OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Religion
Obsessive Small-Town Wedding Soldiers
In my web travels I often collect stories that I intend to share, but then become distracted by newer, shinier stories—or feel too lazy to illustrate them. This is what becomes of those stories: A Pile o’ Sla… Hugs?
The Town of Truro, Nova Scotia—which made national news last year after some bizarre homophobic comments by its mayor—has finally reached an agreement with a local gay rights group, amending its employment equity policy to include sexual orientation. A strange outcome, considering the dispute was over a flag-flying policy.
For the first time ever, Canada’s Armed Forces marched in Toronto’s Gay Pride parade, promoting equal rights and openly recruiting gay servicemen and women. This is in stark contrast to the policies of the United States. I’d ask if you’d like me to describe them, but I’m afraid I can’t tell.
A nation-wide poll shows that support for same-sex marriage in Canada has climbed to 68%. Recent converts cited a lack of family-destroying meteor showers for their change in opinion.
The top leader of Canada’s Anglican Church is standing up for gay-friendly denominations in the country, saying that ultra-conservative factions are obsessing over the wrong issues. Primate Fred Hiltz said it’s unfortunate that some Christians are “preoccupied with sexual acts between homosexuals and falsely equate homosexuality with promiscuity,” adding that they’d gain more credibility on sexual issues if they devoted the same energy to “combating sexual abuse, sexual exploitation by people in positions of power, and global sex slavery.” Hmm… Combating something that everyone agrees needs combating; what a novel concept!
Same-sex marriages skyrocketed last month, as gay couples plan their weddings around Pride celebrations. Because if it weren’t for that, no one would want a June wedding.
Well, have a great weekend kiddos, and Happy Independance Day to all my Stateside visitors. May it be nothing like the movie.
Church Bans Peace Activist Over Gay Marriage Stance
Poor James Loney. The Christian peace worker, made internationally famous after being held hostage in Iraq for several months, has been barred from speaking at another religious shindig simply because he’s gay.
Loney was booked to speak at Sacred Heart Cathedral yesterday night by a Roman Catholic group, but cathedral staff forbade the event after discovering the speaker was gay. While officials indicated the ban was due to Loney’s views on same-sex marriage, he was not scheduled to speak on the topic.
You’ve got to admire James’ courage, though. Sticking to your faith in a church that actively denounces your existence can’t be easy. After nearly giving up his life for his religion, Loney has now been barred from quite a few religious events because he’s gay.
In October, The Campaign Life Coalition successfully lobbied to ban him from speaking on the subject of social justice at a church-sponsored peace conference, calling him an “unrepentant, active homosexual;” the year prior, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton rescinded their annual funding of a peace forum because Loney was the keynote speaker on the theme of “The Price of Peace.” But the real kicker was two summers ago, when the Ontario Catholic Youth Leadership Camp shut down entirely because the Knights of Columbus, who financed the camp, said that having Loney working there signaled that the camp was “promoting the homosexual lifestyle.”
- Catholics forbid speech by gay ex-hostage Loney [Globe and Mail]
Religious Group To Appeal Discrimination Ruling
Christian Horizons, a government-funded charity organisation, is appealing a ruling that found them in violation of human rights codes. Connie Heintz, a gay Christian, was forced to quit her job after co-workers discovered she was a lesbian. She filed a human rights complaint and won.
Since Christian Horizons is funded with public tax dollars, it is obligated to respect the rights of the public—including gay employees. With this in mind, I’m interested to hear on what grounds the appeal is based. Religious duty has never included ensuring that no employee is gay, even if you object to their orientation.
- Ontario Christian group to appeal rights ruling [Globe and Mail]
Evangelical Group Fined For Human Rights Violation
Connie Heintz, a Christian worker at a shelter for developmentally delayed adults, has won a human rights case against her former employer.
After Connie’s co-workers at Christian Horizons discovered she was a lesbian, she was forced to quit, describing the work atmosphere as the “worst time of my life.” She was harassed, threatened with dismissal, and falsely accused of abusing the residents she was caring for. Connie, who is deeply religious, was awarded 18 months of her old salary as compensation.
Anti-gay groups are already up in arms; A LifeSite article was quick to accuse the human rights tribunal of stifling religious freedom—once again, under the assumption that gay people and religion are somehow mutually exclusive. I contest that. Connie was a devout Christian who cared deeply about the underlying mission of the organisation. For her employers to claim that having a gay employee in their ranks is somehow against their faith is a stretch. (Unless, of course, Jesus decreed something I’m not yet familiar with: “Thou shalt fireth the gay ones like a grain is shed from its stalk, for they be not fit to care for thy developmentally delayede adultes.”)
