CLGS

Editorial from the National Catholic Reporter, February 20, 2004

May 17 marks the first anniversary of Massachusetts offering equal marriage benefits to same-sex couples. For those of us who believe in those rights, and the more than 5,000 same-sex couples that have been married, it is a moment for reflection and celebration. Our joy, however, is mixed with a sense of loss, because 14 states have since passed measures banning legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Del Martin, 82, and Phyllis Lyon, 79, married in San Francisco's City Hall on February 12, 2004. They became the first same-sex couple in the United States to have their marriage recognized legally by a government agency. They may also be the first to be divorced if the courageous decision by Mayor Gavin Newsom to grant marriage licenses to two partners of any gender constellation, rather than to a man and a woman, is overturned by the courts.

The Rev. Rosa Lee Harden found herself quite unexpectedly caught up on the recent marriage license frenzy in San Francisco. Here are her reflections on the usual frustrations and the unexpected joys of being an agent of the state when it comes to weddings.

If you think that there is strict separation between church and state in this country we live in, you might want to check in with a clergy person who functions in a congregation composed mostly of gay folks and their straight friends.

On this President's Day I find myself in deep reflection, laughing, crying, cleaning the house as I often do when there is so much to feel. As you can imagine it has been a week to remember here in San Francisco.

At a time when high stakes decisions before the church set us on edge with one another and threaten to unnerve us, a beloved hymn of the German Reformed tradition calls us back to the center and ...

The following sermon was offered by Jay Emerson Johnson in 1995 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Berkeley, California, in a liturgy of Holy Union for two women. At that time, ...

"Entreat me not to leave you or to return from following you; wherever you go I will go, and wherever you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God; where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if even death parts me from you."(Ruth 1:16-17)

I am a United Methodist clergy and I stand before you today in support of same-sex marriage. I do this in opposition to the stance of my church, The United Methodist Church, which has continued to affirm that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Most recently, my church has also declared its support of "laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman." I have opposed such discriminatory and oppressive stance of my church and will continue to do so.

Having just come back from General Conference, I find myself wondering: Just when did love become so unfashionable for the Church of Jesus Christ?

The call came to my office in the early afternoon: "The City is issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples!" The date was February 12, 2004. A quick check on-line confirmed my parishioner's call. Two hours later he called me back, "Karen, will you marry me?" (ah, how confusing these days are!) "I am in line, and trying to reach Sean." Without a moment's hesitation, I said yes.