You cut off the art, you cut off the soul

Kos of Daily Kos discussed how much the nasty guy idolized and seemed to be controlled by Putin of Russia. Things are changing.

Yet a funny thing has happened. Trump slobbered over Putin, believing that he and Russia are strong and mighty, serving as an example for his own imperialist and undemocratic designs. But Russia is not strong and mighty. In fact, Russia has run out of tools to prop up its failing economy. And out-of-control inflation, sky-high interest rates, and lower global energy prices have put Putin in a precarious position. Somehow, Trump noticed this, and his disdain couldn’t be clearer. We just might have somehow lucked into a pro-Ukraine Trump presidency.

The disdain shows up in the nasty guy’s tweets and calls for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Kos quoted a passage. I won’t. Kos goes into why Russia’s economy is so bad. Putin has used up resources needed to pay for the war and inflation is now high. His groveling before Kim of North Korea for war aid doesn’t help his image. China seems hesitant to invest in Russia, but wants the war to continue because that keeps Western eyes off Taiwan. So the nasty guy might become pro-Ukraine. Some Republicans might too. Kos says if he really wants to make a difference in that war he should give Ukraine the long range weapons Biden wouldn’t. Morgan Stephens of Kos wrote that a memo from the Department of Justice shows how the nasty guy intends to force sanctuary cities and states to comply with his deportation agenda. Having the DoJ carry it out (rather than Homeland Security?) seems to be the plan. And this may be why:

The memo asserts that state and local officials must comply with the department under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, otherwise they could face criminal prosecution or civil violation charges. “Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” the memo said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.”

Stephens offers a bit of hope:

On Tuesday, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who has been a vocal Republican critic of Trump, shared some profound advice on how to handle the president. “If you stand up to Trump you intimidate him and he will back down,” he wrote on Bluesky. “If you crawl to him (like his sycophantic politicians) he will not respect you and will eventually throw you under the bus.”

I hope Democrats are able to acquire spine strengtheners. There are weaknesses to be exploited. Congress has passed the Laken Riley Act with several Democrats voting for it (which is several too many). The nasty guy will no doubt sign it. The act says that if an undocumented person is accused of a crime they should be detained for deportation. Walter Einenkel of Kos has a few things to say about that bill and deportations. Pardoning the 1500 criminals who attacked the Capitol has blown up the reason for deportations to “keep criminals off the street.” Back to the bill. Note the word accused. That means noncitizens may lose the right to due process. Another source said a landlord could use the threat of an accusation to keep noncitizen renters in line (as in over charging them or under maintaining the property).

"So when a private prison camp opens in your town and they say ‘we didn't know this was going to happen,’ know that they did, and they voted for it,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “When a dreamer is disappeared from your classroom, when the president of the United States destroys what is left of the Constitution—as he's announced in his attack on birthright citizenship—they will all say, ‘we didn't know this was coming,’” she concluded. “And I want the American people to know that they did. This vote represents it."

In a pundit roundup for Kos Greg Dworkin quoted the Harvard Business Review’s article on how deportations could be disastrous to the US food supply.

Most people probably assume the undocumented group is unskilled labor, but our interviews with four growers with operations in Florida and California and people at industry associations suggest the opposite. “We would lose a lot of our skilled workers,” said one California strawberry grower. “Some of our more skilled people have been here for 20 or 30 years, and they speak English.” One profile that he shared was that of a highly skilled supervisor who makes important daily decisions on planting and harvesting. Another was a skilled mechanic. A third was a crew boss with decades of experience. “These are people who came over in the mid-1980s and 1990s. They have been paying taxes and social security, but they never went through the citizenship process,” the grower said. Labor was 40% of his costs, and Trump’s statements have filled these workers and their employers with anxiety over their uncertain futures.

Dworkin also included a tweet by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick:

Leaked documents from the Trump admin show that ICE wants four new detention centers with 10,000 beds each, and fourteen smaller facilities with 700-1,000 beds each. That would likely mean tens of billions in taxpayer funds sent to private prison companies. They are salivating.

Reichlin-Melnick also included a tweet by Aaron Rupar:

AOC: “I want folks at home to look at what members of Congress are invested in private prison companies, and look at the votes on this bill. It is atrocious that people are lining their pockets with private prison profits in the name of a horrific tragedy.”

In the comments are memes and cartoons to share. A cartoon by Matt Reuter showing a man talking to his wife while pointing to the weather app on his phone, “It says it’s nineteen degrees out, but the general lack of empathy in our current political climate is making it feel colder.” A cartoon by Mike Luckovich showing a woman and man encountering several men labeled “GOP” lying on the ground. She asks “Where’re your spines?” A man on the ground responds, “Trump’s insurrectionists needed ’em to beat cops with.” A cartoon by RJ Matson shows a truck with an elephant driving. In the bed looks like manure labeled “Jan. 6 blanket pardons.” On the tailgate are “The Party of Law and Order” and “Back the Blue.” A cop has stopped the truck and is saying, “I’m going to have to ask you to remove those bumper stickers.” From a meme posted by Middle Age Riot:

Donald Trump: I will pardon the January 6 rioters. Police Unions: We endorse Donald Trump. Donald Trump: I have pardoned the January 6 rioters. Police Unions: What?

A cartoon posted by paulpro (author not displayed) shows a person with a rainbow shirt on the ground as three men beat the person with their bibles, creating a pool of blood. The caption says, “If your religion makes you hate someone, you need a new religion.” When I wrote about Bishop Mariann Budde yesterday I misspelled her name – I was working from a source that misspelled it. This is the correct spelling. A meme posted by exlrrp shows that I had written about her before for doing something quite loving.

Did you know that for 25 years, Matthew Shepard, who was brutally tortured and murdered for being gay, had no permanent resting place due to concerns his grave would be vandalized, and when Reverend Budde learned of this, she invited the Shepards to inter him inside the Washington National Cathedral. She co-officiated the service that welcomed Matthew to a forever home in the church and told the gathering, “20 years of mourning was not enough for someone who is loved. Nor can 20 years heal the grief of such a loss.”

My admiration grows. I’ve been involved with the Reconciling Ministries Network for close to two decades. They’re the group working to make the United Methodist Church more inclusive of LGBTQ people. Many conservative congregations have left. The current denomination rules are much better, though they say a congregation can fully include LGBTQ people, but that they don’t have to. So more work needs to be done. I still get their email newsletter and I’m planning to attend their next convocation this summer. Of course RMN is aware of the political climate and in today’s email has things to keep in mind: + The chaos and terror are the point. They’re designed to make us feel afraid and alone. We’re afraid because the harm is real. But we are not alone. Pastors are preaching courageously to soften hearts of stone. You are worth fighting for. + In times of crisis humans come together. Love recklessly and fiercely. We get creative about resistance and don’t let despair have the last word. + Take lessons from those who’ve experienced apocalypse before, the ones who’ve been through colonialism, political uprisings, natural disasters, genocide, food scarcity, and silencing. + We get free when we all get free. Look to the intersections of your communities. + Do not cancel one another so swiftly that no one is left standing in your circle. Practice gratitude and extend grace. We need one another. Brittany Luse of NPR talked to Colman Domingo, the star of the moving Sing Sing, which just received a few Oscar nominations. Much of the rest of the cast is real-life formerly incarcerated actors. The story is about incarcerated people working together to stage an original musical. Last week it was rereleased and this second time it will be screened in more than a thousand prisons. Luse noted the movie shows examples of healthy masculinity, the men are vulnerable with each other. Domingo explains that to create anything together, including something artistic, people have to leave behind something personal to gain something communal. One thing to leave behind is ego.

