Walking With Integrity
The official blog of IntegrityUSA
Updated: 1 hour 5 min ago
Integrity USA's Press Release on Today's Prop 8 Decision
INTEGRITY CALLS ON SIX CALIFORNIA BISHOPS TO EXTEND GENEROUS PASTORAL RESPONSE IN RESPONSE TO PROP 8 DECISION
Today, Integrity USA celebrates a giant step toward justice with the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court that California’s Proposition 8, which denied marriage to same-gender couples, is unconstitutional.
"What wonderful news!", said The Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall, President of Integrity. "Since 1888 the Supreme Court has ruled 14 times that marriage is a basic civil right, but again and again it has been denied to loving, faithful gay or lesbian couples. We can rejoice that in California, our right to equal treatment under the law has been upheld and our marriages are once again recognized. This will be an encouragement to all those fighting this battle in their own states."
Rev. Harry Knox, Interim Executive Director of Integrity added, "The Ninth Circuit’s decision affirms same-sex couples’ freedom to commit to care for each other for a lifetime. Thank God the court recognized government should never limit our freedom nor deny our love. Today’s ruling is an important one. We wait to see whether this is the last word or whether our opponents will take their case on to Supreme Court."
Both Hall and Knox issued a call to action to the Episcopal Church in the state of California: "Integrity calls upon the bishops of the six California dioceses to extend a generous pastoral response to lesbian and gay couples so that our legal rights can be celebrated in our churches and our marriages blessed by the church in the same manner afforded to our straight friends and family. This is an enormously important symbol of the Episcopal Church’s true willingness to welcome all people even those of us who are LGBT and to extend all the sacraments to all the baptized.We hope that California citizens will soon be able to marry the person they love.
"While this is a huge victory in the battle for marriage equality, this fight is far from over. Same-sex married couples still face federal discrimination against their marriages because of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Integrity vows to continue to fight for marriage equality both within and outside of the church. We will not stop until we can claim the promise that all really means ALL."
For more information:
Louise Brooks
Director of Communications
Integrity USA
626-993-4605
A Congregation Gently Pushes It's Rector: Celebrates 20 Years of Blessings
Integrity co-sponsored a two-day celebration at All Saints Church in Pasadena, CA this past weekend which told the story of how two men who wanted to commit their lives to one another, gently pushed their Rector until he agreed to bless their union, and how the Vestry and a Task Force on "God, Sex and Justice" studied and prepared the parish to move forward with the unprecedented blessing. Integrity President The Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall represented the organization at the event and here is her account of what took place.
It was like a family reunion at All Saints, Pasadena last Saturday. Over one hundred and fifty people gathered to remember and celebrate the twenty years that have passed since All Saints celebrated its first same-gender union in January 1992. They certainly weren’t the first church to bless a same-gender couple, but All Saints is high-profile and their decision to go ahead made news the Los Angeles Times and was reported nationally by the Episcopal News Service.
I was fascinated that Rector Emeritus George Regas shared that it was a difficult decision for him. Not the decision to bless same-gender unions but the decision to buck church teaching. He said, “It was hard for me… there was something about violating the churches rules on marriage that had a different feel about it.” What made him do it? The gentle persistence of his congregation.
In the early 1980s gay and lesbian people started making themselves known at All Saints, and they formed a group – GALAS. Regas, then the rector, joined them in a potluck and Q &;A session twice a year, “It was,” he recalled, “my first experience of going significantly into a gay or lesbian person’s life…. Every time I would go [to GALAS] they would push me to bless their unions but I questioned how to put it into practice and still keep my job”.
The Rev. Dr. George Regas & Mark Benson
Mark Benson and Phil Straw were among those who pushed Regas further. In November 1986 they first asked for a blessing on their union. When Regas offered to do something quiet and small in his office they politely declined. They had something else in mind – a service just like straight folk.
And that’s what they got, eventually. In 1990, George announced his intention of blessing same-sex unions. After a congregational Task Force on "God, Sex and Justice" had spent a year introducing the idea to the wider congregation and developing plans and protocols, the blessing went ahead. It wasn’t a small wedding. Yesterday we saw footage of the day itself with procession, banners, choir, the whole nine yards.
It didn’t stop there. All Saints has continued to support LGBT inclusion every step of the way. They supported Bishop Walter Righter during his heresy trial for ordaining a gay man; they organized the conference “Beyond Inclusion” to provide momentum for the LGBT agenda at the 1997 Philadelphia General Convention; after the Denver 2000 they supported the development of the Claiming the Blessing collective which went on to organize support for Bishop Gene Robinson’s confirmation in 2003.
