Kalamazoo Episcopalians Take Out Full Page Anti-Discrimination Ad

Note: Political director Corey Johnson and I will be live-blogging election results this evening here on the site. Please join us.

Kalamazoo, Michigan-area Episcopalians wanted to counter the Roman Catholic Bishop, who has publicly opposed the anti-discrimination ballot measure up for a vote there today, so they raised $7,000 in donations from individual Episcopalians to put a full page ad in Sunday's paper and demonstrate to area voters that not all Christians are anti-gay.

Said Rev. Cynthia Black, Rector of the Parish Church of Christ the King in a press release: “Our denomination was very clear this past summer when it’s legislative convention met in Anaheim, California. As Episcopalians we are to actively work to defeat discrimination of any kind, especially discrimination against our transgender and gay sisters and brothers. We tossed around a lot of ideas, and finally settled on two: to raise money and signatures for a full page ad in the local paper, and to go door to door, sharing our perspective on why a ‘Yes’ vote is necessary. We had no idea if we could raise the $6000 necessary for a full page color ad, so we sought a grant for matching funds. When that didn’t come through, we decided to step out in faith, and raise the entire $6,000 ourselves. It’s a wonderful position to be in, and clearly demonstrates the conviction of Episcopalians in this area."

The full-page ad above ran in the Kalamazoo Gazette on Sunday. The Rev. Beth McLaren, Associate Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and The Rev. Anne Reed of the Diocese of Western Michigan were also involved.

As I mentioned yesterday, the opposition has been running fear-mongering ads trying to scare voters into believing they will be sharing the bathroom with transgender predators should the ordinance pass.

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"All of us old junkies just turn into dowagers." Carrie Fisher gives a candid interview to Kevin Sessums at The Daily Beast.

NYT: Timing key in Olson-Boies Prop 8 challenge: "Mr. Olson’s problem, then, is that he may reach the Supreme Court too soon. Public support for same-sex marriage is gaining ground, particularly among younger people. But a majority of Americans remains opposed to the practice."

Charlize Theron kisses woman for $140,000 at San Francisco auction benefit.

Beckham embracing the werewolf trend.

Diocese of South Carolina distances itself from Episcopal Church over gays and same-sex unions: "Eighty-seven clergy members voted to pass the resolution after a nearly hour-long debate during a special convention in Mount Pleasant, Canon Kendall Harmon said, with 17 voting no. The vote allows leaders of the diocese to reduce its participation in the national church without severing ties completely, as some dioceses and parishes have."

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Nude coffee maker Eric Williamson defends himself after incident: "I looked straight at the cops and said, 'You're telling me that none of you guys have ever walked across your kitchen or run to the laundry room to get some pants?' I was treated like an animal. If there was something offensive, would not a knock on the door and heads-up suffice?"

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Pope Welcomes Gay-Hating Anglicans to Catholicism

Pope Benedict sees opportunity in conflict, welcoming gay-hating Anglicans to his Church.

Reuters reports:

"Pope Benedict on Tuesday took a major step to make it easier for disaffected Anglicans who feel their Church has become too liberal to convert to Roman Catholicism. The move comes after years of discontent in some sectors of the 77-million-strong worldwide Anglican community over the ordination of women priests and homosexual bishops...The Vatican said the Pope had approved a document known as an 'Apostolic Constitution' to accept Anglicans who want to join Catholicism, either individually or in groups, while maintaining some of their own traditions. It marks perhaps the clearest and boldest institutional step by the Vatican to welcome disaffected Anglicans into the fold since King Henry VIII broke with Rome and set himself up at the head of the new Church of England in 1534. The new structure allows for the appointment of leaders, usually bishops who will come from the ranks of unmarried former Anglican priests, to oversee communities of former Anglicans who become Catholics and recognize the pope as their leader."

And (fresh from his 700 Club appearance) one-man Catholic League President Bill Donohue, the Pope's biggest mouthpiece in America, penned a guest column for the Washington Post. Some excerpted gems:

— "Sexual libertines, from the Marquis de Sade to radical gay activists, have sought to pervert society by acting out on their own perversions. What motivates them most of all is a pathological hatred of Christianity. They know, deep down, that what they are doing is wrong, and they shudder at the dreaded words, "Thou Shalt Not." But they continue with their death-style anyway."