LUSE: The other thing that I noticed too is the film - it reminded me how masculinity is not necessarily always inherently defined but enforced. And the way that the men in the film communicated with each other enforced vulnerability as a value and did not enforce that those things made you weak or less than or deserved social punishment. DOMINGO: That - what you just said there was the light bulb for all of us as we were exploring making this film. These men are saying that this is part of our survival, to have all of these feelings, to have all this softness and tenderness. And it has nothing to do with sexuality whatsoever. It's more about mental health. It's about being good and kind to yourself and acknowledging your feelings and acknowledging your heartache, acknowledging your trauma, acknowledging what you feel.

Domingo added they hold each other accountable to actually be vulnerable, to say it’s OK, go there. The men also understood the necessity of art. Domingo said:

I remember when I first started out, I was touring around to junior high schools and high schools performing. And I would note that arts programs were severely cut. The first things to go - art. I thought, why is that? Well, I grew up with arts programs. Why is that? I mean, you cut off the art, you cut off the soul. You cut off people understanding how to be human with each other. You cut that out of schools, there's - I feel like there's a path to the prison industrial complex. Art is not frivolous. Art connects us, and we need it in our society. We need it in our schools. You know, a lot of these men who went through this program, they say, you know, if I had something like this growing up, I probably would never have been here. I would have another way to get out what was inside of me.

Reconciling Ministries Network Convocation

I finished writing my notes from the Reconciling Ministries Network Convocation. This is the group trying to make the United Methodist Church more inclusive. I posted it on my brother blog for Dedicated Reconciling United Methodists.

First step in resistance work: show up

I’m now home again. Over the last several days I was in the St. Louis area. My cousin and I did a couple days of genealogy research (I’ll tell family members more about it when I have time to go over my notes – which may be after my next trip). Then I attended the For Everyone Born Convocation put on by the Reconciling Ministries Network and the Love Your Neighbor Coalition. These groups advocate for full inclusion of LGBT people within the United Methodist Church. You can read my report of Convo on my brother blog here.

Extending grace and compassion to everyone

Rev. Jeremy Smith ponders a proposal for the future of the United Methodist Church. Full inclusion of LGBTQ people? Full Exclusion? Or let each local region decide? Details in my brother blog.

San Antonio in August is hot

Yes, it has been a while.

Back on August 4th I flew to Austin, Texas. My brother's family were in the midst of putting on a summer musical through an organization that provides performance experience for home-schooled kids. The show was Seussical. My brother's son and three of his grandkids were in the cast. His wife was head of the costume crew, his daughter was choreographer, and another son was in the pit band.

On Thursday, August 6 I took Greyhound to San Antonio to attend the Reconciling Ministries Network Convocation. My report of Convo is on my brother blog. Though Convo ended a week ago it took that long to write my report (in the midst of trips to visit my dad).

Convo was held in Travis Park United Methodist Church. The current sanctuary held its first service in 1886. It was enlarged in 1902. Among other additions was a youth wing completed in 1950. As part of that a cool stained glass window was installed. The whole thing is 50 feet high and was the tallest in America at the time. Here it is. I'm standing outside the east side of the building with the late afternoon sun shining through the glass.

Yes, San Antonio in August is hot. Late afternoon temperatures hit 100F every day. Even so, two of the three evenings I had supper along the River Walk and spent time before eating stretching my legs by walking around the central loop or along the San Antonio River up- or downstream of the loop. Here's a picture of a bit of the River Walk.

All that noise in Indiana

The news about various Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (aka Persecution Protection Acts) has been flowing thick and fast.

In Indiana
As I understand it the Indiana House passed an amendment to the state's RFRA so that it could not be used to discriminate against sexual minorities. A step in the right direction, but since the state does not include us in its civil rights law it is still legal to discriminate against us, unless one is in a city with a local non-discrimination ordinance. Gov. Mike Pence signed it. Of course, there is no attempt to add sexual minorities to the civil rights bill, so gay organizations are still putting on the pressure.

In Arkansas
Apparently, all the noise in Indiana caught the attention of Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Or maybe it was the Gov. finding his son Seth's name on a petition asking him to not sign his state's RFRA. Either way, Hutchinson didn't sign and sent it back for revision. The new version only addresses action by the gov't, not individuals or businesses, and closely follows the 1993 federal law. That new version has been passed and signed. As in Indiana, Arkansas doesn't include sexual minorities in their civil rights laws, so discrimination is still legal. Hutchinson is considering an executive order barring discrimination for state employment.

In Georgia
The lead sponsor says the RFRA in that state is dead – for this legislative session. This is the state where an amendment was attached to specifically say it cannot be used for discrimination and lawmakers lost interest.

In Michigan
All that Indiana noise also got the attention of Michigan's Gov. Rick Snyder. He announced today that if a Religious Freedom bill came to him without being accompanied by a revision to the state's civil rights act to include sexual minorities then he would veto the Religious Freedom bill. This is great news! Especially since Snyder has never issued a veto threat before the bill's first hearing and rarely issues veto threats.

Sen. Mike Shirkey, the RFRA sponsor, remains undeterred by the veto threat. House Speaker Kevin Cotter has no interest in taking up an expansion of the civil rights act.

So, it will remain legal discriminate against sexual minorities in Michigan. A person just can't use religion as the reason (not that a reason is necessary).

Elsewhere
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory issued a veto threat. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock noted the Indiana backlash and said Montana didn't need a similar measure. The Montana RFRA was narrowly defeated.

Ari Ezra Waldman of Towleroad reviewed the first version of the Indiana RFRA, explaining how it is different from the 1993 federal law. Then he mentions something that is a bit disturbing – court interpretations, from the 2nd, 8th, 9th and DC Circuits, result in the federal law drifting toward the first Indiana law. What had been written to protect private citizens from the government has been expanded to protect corporations. The Hobby Lobby decision is the most well known.

Reconciling Ministries Network has issued a letter discussing the Indiana RFRA. It has a variation of the sign that has begun to appear on businesses in Indiana: "This Christ serves everyone and so do we." The letter describes the "indiscriminate servant love of Jesus Christ." It goes on to show how that appears in the Bible, in the songs we sing, and in the United Methodist Book of Discipline.

A prominent notice

If your state has a license to discriminate law and you intend to make full use of it, state Rep. Emily Virgin of Oklahoma wants you to own it. She is proposing an amendment to her state's bill to require placing a prominent notice that you intend to discriminate. That way you can save the rest of us a lot of hassle of not walking through the door. Commenters like the idea – as a temporary measure until the license to discriminate laws can be declared unconstitutional.



A new poll says 59% of voters support same-sex marriage. This is an all-time high and nearly double the 30% support of 2004. National attitudes towards gay marriage are changing faster than they did for such things as women's rights and interracial marriage. Go here for a chart that shows the progress.



I posted a brief note in my brother blog about two United Methodist pastors who performed same-sex marriages in Virginia.

The country and world are watching Detroit

Yeah, I know it's been a week since I last posted. The weekend was so busy I needed to go back to work to rest up. And my work week doesn't leave much time to write.

Saturday morning I joined a crew to Board Up Blight. This was a team that assembled at the Scott Center, part of Cass Community Social Services, associated with the Cass Community United Methodist Church. The Saturday crew was brought together through the Hands4Detroit program run by the Detroit district of the UMC. There were several other projects elsewhere in Detroit and Pontiac. Apparently the total number of volunteers was over 1100 (some showing up that morning). A few sites had more volunteers than they could keep busy.

The crew of 20 that I joined walked a couple blocks north of the Scott Center, an area southwest of Davison and Lodge. There are currently 7 houses on the block and at least that many vacant lots. Out of those 7 houses only one is currently occupied. Of the rest… One was badly burned, not much more than a few walls and chimney that didn't look stable. A couple others showed scars of fire. All were quite thoroughly trashed.

