ELCA Churchwide Assembly: And Another Thing (About Sex, Of Course)

I bet you thought I had said everything I had to say about the 2007 ELCA churchwide assembly, especially related to the sex wars. (That sounds so much more exciting than worship wars, doesn't it?!) Well, so did I. But I have just one more thing to add.

One of the most irritating arguments I hear being made for why the church should not make a change regarding the blessing of same gender couples is that we will offend "people of color."

Well, I don't know, maybe it will make our ecumenical relationships difficult with some Christians in the southern hemisphere. And maybe some members of the historically black churches in the U.S. will be unhappy. And, I don't know, maybe some Latino and Asian Christians will think we've gone off the deep end, too.

Can I just say this: So what?!

Nevermind that, over on the other side, the people making this argument within my denomination never seemed to care about what all these brothers and sisters thought about anything before.

The bottom line is that, whatever we do as the church, it should NOT be for the sake of other Christians!! Just like I don't think we ought to make a change for the sake of gay and lesbian clergy-types who, after all, already know Jesus...I don't think we ought to NOT make a change for the sake of African, Asian, or Latino Christians.

Everything we do should be for the sake of our neighbor who does not know the love and mercy and grace and call of Jesus Christ.

That is the only metric we ought to be using.

O and by the way, there are plenty of people of color who would welcome a change. Many of them even live in the southern hemisphere. And some of them are DYING - and I mean being hunted down and KILLED - within cultures that are oppressive and homophobic.

None of them have had a voice in this debate.

If you really want to hear what people of color have to say about all this, listen to them.

You could also listen to Rizi Tamane. She is a Nigerian who just lost a recording contract with a major record label because she refused to hide the fact that she is a lesbian. Her new album - Christian, contemporary, gospel, holy hip hop - has just been released. So has her father, from prison in Africa, where he had been falsly convicted. If you have an event coming up and you need a gifted musician to perform, talk to her. She's got a good message and a great sound. Click here to listen to (or buy!) her new record.

And don't be fooled. This is not a color issue. The issue is (all together now!): God's mission to love, save, bless, reconcile, and set free the whole creation.

If we're not debating about the best way to participate in that, then we're wasting our time.

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[Kelly Fryer]

EDITOR'S NOTE:

This just in: The BBC is reporting today that Uganda's "Ethics Minister" has declared there will be no change in the strict anti-gay laws in his country. His statement is in response to a press conference held in the capitol today sponsored by a gays rights group.

The BBC reports that "The gay community is estimated by activists to number 500,000 in Uganda where they face much discrimination.

The BBC's Joshua Mmali in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, said many of those present at the press conference on Thursday wore masks, fearing to show their faces.

We have had enough of the abuse, neglect and violence
Smug leader Victor Juliet Mukasa

Smug leader Victor Juliet Mukasa said she had been a victim of inhuman treatment.

She said police raided her home in 2005, took away documents and arrested her guest, whom they later forced to strip naked.

"We were treated in a degrading and inhumane way. Many of us have suffered similar injustice," she told journalists.

"We are here today to proclaim that these human rights violations are completely unacceptable. We have had enough of the abuse, neglect and violence."

Can somebody tell me which voice JESUS would be listening to: Some African bishop...or the woman who has been raped because she is thought to be a lesbian, as happens to thousands of women across Africa every year, right under the bishops' noses.

Read the whole story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6952157.stm