Christian Horizons receives public funds from the government and is contractually required to follow Canada’s human rights laws.
And a gentlemanly hat tip to Matt Guerin at Queer Liberal for the story.
- Woman hopes court victory will help others [The Record]
- Tribunal rules on employee lifestyle and morality statement [Press Release]
What’s Up With The Anglicans?
If you’re a regular of this site, you’ve no doubt noticed the bizarre rift that has emerged in the Canadian Anglican community over gay parishioners. Churches have split, priests have been fired, bishops have fled, discussions have amounted to meaningless decrees, and everything is generally all going to hell in a hand basket—and all because the church just can’t decide whether or not God would bless gay couples.
What’s a hierarchy to do?
To an observer, the church looks completely fatigued of this issue and, perhaps amusingly, is now resorting to the sort of tactics typical of high school dramas. Just recently, a British Columbian congregation had its locks changed and dissenting worshipers were locked out. This week, a bishop who fled in disgust over gay blessings is ignoring warnings to stay out of Canada. It’s all very, very strange.
I don’t have any solutions; If history has taught me anything, it’s that people will argue forever over what they think their God thinks. But I do find it strange that it’s the blessing of gay parishioners that’s causing all this ruckus. The Anglican church will bless, upon request, heterosexual couples, births, homes, boats, and even pets.
It’s weird, really. Surely treating gay people as sinners who require punishment in the form of blessing withholdings so that they’ll turn straight hasn’t really worked out, and now it not only contradicts scientific understanding of homosexuality, but also the church’s own declaration that blessing gay parishioners is compatible with core church doctrine. The childishness can’t really be necessary, right?
Then again, I’m not Anglican.
- Archibishop against gay unions ignores plea to stay out of Canada [Vancouver Sun]
- Anglicans lock rebel clergy out of parish [Times Colonist]
More Churches Bless Gay Couples
Montréal and Niagara are the two latest Anglican churches to approve the blessing of same-sex couples within the past month, defying a national decree to disallow such blessings.
The Canadian Anglican Church decided in June that same-sex blessings are compatible with core church doctrine, but decreed that they be banned anyway. This mixed message has caused a bizarre rift in the church, with several priests being ejected for blessing couples. That may sound a little drastic, but I’m assured that there’s nothing quite like blessing a loving couple within the parish community to undermine years of goodwill, charity, and other selfless services to the Church.
- Niagara Diocese Approves Blessings For Gay Couples [Anglican Journal]
- Montreal Anglicans vote to bless same-sex union [Globe and Mail]
Bishop Leaves Canada Over Gay Marriage
Don Harvey, an Anglican bishop, has become so distraught over gays being able to marry in Canada that he has decamped the country entirely. His destination: Southern Cone, a province in South America where gay rights are presumably unlikely to advance for several hundred dozen fiscal years.
Oh Don, whatever shall we do without you?
In related news, a choleric 7-year-old from Manitoba has run away from home after her parents insisted she eat her vegetables.
Another Priest Suspended For Same-Sex Wedding
OK, I’ve lost count.
Reverend Michael Bury from St. John the Evangelist church in Stirling, Ontario has had his marriage license suspended after performing a same-sex marriage back in August. As an added measure, he has been ordered not to attend church until January.
The man is on medical leave.
Reverend Bury, of course, is definitely not the first priest to be disciplined for supporting his gay parishioners. And, as is the case here, most of the disciplinary actions have come from the Anglican church, which has been oddly contradictory about gay blessings recently.
In June, the General Synod decreed that blessing same-sex couples did not conflict with church doctrine, then promptly voted to ban the practice. This month, the Ontario and Montréal dioceses voted to allow same-sex blessings.
Hmm… Reverend Bury is from Ontario; I guess this makes their decision non-retroactive.
Well, until Friday, have a safe and happy Halloween! If you don’t have a costume yet, here’s an idea: Go as a wacky contradiction! Just fine some Anglican garb and…
- Ontario priest disciplined for marrying same-sex couple [Anglican Journal]
Peace Activist Ejected By Church
Poor James Loney. The Roman Catholic peace activist and former Iraqi hostage has been booted from yet another Church-sponsored shindig because he’s gay.
Archbishop James Weisgerber uninvited Loney from speaking at a social justice conference this weekend after the Campaign Life Coalition lobbied to have him nixed. Maria Slykerman, head of the right-wing organisation, urged parishioners to call and write the Archibishop, calling the guest speaker an “unrepentant, active homosexual.”
