On July 10, The Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies gave final approval to a liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions.

Resolution A049 authorizes the provisional use of a liturgy for the blessing of same-sex relationships. Strictly speaking, it is not “marriage,” but rather “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant.” However, it has many of the same elements as the traditional marriage service, including the exchange of vows and rings.

The Rev. Jack Zamboni, a deputy from the Diocese of New Jersey, praised the quality of the draft liturgy, saying that he wished he and his wife could have used it when they were married. He also told of how two lesbian parishioners of his were moved to tears when he told them that this General Convention would be considering a rite to bless their relationship. “They had never thought it would happen in their lifetime,” he said.

Deputy Ian Hallas from the Diocese of Chicago, who identified himself as a straight ally, spoke of his sister and her love for her partner. “The reason I return [to General Convention] is for my sister. I seek to assure that she not only has the same rites as myself but also the same privileges.”

But there were some who were adamantly opposed to the resolution. “For 2,000 years, the church has had clear teaching regarding marriage,” said the Very Rev. David Thurlow, deputy from the Diocese of South Carolina. He was a member of the committee that endorsed the resolution, but he dissented from its report.

“This resolution marks a clear and significant departure — theological, doctrinal and in worship — from the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them,” he said. It introduces a “new theology of human sexuality,” he continued.

The final passage of the resolution was marred by procedural squabbling. A deputy moved to divide the resolution, and the President of the House of Deputies accepted his request. Her ruling was then challenged, and confusion reigned as the House tried to figure out how to proceed. Ultimately, the motion to divide was voted down, and the resolution was finally able to proceed to a final vote.

Because there was a request to vote ‘by orders,’ the clerical and lay deputations from each diocese had to vote separately. The final tally was:

CLERICAL DEPUTATIONS:

85 Yes

22 No

4 Divided

LAY DEPUTATIONS:

86 Yes

19 No

5 Divided

The House of Bishops already passed the resolution, so it is now officially on the books. Same-sex blessings will be available from the first Sunday in Advent, though bishops will not be required to allow their clergy to use them.

Just before the vote on A049, the House of Deputies considered Resolution C095, which finally nudged the church down the road to structural reform. It calls for the creation of a task force of up to 24 people who will collect ideas from all levels of the church regarding possible changes to the church’s structure and system of government.

The General Convention received over 51 resolutions calling for structural reform, and it fell to the Committee on Structure to craft a single resolution that would be acceptable to as many people as possible. Their work produced C095, and in an astounding turn of events, it managed to pass the Deputies on a unanimous voice vote.

After its passage, the Rev. Gay Jennings, co-chair of the Committee on Structure and President-Elect of the House of Deputies, said that there was “a palpable desire to reimagine how we do business. I think as much as the discussion is about structure, perhaps even more the passion and the interest in this is about identity and vision: who we are as the church, who is God calling us to be in the 21st century.”

The measure now goes to the House of Bishops.

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On the fifth day of The Episcopal Church’s General Convention, the House of Bishops voted 111 to 41 to approve the draft liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions.

Resolution A049 would not actually allow same-sex couple to marry, but would allow them to have their relationship blessed using a service known as “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant.”

Before it went to the House of Bishops, the Resolution was considered by the Committee on the Prayer Book, Liturgy, and Church Music, where it underwent substantial amendment. Most of the amendments were minor tweaks to the wording of the liturgy, but the committee also included a new clause specifying that Episcopal clergy would not be compelled to use the rite. Furthermore, it also declared that no bishop, member of the clergy, or lay person could be penalized because of their conscientious disagreement with the decision to bless same-sex unions.

During his introductory remarks on the resolution, the co-chair of the Prayer Book, Liturgy, and Church Music Committee, Bishop Thomas Ely of Vermont, said that “there is a place in this process for every Episcopalian regardless of their level of support for the material. Read it. Reflect upon it. Use it, but please don’t ignore it.”

Bishop John Bauerschmidt of Tennessee demanded a roll call vote, and called on the House to reject the resolution. “This liturgy that is proposed does not have the basis in scripture, tradition or reason for us to authorize its use.”

His remarks were echoed by Bishop Edward Little of Northern Indiana. “The Christian world will look at that liturgy world and see vows, and exchange of rings, a pronouncement and a blessing and they will understand that to mean the Episcopal Church has endorsed same-sex marriage and changed a basic Christian doctrine. I do not believe that we are free to do that.”

Some of the bishops claimed that the resolution would alienate Hispanic members of the church. But Bishop Leo Frade of Southeast Florida called his brethren out for treating Hispanics as a monolithic block. “The reality is that we, like everybody else, have gay children. We have gay parents. We have gay uncles,” he said.

“You cannot generalize that Hispanics are going to run away from the Episcopal Church because we have a door that’s open. We are going to run from immigration that’s trying to deport us, but not from the Episcopal Church,” he continued.

Bishop Steven Miller of Milwaukee also opposed the resolution, claiming that it would turn LGBTQ Episcopalians into second-class citizens who could receive a blessing, but not marry.

But by and large, most bishops announced their support for the proposal, saying that they were true to the spirit of Anglicanism, which has long aimed to be a ‘big tent’ church that includes diverse theological viewpoints. Bishop Nathan Baxter of Central Pennsylvania exhorted his fellow bishops to “theological, pastoral and canonical inclusion.” He reminded the House that the church had been mulling issues of homosexuality for over 40 years, and it was time to move the conversation forward.