Bishop Gene Robinson & All Saints' Rector Ed BaconDid I mention that Bishop Gene was there yesterday? And Bishop Mary? Together. It was history making... because the two Bishops have never spent time together getting to know on another.
The Rev. Dr.Caroline Hall, Louise Brooks & Cindy SmithI got to hang out with Louise Brooks, Integrity Board Member and Director of Communications; Jim White, the LA Diocesan Organizer, longtime Integrity volunteer Randy Kimmler; as well as Cindy Smith, Provincial Coordinator for Province 8. I also got to meet for the first time Jamie Hebert who is a Producer for the forthcoming dvd, Voices of Witness: Out of the Box, who was there with his husband, actor and comedian Alec Mapa, sharing about their experience finding All Saints and why they are choosing to bring their son up in this inclusive congregation. It was certainly a gay day.
Producer Jamie Hebert & Actor Alec Mapa
My thanks go to the good people of All Saints for all they have done to make the Episcopal Church truly welcoming, and for the beacon of hope they are for so many, that there can be a home for us here. Special thanks go to Canon Susan Russell for her work in putting this celebratory festival together to remind us how far we have come in just two decades.
To see video of the event go to the All Saints website.
It was like a family reunion at All Saints, Pasadena last Saturday. Over one hundred and fifty people gathered to remember and celebrate the twenty years that have passed since All Saints celebrated its first same-gender union in January 1992. They certainly weren’t the first church to bless a same-gender couple, but All Saints is high-profile and their decision to go ahead made news the Los Angeles Times and was reported nationally by the Episcopal News Service.
I was fascinated that Rector Emeritus George Regas shared that it was a difficult decision for him. Not the decision to bless same-gender unions but the decision to buck church teaching. He said, “It was hard for me… there was something about violating the churches rules on marriage that had a different feel about it.” What made him do it? The gentle persistence of his congregation.
In the early 1980s gay and lesbian people started making themselves known at All Saints, and they formed a group – GALAS. Regas, then the rector, joined them in a potluck and Q &;A session twice a year, “It was,” he recalled, “my first experience of going significantly into a gay or lesbian person’s life…. Every time I would go [to GALAS] they would push me to bless their unions but I questioned how to put it into practice and still keep my job”.
The Rev. Dr. George Regas & Mark Benson
Mark Benson and Phil Straw were among those who pushed Regas further. In November 1986 they first asked for a blessing on their union. When Regas offered to do something quiet and small in his office they politely declined. They had something else in mind – a service just like straight folk.
And that’s what they got, eventually. In 1990, George announced his intention of blessing same-sex unions. After a congregational Task Force on "God, Sex and Justice" had spent a year introducing the idea to the wider congregation and developing plans and protocols, the blessing went ahead. It wasn’t a small wedding. Yesterday we saw footage of the day itself with procession, banners, choir, the whole nine yards.
It didn’t stop there. All Saints has continued to support LGBT inclusion every step of the way. They supported Bishop Walter Righter during his heresy trial for ordaining a gay man; they organized the conference “Beyond Inclusion” to provide momentum for the LGBT agenda at the 1997 Philadelphia General Convention; after the Denver 2000 they supported the development of the Claiming the Blessing collective which went on to organize support for Bishop Gene Robinson’s confirmation in 2003.
Bishop Gene Robinson & All Saints' Rector Ed BaconDid I mention that Bishop Gene was there yesterday? And Bishop Mary? Together. It was history making... because the two Bishops have never spent time together getting to know on another.
The Rev. Dr.Caroline Hall, Louise Brooks & Cindy SmithI got to hang out with Louise Brooks, Integrity Board Member and Director of Communications; Jim White, the LA Diocesan Organizer, longtime Integrity volunteer Randy Kimmler; as well as Cindy Smith, Provincial Coordinator for Province 8. I also got to meet for the first time Jamie Hebert who is a Producer for the forthcoming dvd, Voices of Witness: Out of the Box, who was there with his husband, actor and comedian Alec Mapa, sharing about their experience finding All Saints and why they are choosing to bring their son up in this inclusive congregation. It was certainly a gay day.
Producer Jamie Hebert & Actor Alec Mapa
My thanks go to the good people of All Saints for all they have done to make the Episcopal Church truly welcoming, and for the beacon of hope they are for so many, that there can be a home for us here. Special thanks go to Canon Susan Russell for her work in putting this celebratory festival together to remind us how far we have come in just two decades.
To see video of the event go to the All Saints website.
