July 28, 2006

Washington and New York Supreme Court Rulings
on Marriage Equality latest Galileo struggle

Several months ago, the Minneapolis StarTribune ran an editorial which juxtaposed two worship services occurring only blocks from one other. One church, the Basilica of St. Mary, did a wondrous thing-they issued an apology on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church for its treatment of Galileo. They stated clearly and humbly that the church was wrong in its interpretation of the cosmos and Galileo was right. Nearby, the Hennepin Avenue Church met to grieve, protest and lament the United Methodist Church's decisions to take away ministerial standing of a talented, spirit-filled openly lesbian pastor while reinstating ministerial standing to a pastor who had previously been suspended for denying membership to a man solely because he was gay. The editorial begged the question of the symbolic connection between these two very different services.

As a pastor who assists churches, including the United Methodist Church and seven other Christian denominations in becoming "welcoming and affirming" of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, I find the symbolic proximity of these two services telling. I am certain that in years to come we will be apologizing for our refusal to see that we are all children of God no matter our sexual orientation. Just as recognizing that the earth revolves around the sun does not take away from the splendor of God but highlights the greatness and awesome nature of God's creation, we will surely come to understand that our sexuality and gender identity are gifts from God. Our sexuality is an expression of our capacity to love and as with healthy heterosexual relationships our ability to love and be loved is a life-affirming expression of God's love of all of us.

In the past two weeks, the New York Supreme Court and now the Washington State Supreme Court have come down with close rulings denying the rights and privileges of marriage to same-sex couples. In both the majority and minority opinions, it is clear that the question of marriage-who can do it and who is barred-is rooted in theological understandings that are as anachronistic in this conversation as the Roman Catholic hierarchy's were in the original conflict with Galileo.

Despite the fact that, in Christian understanding, God's Revelation happens not only in the person of Jesus Christ, but in the movement of the Holy Spirit AND in the witness of Creation, many view Science as the enemy of faith-especially in the dialogue around sexuality issues. But, as a Christian pastor and one for whom my faith is central to my life, good science-especially when it comes to sexuality-can be deeply revelatory. And there is A LOT of good science that says homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender identity are natural, normal, God-given ways of expressing one's created self.

My prayer is that those of us in the Church, and those of us in the Courts and Legislatures, will choose to hearken to the power of God's on-going Revelation and not root ourselves in arcane and erroneous understandings.

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