Loney was to speak on the subject of peace and justice. Irronnyyyy…
While Loney said he respectfully disagrees with the Archibishop’s decision, other speakers weren’t quite as forgiving. Nerina and John Robson, two of the conference organizers and scheduled speakers, have dropped out. When contacted by the press, Nerina was frank and honest about her withdrawl: “How can I speak at a conference on social justice when it is committing such an unjust action?”
- Catholic conference retracts invitation to former Iraq hostage [CBC News]
- Catholic Church bars gay ex-hostage [Winnipeg Free Press]
- Gay peace activist disinvited from conference [Winnipeg SUN]
Anglican Church Kinda Approves Same-Sex Blessings
Ottawa Anglicans have voted to allow priests to approach the bishop to request that they can bless same-sex couples.
(I’ll wait if you need to re-read that.)
This clear and decisive baby step passed by a vote of 177 to 97 on Saturday, making Ottawa Anglicans the first in Canada to not officially forbid same-sex blessings. A national meeting over the summer decided that blessing same-sex couples was not against core church doctrine, but that such blessings should be banned. Blessings that are allowed nationally include heterosexual unions, births, houses, boats, and pets.
- Ottawa Anglicans approve same-sex marriages in vote [Canada.com]
Gay-Friendly Churches To Ignore Blessing Ban
Despite last month’s decision by the Anglican Church to ban same-sex blessings, several brave churches are going ahead with the practice anyway.
Toronto’s Holy Trinity Church and Victoria’s St. Saviour’s Church have both declared their intentions to continue to bless same-sex couples against the rules of the national church, the latter saying that they even plan to full-out marry gay couples should the opportunity arise.
Of course, the hierarchy isn’t too happy. A senior Anglican official, under the protection of anonymity, said priests will be disciplined if they are too liberal with their blessings. And I think they mean business: Antonio Osorio, an Anglican priest, was issued a warning this month after blessing four same-sex couples, even though the blessing was simply a general blessing of members of the community. In the past year, two Anglican priests have even been ejected over the practice.
- Churches to defy same-sex ban [CBC News]
- Anglican priests set to defy same-sex blessing ban [Canada.com]
Russian Church Purifies River After Gay Cruise
The Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods, a religious group in Russia, has completed a ceremonial procession along the Moscow River to purify the waters after a gay cruise ship sailed down it the previous day.
Event organiser Yuri Ageshchev said the religious ceremony was necessary to protect a sared site:
[We aim] to clean the Moscow River of the filth that filled the river after the trip of a big company of homosexuals that took place on the same route and on the same motor ship.
[Gays] boldly demonstrate their non-traditional orientation, persuading everyone that it is normal. We believe that it is a vice and want to remove all this from this site, which is sacred to Russians.
Hmm… I wonder if this has any connection to the Rasputin-esque guy that has been sprinkling holy water over my favourite paths lately.
Anglican Church Sends Gays Mixed Message
The Canadian Anglican Church has decreed that the blessing of same-sex unions is perfectly compatible with their core doctrine. Hours later, they forbid the blessing of same-sex unions.
With these votes, gay Anglicans have been sent a clear and decisive message: Your church thinks your relationships are worthy of their full blessing, but they, uh, just don’t feel like doing it right now.
Canadian Anglicans had spent months preparing for this decision, during which time the global Anglican community issued an ultimatum threatening to shut down “errant” churches. (I think the official wording was something like: “Stop blessing gays or there’ll be no church for anyone!”) While several Anglican denominations supported gay blessings, yesterday’s vote means they won’t be able to continue the practice.
Priest Resigns Over Anti-Gay Hierarchy
Reverend Shawn Sanford Beck, a priest in Saskatoon, has resigned his position after refusing to renounce same-sex marriage. Beck, who had his license stripped in January, was given a temporary license and an ultimatum by Bishop Rodney Andrews back in March: Either stop supporting equal rights for gays, or get lost.
Well, it looks like Beck has bravely chosen the latter. (Though he made his intention clear quite some time ago.) In an open letter, he called the church’s position on same-sex marriage “theologically problematic and fundamentally unjust.”