Integrity USA Goes to Washington
ReflectionByRev. Harry Knox
I’ve lost count of the times I have trekked to Capitol Hill in Washington to lobby right wing Republican senators on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and now the Safe Schools Improvement Act. The polite, non-committal responses we always receive might discourage me if I didn’t have the benefit of clarity around my mission as an advocate for justice.
Rev Harry Knox of Integrity, Ja' Briel Walthour, Trey Ramsey, Minister Joshua Holiday of the Fellowship visit Sen Saxby Chambliss' (R-GA) office.
Why do I keep lobbying enemies of justice, as I did last week as part of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s Lobby Day? Three reasons come to mind:
1. The Bible says I should not only pray for my enemies, but should seek to bless them. (Matthew 5:44) It was my privilege to introduce staff members of Sens. Johnny Isaakson and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia to two beautiful representatives of Georgia’s transgender and queer communities – Ja’Briel Walthour of Hinesville and Trey Ramsey of Atlanta. Ja’Briel and Trey blessed everyone in the room as they courageously shared their stories of being denied promised promotion because of gender transition and of having been harassed in Georgia schools because of perceived sexual orientation.
2. The young staff members, who hear our stories (so their bosses won’t have to) are the next generation of leaders in their party – and they are different from those in power today. Polls show we are making significant inroads into the hearts and minds of young Republicans. So I am never discouraged at seeing “just a staff member”. I was once one of those young Republican staffers, and I know the future can be different for them if they are exposed, as I was, to new ideas.
3. Ja’Briel and Trey and I are empowered and encouraged for having told our own stories. It feels good to have taken action for justice, even if we don’t know what the direct outcomes might be. As we sought to bless our enemies, we found ourselves blessed. Thanks be to God.
When I was executive director of Georgia Equality, the local LGBT newspaper often asked me a question: “Since the Georgia legislature is stacked against you, and Georgia Equality has so little money, and people are hesitant to take risks for your cause, do you really think you have the resources you need to be successful?” My answer was always the same. “No; so we better get started.”
For some reason, the press never printed my response. I don’t think they understood what we in Integrity understand. We don’t have to know the outcome before we respond to God’s call to action. It’s a matter of faith; and it’s what makes us different from those who leave the world largely as they found it. Heaven save us from that fate.
The Rev. Harry Knox is Executive Director of Integrity USA
harry@integrityusa.org
I’ve lost count of the times I have trekked to Capitol Hill in Washington to lobby right wing Republican senators on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and now the Safe Schools Improvement Act. The polite, non-committal responses we always receive might discourage me if I didn’t have the benefit of clarity around my mission as an advocate for justice.
Rev Harry Knox of Integrity, Ja' Briel Walthour, Trey Ramsey, Minister Joshua Holiday of the Fellowship visit Sen Saxby Chambliss' (R-GA) office.
Why do I keep lobbying enemies of justice, as I did last week as part of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s Lobby Day? Three reasons come to mind:
1. The Bible says I should not only pray for my enemies, but should seek to bless them. (Matthew 5:44) It was my privilege to introduce staff members of Sens. Johnny Isaakson and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia to two beautiful representatives of Georgia’s transgender and queer communities – Ja’Briel Walthour of Hinesville and Trey Ramsey of Atlanta. Ja’Briel and Trey blessed everyone in the room as they courageously shared their stories of being denied promised promotion because of gender transition and of having been harassed in Georgia schools because of perceived sexual orientation.
2. The young staff members, who hear our stories (so their bosses won’t have to) are the next generation of leaders in their party – and they are different from those in power today. Polls show we are making significant inroads into the hearts and minds of young Republicans. So I am never discouraged at seeing “just a staff member”. I was once one of those young Republican staffers, and I know the future can be different for them if they are exposed, as I was, to new ideas.
3. Ja’Briel and Trey and I are empowered and encouraged for having told our own stories. It feels good to have taken action for justice, even if we don’t know what the direct outcomes might be. As we sought to bless our enemies, we found ourselves blessed. Thanks be to God.
When I was executive director of Georgia Equality, the local LGBT newspaper often asked me a question: “Since the Georgia legislature is stacked against you, and Georgia Equality has so little money, and people are hesitant to take risks for your cause, do you really think you have the resources you need to be successful?” My answer was always the same. “No; so we better get started.”
For some reason, the press never printed my response. I don’t think they understood what we in Integrity understand. We don’t have to know the outcome before we respond to God’s call to action. It’s a matter of faith; and it’s what makes us different from those who leave the world largely as they found it. Heaven save us from that fate.
The Rev. Harry Knox is Executive Director of Integrity USA
harry@integrityusa.org
