Alternative Invocations

The response to Rick Warren as an inaugural speaker includes a plan for alternative invocations. Write your own expression of hope, inclusiveness and unity for the inauguration!

Meanwhile, over on Streetprophets Blue Gal posted this video. (If you haven't visited Streetprophets you should; it's run by DailyKos and talks about progressive religion).

Join the Impact again

We will not give up, and we are not done. Time to join the impact again, this time to support the repeal of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). This federal law, supported in one of his more craven moments by then-President Clinton, specifically allows states to refuse to recognize gay marriages or civil unions from any other state. It is even considered a failure by its hard-right author, B1-Bob Barr, on purely libertarian grounds (Barr's recent editorial in the LA Times here). Barack Obama is on the record as opposing DOMA: you can joint a petition campaign and encourage him to live up to what he said. (Am I being too cynical that I suspect he won't?)

This weekend, on 10 January, once again JoinTheImpact is facilitating peaceful protests around the country against DOMA. See if there is a protest in a city near you, and join the impact.

Hey, no one said this would be easy. No one said we would win soon. We can't give up and we are not done.

TEC Wins in the Calif. Supreme Court

In an opinion (PDF file), the Calif. Supreme Court has decided in favor of TEC in a property dispute between the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and three disaffiliated parishes including St. James, Newport.

Applying the neutral principles of law approach, we conclude that the general church, not the local church, owns the property in question. Although the deeds to the property have long been in the name of the local church, that church agreed from the beginning of its existence to be part of the greater church and to be bound by its governing documents. These governing documents make clear that church property is held in trust for the general church and may be controlled by the local church only so long as that local church remains a part of the general church. When it disaffiliated from the general church, the local church did not have the right to take the church property with it.

California has some of the most "congregationalist friendly" church property laws in the nation, so this finding is of special importance. Now, on to the Virginia Supreme Court...

[tip of the hat to the Episcopal Café]

A New Year's vignette in America

Today we flew out of the Bay Area and watched a vignette that I want to share. We were having a beer in the airpot cafe and noticed a young man (25ish) and his parents at a near table. The young man had a distinctive "high and tight" haircut which means Marine. His look was not that of a new recruit, but the sturdy hard look of someone who has been in a while. He had a Marine style bag with a digital camo design under the table, and he and his parents took turns taking pictures with a cell phone. They finished their meal and walked to the adjacent gate where Dad and Mom both hugged him, very hard. I commented to BP that the parents did not have travel bags (they must have had a gate pass, and good for the airline for giving it to them!) There were lots of other young men with short haircuts and serious looks at that gate, where the flight was going to San Diego, home of Camp Pendleton.

So we sent a new year's wish for that young Marine and his mom and dad and all those who travel in uniform in harm's way. May they stay safe and come home soon.