Our job was to board up first floor windows and doors, haul out the yard trash, and cut down overgrown shrubs and small trees -- especially the kind that grow when no one is looking. We hauled out a great deal of trash. I wondered a bit over the cancelled checks from 1979 and the intact newspaper from 1975. There were also lots of body parts -- from a manikin. We worked from about 9:30 to noon, had a lunch break and then 1:00 to 2:00. The street looked a lot better when we were done, though it was lined with garbage bags and cut branches for someone to haul away. All this effort prompted the lone resident to do a bit of yard work of his own.

I don't know how long these houses have been vacant. A year? Ten? Even so, I thought about the banks sucking value from the city through foreclosures and leaving teams like ours to clean up after them.

From there I went downtown to Grand Circus Park and the International People's Assembly Against the Banks and Against Austerity. This was put on by Detroit Eviction Defense and Moratorium Now, two groups that have sponsored protests I've participated in. There were probably other groups involved in the planning. The assembly had been going since 10:00 that morning. Alas, the whole thing looked a lot smaller than I expected -- just a couple tents and a handful of booths along Woodward.

When I got there one of the tents held a workshop talking about the power structures in Detroit. They are, in order:

Economic, the wealthy people and the big companies (they were named), including the car companies. If these people want something done, it gets done. That doesn't mean it is in the best interest of the city and its citizens.

Political, including city and state officials. The state is listed because many of Detroit's difficulties are a result of state action, such as the Emergency Manager law and various revenue sharing programs the state doles out or (more frequently) withholds.

Media, the big corporate owned newspapers and the independent weeklies. Corporate papers are important because they control what residents think and if the papers don't discuss possible solutions (the ones that aren't in a corporation's benefit) residents don't know about them. We were urged to read the independents and to be our own media. That's what I'm doing now.

Non-profit, mostly foundations set up by the economic powers. The powers also fill their boards. This allows the rich to hide behind a non-profit which enforces their power. It also allows the rich to do a little something about the collateral damage their policies create.

We all assembled under one tent for the afternoon series of speakers. Some were video clips or written statements from fellow strugglers elsewhere in the world.

The first statement was from the Haitian community in Oakland about the situation in Haiti. Since the earthquake (nearly 4 years ago?) the situation is still dire for many people. Most of the aid money has ended up in the pockets of the rich. The poor still live in tents.

The next message was from Portland, OR. That was followed by a video from the Philippines. This speaker seemed to know a great deal about the situation in Detroit.

Laura Gottesdiener is the author of the book A Dream Foreclosed. She said Detroit is on the front lines in the battle between the 1% and the 99%. The rest of the country and the world are watching intently. If the 1% succeeds in Detroit, they'll have a much easier time elsewhere. This isn't a fight over buildings. It is a fight for democracy.

Lamont Lilley of Moral Monday in North Carolina listed the issues they are fighting there: Murders by cops, cutoff of WIC (a piece of welfare), voter ID laws, high unemployment, child poverty (80% in some places), college unaffordable, good schools segregated. All this was the reason for Moral Mondays. We must build on our similarities. Organization plus voice is power.

We heard a statement from the Brazilian president of International Democratic Women. Their work is to oppose imperialism. She listed the effects of austerity on women and children worldwide. One item I noted is that women are welcomed into the workforce in many countries because that allows the owners to drive down wages for all workers.

Next was a statement from the American group Women's Health Women's Hand. Austerity was introduced around the world before it hit America. Women and children suffer most.

Marva and David live in Cleveland and have been fighting foreclosure of their home for several years. They listed a few reasons for their situation in Ohio. Here are a couple: (1) The courts are crooked and routinely refuse loan modifications. (2) Credit Default Swaps, a big part of the economic collapse and the Great Recession, in this case work like mortgage insurance for banks but without the insurance regulations. The bank isn't reimbursed for the price of the mortgage, they're reimbursed for 30 times the price of the mortgage. If they can force a foreclosure on a $300K mortgage they collect $9 million. No wonder they don't want to reduce the amount of principle to match the current appraised value.

A speaker suggested that we stop buying goods and services that support our oppression. Let's have a "don't buy a damn thing" day.

We saw a video from a French bank worker in support of our cause. His message (with transcript) is at the bottom of this page.

Sharon Black of the People's Power Assembly in Baltimore spoke. She repeated that everyone is watching the situation in Detroit. They are with us. October 24th is the 75th anniversary of the first minimum wage law. This year that date should be a "Raise Wages Day." She told us there are daily protests in Washington over the shutdown. Since I hadn't heard about that it suggests the power of corporate media to hide important parts of the story.

Eva from North Carolina reminded us the youth are bearing the brunt of poverty and austerity.

A United States Postal Service union worker talked to us. The USPS is the biggest employer outside Walmart and its union is the biggest union. A couple years ago Congress demanded the USPS fund its pension system 75 years in advance. Why? To break the union, even if it breaks the USPS. Which is fine with many because it allows that service to be privatized. It also allows postal services to be offered by Walmart.

An aside: Though NPR and their stations don't have commercials, they do offer sponsorships, in which an organization can broadcast a brief (5 second?) message. I've been amazed at the number of different sponsors to Michigan Radio who use that brief time to say they sell postage stamps. The most important thing they want to tell us is they sell stamps? Something doesn't sound right.

A speaker told us about conditions in the Philadelphia schools, which are quite similar to Detroit's schools. Talk of school reform seems to consist of attacks on teachers and communities of color. Various budgetary shenanigans by politicians means the school system has debt, which means a chunk of the budget now goes to banks, not teaching. Funding appears to be a shell game. There is a push to privatize -- backed by the investors of private schools. The legislature is gutting the teacher seniority system. That means a teacher can't speak out about problems without risking having a job next year. These austerity measures are being actively opposed -- by the students who are staging protests. Various groups are borrowing from NC's Moral Mondays and hosting Full Funding Fridays.

We saw a video from former workers of a GM plant in Colombia. Workers there are not allowed to organize. That means a lot of workers are injured, mostly repetitive stress problems. Injuries are why these guys are former workers.

Tovah from Oakland told us 48% of the foreclosures are Latino. I don't know if this is a city or state number. The city of Stockton also faces bankruptcy, so is watching Detroit carefully.

Raquel Seda of Puerto Rico spoke. She reminded us that it is a US colony and has a long history of austerity. There is lots of privatization there, especially of higher education.

Sarah Flounders recently visited Syria for an extended stay. She gave us a different scenario of the war there (though perhaps she was referring to American intervention). It is all about privatizing the country, including the schools, for the benefit of the (American?) wealthy. Maybe she was referring to the current situation without official USA intervention. She says 10,000 of the soldiers are American mercenaries. She reminded us that bombs dropped overseas also drop on American cities. Money to pay for those bombs comes out of what would have gone into city finances. Cities can't pay their bills and must offer fewer services, causing damage as if a literal bomb had dropped (the effects of which I saw that morning). She supported her last comments with a diagram. In the federal discretionary spending (not including Social Security and similar programs) the military takes up 54% and is mandated to grow at 5-10% a year. Which means for the budget to balance (like the GOP is howling for) the rest of the gov't must shrink.

The leaders passed out flyers of the next scheduled protest (so all you in Detroit listen up). An important hearing on Detroit's bankruptcy will be held the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 23. So the Moratorium Now folks are planning to have enough protesters to completely encircle the Federal Courthouse (231 W. Lafayette). Be there by 8:00 am. Their demands: cancel the fraudulent debt, stop attacks on worker's pensions, stop the privatization of jobs and services, restore federal grants to city workers instead of private corporations, end Emergency Management, and (I'll add) stop the looting of the Detroit Institute of Art.

I was still wearing my Hands4Detroit shirt from my morning labors. That prompted one person to ask to take a picture of it. You can see the logo at the bottom of this page.

