National Cathedral Dean Slams “Filthy Enactment” of Voting Rights Ruling

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Dean Gary R. Hall, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Episcopalians, Gary Hall, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Jeff Walton, same sex marriage, Supreme Court, The Episcopal Church, Voting, Washington National Cathedral

Gary Hall, center, dean of Washington National Cathedral, recently led a delegation from the cathedral at the annual Capital Pride Parade in Washington. (Photo credit: Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post)

By Jeff Walton (@JeffreyHWalton)

A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court “essentially gutted” the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and recalls the infamous Fugitive Slave Act of the 1850s, according to the dean of the Washington National Cathedral.

In a Sunday sermon celebrating recent Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage and lamenting a ruling on the Voting Rights Act, Dean Gary Hall sought to link the church’s public engagement with Jesus Christ’s turn towards Jerusalem in Luke Chapter 9.

Already thrusting the Cathedral into debates over firearms control and same-sex marriage, voting rights is just the latest in a string of politically charged issues championed by the activist Episcopal Church official.

Hall celebrated court marriage decisions overturning the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 as “victories for all of us who support marriage equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people.”

“Those who had suffered so much discrimination savored a cultural and legal turning point in our shared march towards justice,” the Episcopal priest reported of a special Wednesday service for LGBT persons at the cathedral. Hall also noted “as we exalt in the joys of our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters, we must also weep with the pains and the losses of our brothers and sisters of color.”

“On Tuesday I found myself as dejected as I would find myself elated on Wednesday,” Hall told of the VRA and DOMA rulings. Recalling his own participation in the civil rights movement as a high school junior, Hall said it brought him into contact with Christian people and the life and ministry of the church.

Designating the VRA ruling “a filthy enactment,” Hall quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson’s declaration that he would not obey the Fugitive Slave Act, which required residents of Free states to return escaped slaves to the south.

Acknowledging his own record of political sermons, Hall insisted Sunday’s message from the pulpit wasn’t just “another instance of the Dean going all political on you” but was instrumental to following Jesus Christ.

“Jesus sets his face to go towards Jerusalem both literally and figuratively,” Hall pronounced of Luke chapter 9:51-62, in which Christ begins his journey towards the Jewish capital, the center of public life.

In going to the capital city, Jesus “is taking his critique to the heart of Roman and Jewish life,” Hall assessed. The cathedral dean termed the week’s events as “triumph and tragedy in our own capital.”

“We are a public church and public churches cannot be neutral where issues of justice are concerned,” Hall charged. Adding that Jesus went to Jerusalem “not out of anger but out of compassion,” Hall portrayed Jesus’ journey as one of solidarity “with and for those who are up against it.”

Declaring that God “loves and blesses and accepts everyone as they are,” Hall pronounced that “Jesus does not go to Jerusalem alone” and calls Christians to go with him.

“Therefore, following Jesus as he sets his face to go towards Jerusalem is part of what it means to be a Christian,” Hall interpreted. “If we are really following Jesus – and not just being personally pious in a private way – we try to care as much about the sufferings of people we don’t know as our own children, parents, spouses and friends. The only way you can care for people you don’t know is by establishing justice.”

In a call to the U.S. Congress “to rebuild what the court has taken away,” Hall insisted that Christianity has never been about only private suffering or personal joy, but rather about public social struggles. The cathedral dean asserted that Christians experience persecution “because they dare to make their private compassion a public virtue.”

“Today we both rejoice and lament,” Hall concluded. “Tomorrow we take up again the work again of standing with Jesus and God for those Jerusalem and Washington would oppress.”

Update: Full text of Hall’s sermon has been made available by the Washington National Cathedral. Access it by clicking here.

National Cathedral Celebrates Supreme Court Rulings with LGBT Service, African Drums

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Dean Gary R. Hall, Episcopal, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Gary Hall, Gay Marriage, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Jeff Walton, Washington National Cathedral

Beth Pattison, front right, and husband John Pattison, wave rainbow flags during a prayer service for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community to mark the Supreme Court’s ruling at the National Cathedral on June 26 in Washington. (Photo Credit: Jahi Chikwendiu/Washington Post)

By Jeff Walton (@JeffreyHWalton)

Washington National Cathedral officials hosted a special service for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) persons the day of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and effectively overturned California’s voter-approved Proposition 8.

Advertised as “a service of thanksgiving celebrating an increase in compassion and equality,” the June 27 ceremony sought to place the Supreme Court rulings within the narrative of liberation struggles.

A congregation of approximately 300 clustered at the front of the Episcopal cathedral, still undergoing repairs from a 2011 earthquake. Chairs were arranged to face the procession. While the congregation was overwhelmingly middle-aged whites, songs were often African in origin, such as “Siyahamba” in which participants declared “we are marching in the light of God” accompanied by djembe drums. Several congregants enthusiastically waved rainbow flags emblazoned with the word “equality” as choir and clergy processed in to the Zimbabwean song “Uyai Mose” (Come, All You People).