And, with that, I’m officially out of ideas on how to illustrate priests being kicked out by their churches. If you’ve got an idea for the next one, send your suggestions to:
Priest Ejectionsc/o Slap Upside The Head
123 Gay Street
Montréal, QC G4Y 8O1
- Saskatoon priest resigns over same-sex issue [Anglican Journal]
Church Supports Gays in Face of Shutdown
Scott Tribe writes in with an interesting story: The U.S. Episcopal Church has voted to face expulsion from the Anglican hierarchy rather than reject gay rights. The Anglican Church issued an ultimatum in February for what it called “errant” churches, which support gay clergy and bless same-sex marriages.
The Canadian Anglicans are expected to vote to let each parish decide whether or not to accept or reject the ultimatum in June. Retired archbishop Terrance Finlay, who was suspended in October for officiating over a gay wedding, encouraged the church to follow the U.S. example:
Be willing to risk the cause of love over institutionalism.
Well said!
- Gay rights, church’s ‘defining moment’ [Toronto Star]
Potentially Illegal Religious Bill Drafted By Tories
It’s… It’s aliiiiiiiive! Well, almost.
The federal Tories have drafted a “religious freedom” bill that would allow civil marriage commissioners or Justices Of The Peace to refuse their public services to gay and lesbian couples, but haven’t introduced it in parliament yet.
While the government continues to deny they have plans to actually table legislation on the subject, The Globe and Mail was able to access over 1200 pages of information confirming that such a bill was researched and drafted as late as October. Oddly enough, the Globe also revealed that these records were almost entirely blacked out. (Though, since Mr. Harper has assured us a much more open government, I’ll attribute the blacked out portions to unrelated poetic clutter.)
Now, as for why the Conservatives don’t intend on introducing this bill after so much planning… Who can say? I mean, it’s certainly not in their character to be sneaky with human rights issues, springing this bill upon an unsuspecting public only after they’ve been handed a majority, right?
Incidentally, other provinces have tried to introduce bills on the subject (I’m looking at you Alberta and New Brunswick!), but legal experts have panned them for being fundamentally illegal.
- Tories drafted law on religious rights [Globe and Mail]
Beware of Elton John’s Gayness
Archdeacon Philip Isaac has issued a dire warning for people considering going to the the Plymouth Jazz Festival in the Caribbean island of Tobago: A scheduled performance by Elton John might turn you gay!
“The artist is one of God’s children and while his lifestyle is questionable he needs to be ministered to,” said Isaac. “His visit to the island can open the country to be tempted towards pursuing his lifestyle.”
Festival organizers say the concert will go ahead as planned. What guts! All this, despite the risk of having the entire island turned into a flying nation of gayness, which tours the world on rainbow sails, bringing gay bars to the world’s queer-deprived towns. Hmm… Maybe it’ll visit my old hometown in Alberta.
- Church leader fears Elton John’s visit [Canada.com]
- Can Elton John’s music turn you gay? [E Canada Now]
Church Threatened With Shutdown Over Gay Blessings
B.C. Anglican churches may be forced to shut down if they don’t stop blessing gays. The Anglican Communion, a global collection of Anglican authorities, issued this ultimatum to “errant” churches last week in Tanzania.
This is especially unfortunate for the churchgoing community who agrees with their local church over the foreign ultimatum. Under the Anglican structure, church buildings are owned by the Anglican denomination itself, not the individual parishes who pay their mortgage. If a parish is thrown out of the denomination, it must surrender the property, or pay double to purchase it.
Throwing an entire community out of their church for blessing gay people like anyone else… That’s totally what Jesus would do, right?
- Gay rights split Anglicans [Toronto SUN]
- Call to bar same-sex blessings split Canadian Anglicans [Globe and Mail]
Priest Removed For Refusing To Fire Gay Employee
Ah, so that’s what Jesus would do!
The congregation of the Holy Cross Church is reeling after Bishop Richard Gagnon fired their favorite priest, Father Michael Favero, for refusing to dismiss a gay employee.
Father Favero indicated that firing the gay office manager would have gone against his concience, and chose to be dismissed rather than compromise his integrity. Parishoner Monica Kowalewski said Favero was a “hero” for taking that stance, and that Bishop Gagnon needs to apologize for his un-Christian behaviour:
Not only has [Father Favero] been fired from our church, he’s been barred from undertaking any priestly functions anywhere. He should be offered the opportunity to return to Holy Cross, and if he doesn’t want to come back, at least he can work elsewhere.
So, there you have it: Since same-sex marriage has become reality, churches have fired priests for refusing to dismiss gay employees, refused communion to gay parishoners, and suspended the marriage licenses of archbishops who bless gay couples.
Guess that terrifying slippery slope was actually more like a rope-tow, huh?
- Gay firing riles churchgoers [Victoria News]