Another person commented on the shirt, so I went over to talk. It turns out the guy she was with (and maybe her too) was a reporter for the Michigan Citizen, one of Detroit's independent news weeklies. I agreed to be interviewed and talked about my work that morning. I've been perusing their site and haven't found an article about the Assembly. A search for my name came up empty. I did see a video that looks like it was taken at the Assembly (though I didn't watch it) but it is dated the day before.

The Assembly broke for dinner. A nearby restaurant supplied the food. I saw what they were serving -- vegetarian, heavy on the potatoes -- and knew it wouldn't fit with my current diet. The evening session would be entertainment, so it was time for me to go home.

I didn't promptly sit down and tell you about it because I had to prepare for Sunday, which you'll see below.

Sunday morning was the usual worship service. I and the rest of the Stewardship Committee performed a little skit as part of the fall fund campaign.

A good chunk of the afternoon was taken up by the annual CROP Walk to raise money for Church World Service and their campaign to reduce worldwide hunger. As part of that I walked two miles.

I'm a part of the Dedicated Reconciling United Methodists (DRUM), a local chapter of the Reconciling Ministries Network. RMN is the group that put on the Convo I attended over Labor Day weekend and wrote about on the blog I maintain for DRUM. Amazingly, that post has been read by over 1200 people! That's 10 times more than any other posting on that blog.

On the first Sunday of the month DRUM and the Church and Society committee of Nardin Park UMC in Farmington Hills put on an inclusive service, for those who don't feel so welcome in regular services. Attendance has varied from 3 to perhaps 18. This past Sunday was my turn to speak about my experiences at Convo. It wasn't a full service, though we sang a couple hymns and shared a prayer. What I did most of Friday, all of Saturday evening, and a spare hour on Sunday afternoon was to organize my notes for this gathering. Alas, rainstorms discouraged attendance and there were only six of us.

After that I figured I was close to the Whole Foods store in West Bloomfield and should do some shopping. Then I made a stop at my usual food store for a couple more things. By the time I got home it was too late to do any writing.

Monday included a visit to a dermatologist and my nutritionist. And I was back to teaching on Tuesday, appreciating the rest.

The reason for the trip

Friday, August 30
The Reconciling Ministries Convo started and continued through Labor Day. This was the reason for the trip to Washington. But you'll have to read my report at my brother blog, the one I write for the Detroit Reconciling United Methodists.

I'm still here

I'm very aware I haven't posted since last Wednesday. At that time I was telling you all about my travels in Washington, DC. The Reconciling Ministries Convo was wonderful, but busy. Events started before 9:00 am and went until after 9:00 pm. I had time to write, but not also time to choose appropriate photos.

I'm home again. The flight took off 15 minutes late. It was amusing how many people tried to cram oversize carryons into the overhead bins. One open space had four different bags crammed into it, each rejected and checked by the attendants. Once in the air it was turbulent enough the attendants put the drink cart away and when the bouncing ended they offered only water (it was only an hour long flight).

I actually took my little netbook computer onto the flight rather than packing it into the big suitcase. During the time we were allowed to use devices with batteries I wrote my Convo report. I didn't quite finish.

The first day of class is tomorrow. The evening is free, so I should get the rest of my trip report posted then. And -- maybe -- catch up on a bit of gay news.

A step forward, a step back

Every two years I've been attending a Convocation put on by Reconciling Ministries Network, an organization that is working to make the United Methodist Church more gay-friendly. The next Convo is Labor Day weekend this year to be held in Maryland outside Washington, DC. This is the first time Convo will be held in a state that has marriage equality (though it didn't when the site was chosen). Event organizers will take advantage of that. They will offer wedding ceremonies, complete with presiding pastors, for attending couples who, according to their home pastor, are ready for marriage. This includes having taken a marriage preparation course (which UMC pastors may do, they just can't perform the ceremony). Organizers say this is not a part of the regular program, so the entire assembly may not witness their happy moment (but wouldn't you want 700 people cheering wildly that your wedding is even possible?).



Back in 1999 oil company Exxon bought out Mobil and became ExxonMobil. As part of the deal the domestic partner benefits that Mobil employees enjoyed were canceled. That gave the new company a negative score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (most other oil companies have scores around 85 out of 100). As has happened every year since then proposals for gay equality have been presented at the annual shareholder meeting and rejected. This year the vote was 81% against us, our worst showing yet. Whoever owns ExxonMobil stock really doesn't like us and wants their corporation to remain stuck in the middle of the last century.



At the start of the week I wrote about the presentation that Jim Harrington gave about just war and peace as justice. I remembered one more detail that is important. As a part of describing peace as justice I wrote:

People have a fundamental right to life, food, shelter, health care, education, and employment.

Harrington says the wars being fought today are about those issues, not about religion. Deal with those issues and the need for war subsides.



This is the end of the legislative session in Illinois and -- alas -- the marriage equality bill did not come up for a vote in the House. It had already passed the Senate. The bill's sponsor said he would only call for a vote if he had the 60 needed to pass, and he doesn't. Not yet. A few members said they will be holding conversations in their districts and expect to be able to vote yes when the legislature reconvenes in November. Maybe you can enjoy Chicago at Christmas.

We lost another one

I posted an article in my brother blog about a seminary student who found he could not serve the United Methodist Church.

Spiritual Violence is still being done

Today's post went into my brother blog, the one I maintain for Dedicated Reconciling United Methodists. I put it there because it is about Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist pastor who was put on trial for performing a same-sex commitment ceremony, and discusses the spiritual violence the denomination does against gay people. It also discusses the unwillingness of General Conference to do anything about that violence. So click on over to read it.

Out of the wilderness

Thursday, August 25

Sing a New Song officially opened with an evening worship service. As with all RMN services, it sometimes had me in tears. It was joyous. It was hopeful. It was gay. The words spoke of coming out of wilderness into the inclusion of God's family. It spoke of newness, of forgetting of what came before to focus on the new. It spoke of justice and service. It spoke directly to my experience. It was hard to sing such wonderful, hopeful, joyous songs while crying.

The bishop of the part of Ohio that includes our site couldn't be there. A pastor read his letter of welcome. When done the friend beside me said, "Wow. I wish he was our bishop."

The message was by Jennifer Battiest Neal, who is Native American. She spoke of the personal conflict of a church that told her that Native culture was bad, yet she felt a God of love. She worked with youth of a church to create something new, a church and a God that affirmed Native culture.

The whole service was about inclusion. One of our songs was in a mix of Spanish and English. The basket of communion bread passed down the rows held all sorts of bread used by various traditions – loaves, wafers, crackers, pita bread, tortillas, and bread used in wraps.

At each RMN event I am reminded that in my normal weekly worship I leave a bit of myself outside. My gay self isn't mentioned. Here, my gay self is celebrated and I worship in completeness.

I should now back up a bit. RMN is Reconciling Ministries Network, an organization working to make the United Methodist Church to be gay-friendly. They hold a convocation every other year, with alternate gatherings to fire up the troops in preparation for the United Methodist General Conference the following year. GC is the only event that can change the denominations rules about gay acceptance. The next one begins next April.

This is my third such event. This year the event is called Sing a New Song and co-hosted by MFSA, Methodist Federation for Social Action, one of RMN's partners in GC work next year. The crowd was just under 700, with about 40 from across Michigan. We are at Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio and overflowed it with some people staying at two neighboring motels.

I arrived yesterday. I spent most of today at a workshop on Building a Reconciling Community. Compared to previous workshops on the same topic, this one was more concrete and practical about what to do. The leaders talked about such things as seek out a core working group, identify people in power (especially unofficial power) and meet with them early in the process (before they muck it up for you), answer some questions about the congregation to determine whether you can do a quick process or a cautious process, provide hooks into the focus (welcome, inclusion, mission) the church already uses, meet one-to-one to talk about concerns, provide educational opportunities, make sure actual LGBT people take part and the committee is as diverse as the congregation. I may even step back a bit and talk of inclusion in general before talking of gay inclusion.