“It’s a great night, isn’t it?” asked Cathedral Dean Gary Hall in his opening words of welcome, prompting sustained applause, hooting and cheers.

“Was that standing ovation for God or the court?” Hall joked, declaring his belief that “we have turned the corner in the faith community’s life.”

In a short homily, Hall recalled his own wedding 35 years prior, in which the Epistle reading was the same as at the LGBT service: Ephesians Chapter 3:14-19, in which Paul prays for the church in Ephesus to be “rooted and grounded in love.”

“In God’s view, something deep, holy and precious is going on when any two people commit themselves,” Hall announced.

Declaring that the church has been “on a trajectory,” Hall traced changed views of marriage from polygamy, unequal heterosexual unions, egalitarian heterosexual unions, to now same-sex unions. He offered no prediction on what was next.

“The sacrament of marriage is a divine gift – regardless of sexual orientation,” the Cathedral Dean pronounced. Stating that the Christian church has only been in “the marriage business” for 1,000 years, Hall bypassed early church teaching on marriage, as well as the wedding at Cana in John Chapter 2 and Jesus’ teaching about marriage in Matthew 19 in which he quotes Genesis Chapter 2.

“Let us extend that promise until it extends to every couple of all sexuality or gender,” Hall concluded. Following the reflection, the congregation was led in singing a version of “Surely it is God who saves me,” modified with gender-neutral language. A concluding prayer invoking Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and other contemporaries, along with petitions for the healing of Nelson Mandela, further buttressed the civil rights imagery of the service.

The National Cathedral service follows an announcement last year that the church would begin hosting same-sex weddings. Throughout the day, a string of Episcopal Church bishops and seminary deans issued statements in support of the ruling. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington extolled the court ruling as moving the country “closer to this vision of equality and unity” and called for Episcopalians to recommit to this “holy work.”

Similarly, Los Angles Bishop Jon Bruno declared: “we rejoice at the repeal of DOMA’s [Defense of Marriage Act] discrimination against LGBT families.” In his announcement, Bruno touted “provisional” liturgies for the blessing of same-gender couples that was adopted by the church’s General Convention last summer.

Arizona Bishop Kirk Smith was equally celebratory, proclaiming an indiscriminate inclusion and assessing that the United States “has come closer to a truth which has been ours as Christians from the beginning, that God loves everything and everyone God has made, and that we are called to reflect God’s love for us in how we love each other.”

Sojourners’ Jim Wallis Ponders Immigration, Guns at Washington National Cathedral

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comprehensive immigration reform, Dean Gary R. Hall, Episcopal, Evangelical Left, Gary Hall, gun control, Gun Violence, Immigration, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Jeff Walton, Jim Wallis, Sojourners, Washington National Cathedral

Sojourners’ President Jim Wallis appeared at the National Cathedral recently to talk about the direction of the country and his new book “On God’s Side”.

By Jeff Walton (@JeffreyHWalton)

Immigration reform legislation will pass Congress by the August recess, predicted Sojourners CEO and President Jim Wallis in an April 28 interview. Wallis sat down with Washington National Cathedral Dean Gary Hall to discuss immigration, gun control, the direction of young evangelical Christians and Wallis’ new book “On God’s Side.”

Part of a book tour, Wallis’ visit to the Episcopal Cathedral was followed the next day with an appearance at Hall’s former parish, All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California.

“I’m going to predict that by the August recess we will have comprehensive immigration reform,” Wallis declared, announcing that immigration reform is Sojourners’ top concern. “It may be the only positive thing we see in Washington, D.C. in the next few months.”

Encouraged by support from both Southern Baptists and some conservative groups such as Focus on the Family, Wallis reported that the Administration, Republicans and Democrats all cite the faith community as a “political game changer” on the issue.

Wallis also praised the Cathedral’s advocacy on gun restrictions saying it “warmed my heart” and categorized it as a “long-term battle.”

“The country has changed — Washington has not,” Wallis asserted, labeling gun owners’ groups like the National Rifle Association as “gun runners” and linking them to manufacturers rather than members. The author proposed that parents and pastors would ultimately change the firearms debate over the long-term.

“You and the bishops speaking out right away first thing was a great sign of hope,” Wallis said of Hall and the Cathedral’s public advocacy for increased firearms restrictions.

Hall asked Wallis to respond to a quote by Washington Episcopal Church Bishop Mariann Budde that it is time for religious bodies like the Episcopal Church to reach out to young Evangelicals who might not share their parents’ social views.

“There is a sea-change going on among young evangelicals,” Wallis reported, adding that the “none-of-the-aboves” who decline to identify with a specific church still believe in God, “they just don’t want to affiliate with religion.”