The resolution must now go before the House of Deputies before it can become church law.

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On Sunday, December 4, 2011, The Trevor Project will honor Lady Gaga with the Trevor Hero Award and Google Inc. with the Trevor 2020 Award during “Trevor Live” at the Hollywood Palladium. The annual show benefits the life-saving work of The Trevor Project, a recent honoree of the White House as a Champion of Change for leadership and innovation in suicide prevention.

The event’s presenting sponsors are Audi of America and ING. ”Our young people are at the center of a health crisis, and vocal leaders like Lady Gaga and technology leaders like Google Inc. have stepped up to help change our culture,” said David McFarland, Interim Executive Director and CEO of The Trevor Project.

“Our honorees are working with The Trevor Project to make a better today and a brighter tomorrow for youth. We are proud to honor Lady Gaga with the Trevor Hero Award and Google Inc. with the Trevor 2020 award for their work to help young people express their true selves with pride.”

The Trevor Hero Award honors Lady Gaga for being an inspiration to youth and increasing visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community. As an ally for LGBTQ people, Lady Gaga has recently founded the Born This Way Foundation to bravely empower youth to be proud of who they are, to accept and embrace one another’s humanity, and to love themselves and one another.

“We are honored and humbled to be recognized with the Trevor 2020 Award,” said Yolanda Mangolini, Director of Global Diversity & Inclusion and Talent & Outreach Programs at Google Inc. “We applaud The Trevor Project for their commitment to providing services and creating safe spaces for LGBTQ youth in need, and look forward to a continued partnership.”

The Trevor 2020 Award honors Google Inc. for the company’s support of the LGBTQ community and for increasing visibility and understanding of LGBTQ issues. Google Inc. has become a leader in championing LGBTQ workplace equality over the past decade by advocating for equal policies and benefits for their LGBTQ employees, expanding the presence of their LGBTQ employee resource group globally and supporting the community and LGBTQ youth organizations.

Trevor Live at the Hollywood Palladium is the signature annual event of The Trevor Project, a recent honoree of the White House as a Champion of Change for leadership and innovation in suicide prevention.

Celebrated director, producer and choreographer Adam Shankman returns as Special Guest Director for Trevor Live, benefiting the nation’s leader in providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people.

About The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people under 24. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, in-school workshops, educational materials, online resources and advocacy. Honored by the White House as a “Champion of Change,” The Trevor Project is a leader and innovator in suicide prevention.

Learn more at TheTrevorProject.org.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/ladygaga

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When we first met Lady Gaga as her first single “Poker Face” was dropping, we were introduced to a cute blonde who was comparing flirting and encounters with men to poker. We saw as she danced her butt of through elaborately choreographed routines, and from right off the bat, we could tell that she had her own way of doing things. Since 2008, she has become a fashion icon (in her own right) as well as an inspiration to many people. She has an enviable amount of self-confidence, and she used this for her inspiration for her latest album “Born This Way.”

The Mother Monster stayed true to herself for her third studio album. The album has electric dance beats with a little added rock that would fit in at any dance club and, once again, with songs like “Judas,” has people flipping out over her shock value (see the video if you’re sure who Judas is, but definitely hold onto your hat.)

Something new this album provides is a more direct line between Gaga and her fans. With songs like “Born This Way,” “Hair” and “Edge of Glory,” we can hear her screaming out to the world that everyone is great and we need to love ourselves. This is a beautiful thing.

To me, it feels like we rarely hear artists singing about their experiences with wanting to fit into the crowd in song-form. A lot of stuff that is coming from the music industry is just about drinking and partying. In a single song, she calls out at least six different races, the LGBTQ community and even the disabled, telling them not to be ashamed or feel bad. They were born this way, and, according to Gaga, “God makes no mistakes.”

Another topic featured on the album is the hot topic debate over homosexual marriage. In the song “Americano,” Gaga describes falling in love with a girl but not being able to marry her except for on the west coast on a Wednesday. Lady Gaga has been extremely outspoken regarding her support of the Gay Community, and it shows her dedication to the cause and that she isn’t some celebrity who’s trying to join a cause because it’s fashionable. We also get to see another side of Gaga as well, because this song is infused with Spanish influence, and Gaga herself sings in Spanish (she also sings in German in the song “Scheiße” if you’d prefer that.)

The only thing I didn’t like about this album was that it sounds essentially like something you would expect from an early Madonna. When the song “Born This Way” first came out, a lot of people criticized it saying it was a rip off version of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” (even though people seem to forget that song was a knock off of The Staples Sisters’ song “Respect Yourself.”) In a way, this factor takes away from the album. The first time I listened to it, I just sat and compared it the whole time. I think this could be a potential turn off for a lot of people.

All in all, “Born This Way” is an empowering album. It has classic love songs (such as “Fashion of His Love”) on it, while it digs down into deeper topics such as religion, politics and self image. Gaga has done a good job of trying to make her albums sound different from one another, and this album is successful at doing that. If you can’t get over the Madonna thing, Madonna has already given her approval to Lady Gaga on the album. The Queen of Pop has spoken.

ChinellatoPhoto / Shutterstock.com

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