Comments about the events by RMN writers are on the event blog. There are also videos of various parts of the event, such as the bishop's welcome, plenary speakers, and worship sermons. Not everything has been posted yet and the RMN staff won't reappear at their home office until Thursday. Check them out soon.

The schedule for each day included recreation time, though if you gung-ho, there were groups that met to discuss a variety of topics during that time. When I checked in there was a sign at the front desk saying it was possible to rent kayaks and bicycles. Being a keen bicyclist, I asked. The length of the property was about a mile, but there were other bike trails elsewhere. So this afternoon I rented one. It was an old one-speed with a seat that couldn't be adjusted. Then the contract said it could not be taken off-property. I did the round trip between the lodge and the beach at the far end of the property three times before deciding I had enough. No need to rent it again.

Friday, August 26

The day started with a worship service. The scripture was about Jesus telling off the Pharisees (Luke 11:42-54). "You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won't go in yourselves and you won't let anyone else in either." After the scripture Amy DeLong preached, using her recent church trial as her starting place. It was a powerful message.

The service was followed directly by the Bible study, led by Dr. Althea Spencer-Miller, originally from Jamaica. She said if we argue with conservatives or use the Bible to reinforce existing points of view, we are essentially playing their game. We need to come up with our own narratives. So, does the Bible have a progressive trajectory? She thinks it does. Consider the case of two creation stories, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2-3. One has a distant God merely speaking to make creation happen. The other shows God actively building creation and having dirt under His fingernails. When the Bible was assembled, one tradition could have prevented the story from a second tradition from being included. But, they agreed to disagree and included both stories as evidence of the argument. And that is a progressive thing to do.

The workshop I attended after that was Beyond Apologetics; Queering the Bible, Theology, and Pastoral Care. This built on ideas from the Bible Study. Again, instead of arguing over the Bible, the question should be to imagine what kind of world we want, informed by the Bible, and aim towards that without worrying about the opposition. Pastoral care is good when it helps those who hurt. It is worst when it claims there is no hurt or causes the hurt, as is true for many gay people. It is best when it eliminates the source of an ongoing hurt.

The afternoon plenary session was by Bishop Yvette Flunder of the United Church of Christ. She talked of many things, including the difference between unity and unanimity. We need the first, not the second. We are not a puree, but a stew, with each part harmonizing with the other parts. We don't understand each other because we don't know each other. Unity allows us to keep together while we get to know each other.

As part of learning about each other we need a non-punitive discussion of sex. Flunder told this story. In Africa, polygamy works, and does so differently than in America. Wives gain social status through the husband and with that status they are able to run everything. An American Evangelical came in to do a big revival meeting with a huge attendance. As part of it he asked the crowd to repent of their sexual sins. Many wives did so, laying down on the dirt floor. The preacher went back to his fancy hotel and boarded a jet for America. He left those women in the dirt. They lost status and with that the means to provide for themselves. The preacher left them destitute, caring nothing for them except that they had conformed to his view of sin. We don't know each other. And now we try to tell them that being gay is good. They've been burned already, so they ask, “At what cost?”

The evening plenary was by Bishop Joseph Sprague. He trumpeted the progressive agenda for a while, then settled in to describe four verses of the new song we are to sing.

Verse 1: Jobs. Too many in America are being left behind, and he's not talking about Rapture, but rupture of the American Dream. We need a public works project and only government can do enough. The church should shout about the need.

Verse 2: Columbus, Ohio has the Hilltop Shalom Zone in a poor neighborhood. It is a coalition of government services, non-profit agencies, and churches from many denominations. It is doing amazing things. We know this method works. Don't go off about the latest management buzzwords. Get your vestments dirty helping the poor. There are over 120 Communities of Shalom around the country. Join one or build another.

Verse 3: War is incompatible with Christian teaching. The other use of that phrase gets all the press. This one should get the notice instead. No more support for war. Support our troops by bringing them home.

Verse 4: The North Illinois Conference said that if a pastor is charged, tried, and convicted for performing a same-sex wedding the penalty will be suspension for 24 hours. But not just equality for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders, but for all God's people (and not just the Christian ones).

In answer to a question Sprague said that progressive Christianity will evolve into an interdenominational movement, then go on to an interfaith movement.

Saturday, August 27

The morning worship service was wonderful. Alas, I don't have anything special to say about it.

Today's Bible study was a look at some of the people in the Bible who did not fit the gender roles of the time. One of these is Abigail in 1 Samuel 25:2-43. Her husband refused to serve King David and his men. Abigail went to her husband's servants and ordered them to prepare a feast for the king, taking over her husband's role. Another is Judith (a book in the Apocrypha). The army was afraid of General Holofernes. She stepped outside her feminine role to get the general drunk and to kill him. One more story is not from the Bible but is ancient. In Ovid's Metamorphosis is the story of a girl born to a man who demanded a son. The girl is dressed as a boy. The father arranges a marriage to another girl. On her wedding she is changed into a man. This story was told to show such stories were old, something the Israelites would have heard.

My workshop for the day was a description of General Conference and the role MFSA and RMN will play and what we as individuals might do. It was led by Rev. Steve Clunn and Rev. Bruce Robbins.

The basics: General Conference is held every four years and is the only body in the United Methodist Church that can change the Book of Discipline, the denominations governing document. The denomination considers itself to be worldwide, so there are delegations from Europe, the Philippines, and Africa. Other branches of the church, such as Latin America, are considered associated autonomous groups and do not send delegates to General Conference. The number of delegates from each area is determined by a combination of membership and the number of districts, with each district getting a minimum number (which helps the Philippines). The total number of delegates is capped at 1000. Here is the count for 2012:

USA: 606 delegates
Africa: 282
Europe: 42
Philippines: 48
Business will be conducted in English with translation to Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili.

There are some peculiarities about this system. Each of the areas outside the USA meets separately to conduct business that is important to that area. Each area modifies the Book of Discipline to be appropriate for that area. The USA church does not meet separately, so all America only business (which is a large part of the 2000 petitions to change the BoD) goes before the entire Conference (a waste of time for some) and the other areas have a say in USA's business. On the flip side, many foreign issues don't want much meddling by the USA because it is seen as the remains of colonialism.

Rev. Robbins took part of a group that worked through what parts of the BoD should be allowed to be modified for each region and what must be considered essential to be United Methodist. While it gave him a chance to see the world, the experience was quite frustrating. Should the USA be allowed to ordain gay people in spite of the objections of the African church? Yes, that means that being homophobic might be considered essential to being United Methodist. Within its own region can Africa deny the ordination of women? That change won't help any time soon -- the earliest it could take effect is 2020.

There is a Call to Action report issued by a conservative group that, according to the presenters, says all the right things. However, their remedies do not do what they claim to do and actually increase conservative hold on the denomination (sounds like they take plays from the GOP playbook), and does such things as pit American poor against world poor. As in previous years women's issues are under attack.

RMN, MFSA, and Affirmation (another gay organization within the denomination) have formally combined efforts under the Common Witness Coalition. They have started organization efforts much earlier and with much closer cooperation than for previous GCs. There are three main tasks they will be doing during GC -- (1) track legislation through the committees and plenary floor so that effective responses can be created, (2) witness, put faces on the issues ("they're not 'issues', they're people") and communicate responses to delegates, and (3) support services, such as media and, if the vote goes against us again, grief counselors.

During previous GCs the stance of RMN was that they would strive to remain conciliatory, agree to disagree, knowing we would have to live in the same denomination even when they win. No longer. Our demand is full gay acceptance. Period.

