed… to be signed… sealed… and paved over forever.

Dear friends, the cost of such short-sightedness of Florida’s future is too great! Our children need homes, our seniors need adequate staffing in assisted living facilities, and our environment can not be despoiled by development… and fossil fuels.

We have heard it was “all about the budget” this year, but there are economic costs to social and environmental injustice. Companies… who could hire a large number of our unemployed and skilled laborers… will not locate to a state that shows such lack of vision on LGBT rights. Why move a company here when they could locate to the northeast… or Iowa? And what are we really doing to create “Green Jobs” when an army of lobbyists are dispatched to push for oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and refuse to say who is really footing the bill?

And Florida, your legislature was not even able to accomplish its supposed “chief priority” on time… resulting in a glaring Incomplete on the 60th day. I ask, “Who are the lard bricks now?”
Where are the leaders? Where is our future? How many times must we bury Florida? Who will resurrect our state?

Take it away, Desmond....

As we deliver the works of this past session into the earth and as the sun sets, like the clauses laced within our legislation, I would like to speak to the nature of progressive change. To the shores of our great state, which are both slated for drilling and poised for greatness. The tide is rising, the progressive ideas that move the many minorities within our state to action is driving upon the sprawling mangroves and golden coasts of our state.

The word Florida comes from the Spanish language, meaning feast of flowers. We must be very clear. In order to have flowers there must be seeds, the seeds of progressive work, the desire to unite, a sustainable budget for future leaders to maintain, and a desire to pollinate the minds of rising seedlings everyday. Our soil must be healthy, not poisoned by the tilling of hands drenched in interests other than that of the people whom this legislature serves. Frederick Douglas said “if there is no struggle, there is no progress”. Grassroots organizations have been struggling for long enough in our state. The overwhelming swell of support is not for progressive issues; but for the right issues.

As we lay our legislators forgotten progressive promises into the ground this day, know that tomorrow brings a new horizon, new issues, and new support. The needs of tomorrow must not be inundated by the stagnation of today; and they won’t. We will be here in the days to come, we will not blow gently into the unchanging winds of inefficiency, and we will not be washed away by the flash floods of reckless government.

The tide is rising. The sweeping change that is set rise from the depths of our collective interests will deliver unto the shores of this great state the true will of the people. As we give this session to the earth we know it is forever a part of our nature, the nature of progressive change. We are here as the Shepards of that change.