— "The ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State harbor an agenda to smash the last vestiges of Christianity in America. Lying about their real motives, they say their fidelity is to the Constitution. But there is nothing in the Constitution that sanctions the censorship of religious speech. From banning nativity scenes to punishing little kids for painting a picture of Jesus, the zealots give Fidel a good run for his money. Catholics were once the mainstay of the Democratic Party; now the gay activists are in charge. Indeed, practicing Catholics are no longer welcome in leadership roles in the Party: the contempt that pro-life Catholics experience is palpable. The fact that Catholics for Choice, a notoriously anti-Catholic front group funded by the Ford Foundation, has a close relationship with the Democrats says it all."

— "The culture war is up for grabs. The good news is that religious conservatives continue to breed like rabbits, while secular saboteurs have shut down: they're too busy walking their dogs, going to bathhouses and aborting their kids. Time, it seems, is on the side of the angels."

Episcopal Nuns Defect Over Church's Gay Views, Become Catholics

Ten Episcopal nuns from All Saints Sisters of the Poor convent outside Baltimore have joined the Catholic Church because of their former denomination's acceptance of gays and lesbians:

"The ten members of the All Saints Sisters of the Poor, who were received into the Catholic Church by Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, will continue to live with two nuns who decided not to convert at their convent in Catonsville, Md. The community's chaplain, the Rev. Warren Tanghe, also converted on Thursday with the nuns. 'Our archdiocese and our church's mission of caring for the poor are now greatly enriched for having the All Saints Sisters among us,' O'Brien said in a statement. Members of the order had been considering conversion for seven years. Mother Christina Christie, superior of the order, told the Baltimore Sun: 'We were drifting farther apart from the more liberal road the Episcopal Church is traveling. We are now more at home in the Roman Catholic Church.' By allowing gay bishops and blessings for same-sex relationships, the Episcopal Church is 'way off the boat,' Christie said."

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Episcopal Leaders Nominate 3 Gay Clergy for Election to Bishop

The Los Angeles Episcopalian Diocese nominated a gay man and a lesbian among six it put forward for election to Bishop in December, just a month after the Church voted to allow consecration of gay clergy, the L.A. Times reports:

"The nominations of the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool of Baltimore are likely to further inflame theological conservatives in the U.S. church and their global partners in the Anglican Communion, who have repeatedly warned about the repercussions of such action. They are among six nominees who will face election in December for two suffragan bishop positions at the Los Angeles diocese's annual convention. Suffragan bishops assist a diocese's primary bishop. Home to 70,000 Episcopalians across six counties, the diocese is widely regarded as one of the most liberal in the U.S. church of 2.1 million members. Its bishop, the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, is an outspoken advocate for the rights of gays in the church. 'I affirm each and every one of these candidates, and I am pleased with the wide diversity they offer this diocese,' Bruno said in a statement Sunday...Sunday's action in Los Angeles came a day after the Diocese of Minnesota nominated three priests for bishop, including a partnered lesbian, the Rev. Bonnie Perry. She is rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Chicago and an adjunct professor at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill."

The move is predicted to fuel further division within the split Anglican Church.

Dallas Episcopal Bishop Rejects Church's Acceptance of Gays

Bishop James Stanton on the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas won't acknowledge a resolution passed at the recent General Convention of the church with regard to gay clergy and  the blessings of gay unions, the Dallas News reports:

"The General Convention passed a resolution noting that some states now allow gay marriage, and calling on the denomination to 'develop theological and liturgical resources' in response. The resolution stopped short of authorizing rites for gay unions. The resolution does say that bishops – particularly where gay marriage is legal – 'may provide generous pastoral response' to all members. Stanton said such language appears to give a 'green light' to blessings of gay unions."

Said Stanton to clergy: "We will not consent to the election of a bishop living in a same-sex relationship, and we will not allow the blessings of same-sex relationships."