The afternoon plenary session was all about starting the process of talking with GC delegates (who were elected in May and June and thus already known) to share our stories. And I certainly mean starting right then. We were given contact sheets, phone dialog scripts, shown an example of a dialog in process, and told to get out our cell phones and start calling. Though I don't have a cell phone I wasn't exempted, the friend sitting next to me had two. I left two messages, though I don't know how much of what I said actually got recorded. We were also given paper and sample letters to write (by hand!) our own letters to two delegates.

Your help is also needed, both in early contact work and at GC. Watch my DRUM blog for training sessions in the Detroit area and check out RMN's GC site.

I attended a session to talk to volunteers for GC work. My annoyance during the 2008 GC was that information about various votes was incomplete and late. So I asked to be on the media team. I don't know yet what that will mean. I may not be able to go. I now have my performance schedule for the coming year and a big concert is on the Sunday in the middle of GC.

That evening was the banquet, including various awards from both MFSA and RMN to people and groups that best embody their goals. One young woman was wearing a rainbow pattern men's tie, which was admired by many people. She volunteered to auction it off to raise money for our GC efforts. Someone bought it for $650.

The parent organizations have now raised 90% of the half-million dollars they will need for their GC efforts. This includes, for the first time, reaching out to delegates outside the USA. They call it their Love Your Neighbor campaign. 10% of that was raised at the banquet. Donations are gladly accepted. Send to either RMN or MFSA with a note saying it is for the Love Your Neighbor campaign.

The speaker was Michael Adee, Executive Director of More Light Presbyterians, their group that corresponds to RMN. They were successful in approving gay clergy last May. He had a great story and he is convinced United Methodists are next.

Sunday, August 28

The day started not with worship, but with meetings by district. Our agenda item was to choose dates and location for training sessions on how to contact GC delegates.

Next came the third part of our Bible study. This time Dr. Spencer-Miller took her title from the verse in Matthew, "You shall know them by their fruits." Yes, she said, the pun is intentional. She combined this with the passage from Galatians, which lists the fruits of the Spirit -- patience, love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Look at the gay people around you (especially those in the room). We certainly exhibit many of the fruits of the Spirit. Patience? My goodness, we've been at this equality work for decades. As for our opponents, any possibility they might lose they threaten to immediately split the church. That's not patience. Our opponents don't exhibit kindness and gentleness either. But, she said, St. Paul's list isn't complete. She put up images of gay families and asked us to call out the virutes seen there. It was a long list, ending with heroism. This was a marvelous message to leave us with.

Garlinda Burton preached during the morning worships service. She took the passage from Matthew 9:18-26, about bringing the daughter of Jarius (named in Luke's version of the story) back to life. She didn't focus on the restoration to life, but on a detail usually overlooked. Before Jesus gets there the house is full of a crowd already singing and playing laments. Jesus sends them out of the house before turning to the daughter. Our speaker was convinced these were Church People, into laments for what has gone on before (if we could only return to the wonderful 1950s!) and not looking about what the church is or should be doing now. She had a strong condemnation about churches that launch new initiatives rather than getting into the real work of the church of loving your neighbor.

It was a wonderful, uplifting four days. It is now back to the slog of actually working to make it happen.

A body at rest

Christoph Niemann has illustrated basic physics concepts in a way that everyone can understand.



The Ann Arbor online newspaper has a fine article on Rev. Douglas Paterson, who helped guide First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor to be a welcoming congregation for sexual minorities.

Problems pop up like weeds

Here is an article from mid-October that I found last week. I read enough to know I wanted to write about it but didn't get a chance then. Perhaps that was a good thing.

The Gideons are the people who put bibles in hotel rooms around the world. I remember a motel in southern Tennessee where the bible wasn't tucked in a drawer, but out and open. Gideons also pass out bibles in colleges (I got one at the time and have no idea what happened to it) and apparently also in public schools, down to fifth grade. I know there are rules against such things as teachers and staff appearing to promote religion during normal class time, but there are also rules that permit bible clubs and such things as prayer around the flagpole (not led by staff). So where does bible distribution fit in? That might depend on how it's done. And problems pop up like weeds.

First of all, the Gideon Bible doesn't just have the text of the bible, but includes guides to find the verses that Fundies have decided are most important. So, this isn't a generic Christian bible. What would school leaders have said if someone wanted to hand out copies of the Quran?

Jewish kids were harassed for not taking bibles, both teased by other kids and admonished by adults.

Pressing a bible into a fifth grader's hands usurps parental rights.

All that means it is usually done so blatantly that courts have repeatedly struck down the practice. Of course, in places such as Texas it persists, so the ACLU has issued a report of what's going on and why it is bad. I'm sure the report is just a warning.

This morning during the church service there was a Gideon representative who made a couple minute presentation asking for donations for their bible distribution. I can't say I disagreed with the words he used, though the way he said it put me on edge. One telling moment was when he said, "The Gideons are made up of business men … (pause) … and their wives." Let me know if you don't follow the implications of that statement.

After the choir sang the morning anthem it was my turn to give a Stewardship Moment. I am trying to get the church to approve a Vision Statement that welcomes gay people (and lots of others that tend not to fit into the traditional church). I'm well aware this is a multi-year project. So my talk today was about the question, "How are we to treat someone who is different from us?" I began by talking about all the things that happen when we get the answer wrong -- wars, slavery, ghettos, and heresy trials top the lengthy list. We need a Vision Statement because there are loud voices in the church preaching division and people have been intensely hurt by that. We can be a refuge where that doesn't happen.

When I spoke the Gideon was the closest to me, so I glanced in his direction on occasion. Through much of my talk he had this intense and pained grimace/glare thing going. At one point he even shook his head. At the time I thought he didn't like my message of inclusion, but later I suspected he didn't like my criticism of his theology. I wondered if he would approach me after the service. He didn't. It didn't take me long to decide that I would discuss things if he did, but I wasn't going to approach him.

A few weeks ago two women from Jehovah's Witness came to my door. Even by Fundie standards the Jehovah's Witness is a bit out there. I interrupted the older woman's spiel and our exchange went something like this:

"What do you think of gay people?"

"The bible says…"

"I asked what you think, not what the bible says."

"I support what the bible says."

"Would gays be welcome in your church."

"Yes, if they took part in reparative therapy."

"Then gays aren't welcome in your church. I'm not interested. Thank you."

I achieved my goal of explaining exactly why I wasn't interested. I might have debated them a bit longer (doubtful it would have changed anything, considering some of their other unusual ideas of theology and how particular they are about them), but I felt angry during the whole exchange. It was hard to close the door gently and not slam it in their faces.

And that is why I didn't approach the Gideon.

Rocky mountain high (part 2)

On Thursday I took a shuttle service from my hotel in Denver to Estes Park. Already in the van were others heading for the same conference. They were picked up at the airport. Our base for the long weekend was the YMCA of the Rockies.

I met Mark on the ride and after lunch he suggested we go hiking together (and before you get snarky, he already has a long-term partner). From the YMCA activities desk we found we could hike about a mile, take the bridge across the creek, and be right at a shuttle stop inside the Rocky Mountain National Park. The shuttle system took us up to Bear Lake, which we hiked around, then back to Glacier Gulch for a hike up to Alberta Falls.

The reason for this trip was to attend the Reconciling Ministries Network Convocation. This is an organization working to get the United Methodist Church to overturn its prohibitions against gay people and to help the denomination to be more inclusive. Most of the organization leadership is gay as were the attendees, though at least a third of the attendees were allies -- and most of them are parents of gay kids. Another large contingent was pastors who believe the denomination should be more inclusive. A third segment was youth. Total attendance was about 520, a significant jump from the 450 who attended two years ago.

Most of my Friday was at a workshop on how to get a congregation to support an inclusive statement of some sort. I've been working on that in my own church for over a year and it is going much more slowly that I thought it would. The workshop provided a lot of resources, though it didn't say much about the process. One participant said he invited a Fundie to speak at his church -- and that caused many to reject the Fundie point of view (I don't want us to be like that!).

The conference was laid out to allow for afternoon activities, a requirement when we're right outside the Rocky Mountain National Park. My Friday activity was a hike, with a YMCA hike master, up to Bible Point, on camp property. It was a strenuous hike up and down and the guide stopped frequently to allow us to rest while he told us about what we were seeing.

The Convo officially opened that evening with a worship service. Naturally, one of the "warm-up" songs before the service began was the "YMCA" song made famous by the Village People. Yes, nearly all 500 of us gays did the hand motions for the letters.

Leave it to the gays to turn a communion service into a party. With so much talk and singing about inclusion I was frequently overwhelmed enough that singing was difficult. On one side of the stage was a 3 panel screen of white cloth. During the several services through the weekend an artist stood behind the screen and painted in a scene of mountains, rainbow, and sky. The paint soaked through so we could see it applied, but not see the brush. Quite cool!

Saturday opened with another worship service. One memorable moment in the service was when we were directed to bow to one another. The front row bowed to the second, the second to the third, on through the auditorium. We did this to follow the custom in some cultures where a bow is a sign of honor. Having one person look you in the eye and bow and then doing the same for another was again overwhelming.

The service was followed by a bible study on the longest prayer by Jesus recorded in John 17.

Next, I attended an hour-long workshop on Rethinking Church. I thought it would be on new ideas for worship, but it was more basic than that. The presenter says she is a part of a small group of 5 or so who live and worship together daily, focus on a particular community need, and support themselves through day jobs. In a sense they create the modern version of the monastery. For example, one such group focuses on helping the 13-16 year olds who drop through the cracks of the social services system.

The leadership of Reconciling Ministries may focus on the church's treatment of gays (who the United Methodist Church officially treats as second-class members), but it is aware that we aren't the only ones discriminated against. The afternoon plenary session featured two presenters from the denomination's General Commission on Race and Religion. The first was Rev. Barbara Isaacs who discussed discrimination featured in Disney movies ("Some Day My Prince Will Come" from Snow White, the depiction of Native Americans in Peter Pan) and popular culture.

The second presenter was Erin Hawkins -- a young black woman who heads the commission and who hears all the time why she shouldn't be the chairperson -- who talked about how discrimination needed both prejudice and the power carry it out. She then had a cross-section of participants stand in a circle to demonstrate what she calls the Privilege Walk. She would read a statement (or its inverse) from various commentaries on privilege and ask people to step forward or back if it applied to them. Examples: "If you were the victim of overt discrimination based on skin color, gender, sexual identity, nationality, or religion, step forward." "If you received a comprehensive sexual education while growing up, step back." The ones most discriminated against ended up in the middle of the circle. The purpose of the exercise isn't to say privilege is to blame -- it isn't something we create for ourselves -- but to raise awareness about the ways in which inequalities and oppression still exist.

Rev. Isaacs returned to talk about levels in Intercultural Sensitivity. Determining a community's level of sensitivity allows them to assess where they are and what they have to do to improve. The levels are Denial, Defense, Minimalization (others are tolerated), Acceptance, Adaptation, and Integration. The last step leads to Ethnorelativism.

I didn't go on a hike that afternoon because I had laundry to do. Turns out I'm glad I didn't -- thunderstorms passed through the area.

The evening plenary session was on the right to marry. This was set up as a panel with one primary person (plus the audience) asking questions of two others, those being Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry and Rev. Roland Stringfellow of the Coalition of Welcoming Congregations in San Francisco. Stringfellow and his organization worked to say some churches are not in favor of the Calif. marriage ban.

Wolfson is a fierce and articulate champion of gay marriage and thinks the battle of gay rights is properly fought through marriage. Marriage was also the battleground for the issues of divorce, contraception, and the rights of women. Why should gays be allowed to marry? Well, yeah, there are all those federal benefits and responsibilities that come with the marriage license. But it is more basic than that. Everybody "gets" marriage. Even kids understand it. No explanation is necessary. There are huge cultural associations that come with the term. That same intrinsic understanding does not come with Civil Unions or Domestic Partnerships.

Want another crack at the Calif. marriage ban? You have your chance this fall -- in Maine. I've already donated.

Sunday also started with worship and bible study. This worship service featured a moment when we were anointed with oil on the forehead by the person on one side and passed on the gesture to the person on the other side.

My morning workshop was JUST Worship, a look at how to make the worship experience more inclusive. The presenters told the story about how they were doing a good job by hiring a deaf translator. They didn't realize the disappointment they caused when the morning prayer included a repetition of the phrase, "God, hear our prayer." Once that was pointed out future uses of the prayer were changed to, "God, receive our prayer." Other ideas include reading scripture without gender pronouns, allowing people to say prayers in their own language, providing alternate words for masculine pronouns in hymns, or starting off the Lord's Prayer with other terms for God such as "teacher".

The afternoon plenary session was enlightening. In contrast to the Episcopal and Lutheran Churches who made recent changes in favor of gay people and which are American organizations, the United Methodist prides itself in being a global organization. It is cool that when we gather every four years in General Conference there are delegates from across Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America, as well as from our own country. But that also makes for tensions, especially when the issue is gays.

At the General Conference last year there were proposals put forward to allow more regional autonomy. I'm pretty sure it passed GC. I don't know if it has yet passed all required district votes. The process is similar to the US Senate passing a constitutional amendment that needs ratification by the states.

When the GC convenes the next time in 2012 only 665 of the close to 1000 delegates will be from the USA. Many watchers are convinced that if only the American delegation voted, the anti-gay provisions would easily be removed. But when the rest of the delegates are added in, especially those from Africa, the gay side looks much less certain. In 2008 the key provision against gays was retained by a 54% approval. The worldwide church is growing while the American church is shrinking, which means in the future fewer delegates will be American.

So this plenary session was to hear from the worldwide pro-gay voices. The panel was made up of Bishop Daniel Arichea from the Philippines, Rev. Araceli Ezzatti of Uruguay, Rev. Eunice Musa Illiya (means Moses Elijah) from Nigeria, a pastor (I didn't get the name) from Zambia, and a representative (again, no name) from the organization Other Sheep. Each one introduced themselves by describing how they became advocates for gay people, the incident that caused them to change their minds. Rev. Eunice had also been a worship preacher and told the story of how Nigerian pastors and bishops had strategized how to keep their influence over Americans to prevent gay-friendly policies and how she was shouted down by a bishop when she tried to object. Here are some of the things they discussed:

* Many of the denomination publications are created for American use, irritating the global church.

* The Zambian pastor is challenging the American Evangelicals (and, yes, they are a part of the United Methodist denomination, just as liberals are), saying Americans are using Africans to get what they want. Africans need to hear Americans don't speak for them and the relationship is filled with hypocrisy. But it doesn't work to denounce the bible, which Africans strongly believe in. Instead, Africans must develop an African interpretation of the bible. I've heard a story about "using Africa" at GC -- the Fundies gave African delegates free cell phones and just before "critical" votes, these delegates would get calls reminding them of the *proper* way to vote full of indirect implications.

* The Other Sheep organization works to support gay-friendly pastors around the world, no matter the denomination. They work to connect these pastors to like-minded people and to available resources.

* The Filipino bishop wondered whether the denomination should be global. Too often American efforts come across as attempts to recolonize the global church, to impose American values (such as insisting a bride wear white). The Philippines don't want to be dependent on the American church, but to be partners with it.

Reconciling Ministries leaders are now saying, "You're going to insist that the gay issues be voted on by the global church? Fine. We'll go global too."

My afternoon hike was another one led by a YMCA guide. This time we went into the Rocky Mountain Park over a glacial lateral moraine (the dirt and boulders pushed to the side of a glacier) and into the meadow known as Moraine Park. We heard thunder and our guide said in the case of lightening we would turn back. He didn't say how close the lightening had to be to force the decision. It rained enough that we all put our raingear on.

The evening program was a very well put together presentation of the 25 years of Reconciling Ministries -- yes, we've been at this fight for 25 years now. The show include lots of photos and a few videos of key moments. There were also awards handed out for individuals and groups that have made a big impact over the last couple years.

Through sessions on Sunday evening and Monday morning we were introduced to the next campaign of the battle, called Believe Out Loud. A survey noted that 68% of pastors in the denomination say that gay people should be fully inclusive. Yet only 7% of pastors publicly proclaim that position. You believe gays should be included? Then believe out loud and actually say it.

Our closing worship service featured preaching by Bishop Grant Hagiya. I think he serves in Calif. Yup, a bishop publicly on our side. He spoke about courage and integrity.

Somehow I knew that when we were to board vans back into Denver I would have problems because I had contracted to go back to the same hotel while the others were going to the airport. There were several vans for the 2:00 crowd and a guy with a clipboard checking off names. I went up to him and said what I wanted. He said, "It's not possible." I reminded him I had paid extra for the service. Mr. Clipboard said, "Not possible." One of the drivers intervened saying, "I'll take him." So I climbed into the last seat in the back of the van.

Our next stop was the airport. Over the nearly two hours to get there all of us chatted about what a wonderful conference it was and what we would be doing once back home. The driver couldn't help but listen and understand his van was filled with gay Christians and allies. Once everyone else was dropped off at the airport the driver asked me to check the seats. I found a cell phone. The driver tried to find the owner and waited in the area until the owner asked someone to call her phone and she and the driver could arrange where to meet.

Once that was handled and it was only me and the driver and heading to my hotel he asked, "Could I ask you a few questions?" I agreed. He said he could tell we were all gay or gay allies and that we were also all Christian. I confirmed that. What follows is a rough summary of our discussion.

He considers himself a conservative and the new openness of gay people makes him afraid. Of what? I eventually pieced together his fear is of a general moral decline. That might be seen as a narrow viewpoint -- that all morals come from the church -- but that was what he had been taught.

Won't gay openness lead to bestiality? Won't people demand to marry their dogs? Sorry, that idea is a smokescreen. Besides, dogs can't consent to marriage.

Are there any types of relationships that gays would consider immoral? Won't it be anything goes? When I hesitated he added, What about a father and daughter? Yes, gays would consider sex between them as wrong because it is about power and lust, not love. We talked about a couple more examples of power relations. Can we always tell the difference between power and love? No, some couples don't figure it out until later, which is one reason why some divorce. What about abuse? Yes, gays think abuse is wrong.

I believe the bible says gay relationships are wrong! The bible says very little about gay relationships (I couldn't quote chapter and verse), but the bible says a lot more about divorce and greed. Of those few verses some have translation problems, some are routinely misinterpreted (Sodom and Gomorrah), and others are grouped with prohibitions we believe no longer apply, such as eating shrimp.

Are there gay relationships in the bible? Jonathan and David, perhaps. He wasn't convinced. What about the sex life of Jesus? -- he did go through puberty. Since the bible offers no information on the topic it is prudent not to speculate.

I have considerable respect for this guy. Though he knew we were gay or allies, he went out of his way to help us. That started with volunteering to drive the extra miles to get me to my hotel when Mr. Clipboard insisted it wasn't possible. My respect is mostly because in spite of his personal belief, he asked to hear my side of the issue rather than remaining silent. If he was inclined to lecture I'm sure he would not have while driving a company van.

Making up for a bit of Detroit's mountain deficit

In case I don't get a chance to write tomorrow…

I leave Monday morning, flying to Denver. I'll spend a couple days around the city before going to Estes Park for the Reconciling Ministries Convocation over Labor Day weekend. This is a gathering of gay Christians, specifically gays trying to get the United Methodist Church to remove its restrictions on gays. As part of that I'll be attending a session on how to get a local congregation (as in my own) to be more welcoming to gays. I was bowled over by the worship services and bible studies at the Convo in 2007 in Nashville and expect this one to be equally wonderful. Afterward I have a few more days in Denver, and perhaps will drive into the mountains (something sorely lacking in southeast Michigan). I'm sure I'll have a trip report when I return.

United Methodist Church crunch time

We're coming up to crunch time -- the General Conference of the United Methodist Church begins next Wednesday and runs for 10 days. It will be held in Fort Worth, TX. This is where policy in the UMC will be set. The next GC is in 2012 so bad policy won't be revised until then. Here is the portal to the Reconciling Ministries Network view of GC. RMN works for the inclusion of all people, especially gays, in the church.

I haven't before included pictures with these posts, but I thought the RMN logo for their conference efforts was too pretty to leave out.

The site includes a blog which will be updated as various petitions are brought up for a vote. I'm sure I'll be referring to it over the next few weeks.

The main page lists the petitions before GC. An issues page will lead you to greater discussion each issue. These are some of the issues:

Eliminate or soften the clause "homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." The rest of the anti-gay rules are built on this foundation. There are also petitions about softening or eliminating the various individual rules, all with the intention of increasing inclusiveness of gays and allies. This probably needs to be done whether or not the big one is removed. The vote to retain this key phrase has dropped from 80% in favor in 1972 to 55% in 2004.

The UMC, though worldwide, is centered on the USA. There are petitions that seek to recognize the worldwide nature of the denomination with competing proposals on how to do this. One of these proposals insists that social principles must be the same worldwide. That means issues such as homosexuality in the USA will be voted on by very homophobic regions in Africa and Asia where the denomination is growing. The anti-gay forces are afraid they will lose the vote in America and want the votes from the rest of the world to enforce their view.

RMN supports several broader issues including resisting hate, abolition of torture, environmental justice, war and peace, and women's issues (one would think we were way beyond that as an issue).

RMN has a lot of petitions it opposes. Of course, off the top are petitions to retain the key clause and not just keep, but strengthen the various bans associated with it. Some even appear to condemn RMN and Soulforce, the two organizations working hardest for gay inclusion. Alas, the exact nature of these proposals is unknown because the RMN site links directly to proposals on the UMC conference site and that site hasn't been staying up very long at a time.

Next are efforts to ban transgender clergy. This wasn't an issue until the last couple of years when a pastor transitioned to male and the Judicial Council let him continue to be a pastor simply because the denomination rules say nothing of transgender issues. After this GC I'm sure the rules will say something one way or the other.

A third batch of petitions are about Judicial Council ruling 1032. A pastor refused membership to a man because he was gay. The issue went to the Judicial Council, who said the pastor had that right. All 66 American bishops say being gay should not be a reason to reject membership. This is the first time the GC has a chance affirm or overrule the JC. Most of the petitions call for saying the pastor was right.

Finally, a batch to strengthen and extend the funding ban. A previous GC said that denomination agencies cannot give money to organizations that "promote the acceptance of homosexuality". These petitions enumerate what it means to "promote" homosexuality, to expand the ban's reach into areas such as domestic partner benefits and campus ministries that choose to declare themselves open to gay members, and to expand enforcement of the ban. Here is a blog entry that discusses the current hassles of the funding ban. The denomination is dying a slow death -- the last membership count was just below 8 million and it had been above 9 million in the 1950s -- yet the denomination is doing a good job of alienating its youth. Why should I come to your church if you don't like my gay friends?