“I’m wondering if Lincoln was one of the first none of the aboves,” Wallis pondered, noting that the former president went to church but was not a member.

Pivoting back to his book, Wallis asked what it meant to be on God’s side.

“What religion forgets is I think the second commandment – to love our neighbor as ourselves,” Wallis explained, adding that “we forget who our neighbor is” and that God pushes out the definition.

“How do we extend our notion of who our neighbor is?” Wallis posited. “That’s a transforming ethic that makes the common good possible.”

Asked what could be done to restore the credibility of the church, Wallis responded that his theology of the incarnation is that “In Jesus, God hits the streets.”

“How do we surprise people by bringing unexpected hope? That, I think, is what brings credibility back.”

Asked about the importance of civility, Wallis replied that the country was hurt by the political climate.

“It’s more than losing good manners,” Wallis diagnosed, partly blaming the media, which he charged loves street fights and confrontation. The common good, on the other hand “isn’t sexy.”

The Evangelical Left official also made note of a statement on civility that he signed with the now-deceased Chuck Colson. “Learning to talk to each other and listen can be really important.” Wallis even echoed Colson in recalling that the lifestyle of the early church “created the evangelistic impact — ‘How do we live’ is the question.”

“Change happens here only when we decide for the common good outside of Washington,” Wallis announced, citing a “Bibles, badges and businessmen” trifecta of clergy, law enforcement and the business community in support of immigration reform.

Decrying cynicism as “a buffer against personal commitment,” Wallis said it was something only possible for comfortable people, with others preoccupied by a fight for survival. Wallis also argued that there is a difference between optimism and hope.

“Optimism is a feeling, hope is a decision you make,” Wallis defined. “Hope means believing in spite of the evidence, then watching the evidence change.”

Katharine Jefferts Schori’s Cosmic Earth Day

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Dean Gary R. Hall, Environment, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, Gary Hall, Global Warming, gun control, Gun Violence, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Jeff Walton, Katharine Jefferts Schori, Washington National Cathedral

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori spoke recently at a Washington National Cathedral service themed around Earth Day. (Photo: The Living Church)

By Jeff Walton (@JeffreyHWalton)

Salvation is a cosmic act about all creation “not simply a few human beings,” according to the Episcopal Church’s top bishop. Speaking April 21 at the Washington National Cathedral, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori gave an Earth Day sermon on becoming “effective shepherds and pasture tenders for the whole creation” but seemed to downplay mankind’s preeminent position in creation, placing humanity on equal footing with microbes.

The Presiding Bishop’s sermon illustrated the interconnectedness of all life with an examination of how humans coexist with bacteria.

“Microbes are part of us, in a very real sense our intimate neighbors or members, and the task is to learn how to manage the system for better health as a whole and in all its parts,” Jefferts Schori proposed.

“This work is about consciousness of our connection to the whole, and tender care of the other parts of that whole,” Jefferts Schori intoned. “It is simply another form of loving our neighbor as ourselves, for the neighbor is actually part of each one of us.”

During the processional hymn “God the sculptor of the mountains” congregants sang of “God the potter of the land: you are womb of all creation.”

The service recalls two of Jefferts Schori’s previous sermons. As Presiding Bishop-elect in 2006, Jefferts Schori stated “Our mother Jesus gives birth to a new creation — and you and I are His children.” At Episcopal General Convention in 2009 the Presiding Bishop denounced “the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God.”

Addressing Violence

Jefferts Schori sat down with Cathedral Dean Gary Hall the same morning for an hour-long discussion in which she responded to church controversies, environmental stewardship and openly speculated about women’s ordination in Eastern Orthodoxy.

Asked by Hall to respond at the end of a week of difficult news, the Presiding Bishop reported that the church could assist in building a network of relationships “that provide balance and encourage resilience in the face of challenge.”

“Violence is a response to challenge, loneliness, loss, lack of meaning in life,” Jefferts Schori said. “I think that is a creative place for us to be engaged.”

Jefferts Schori also called Christians to consider their use of language in responding to violence, but was not just referring to intemperate words.

“Is the language we use intrinsically violent, or does it lead towards peace?” the Episcopal Church official asked.

“Think of all the martial hymns we have in the church,” Hall added.

On the Environment

Asked how her background in oceanography informed her understanding of humanity’s interconnectedness with the planet, the Presiding Bishop replied that oceanographers are trained to think systemically and “You can’t study anything in isolation.”

Affirming that the Gospel changed the relationship between human beings and God, Jefferts Schori added “it changed something about the relationship between all of creation and God.”

“We tend to focus very parochially on our own interests” Jefferts Schori observed, asserting it is part of the “eternal human challenge to widen our perspective over who is part of this community.”

On climate change, Jefferts Schori encouraged individuals to make daily decisions about the use of fuel, food, and water to “grow a consciousness” in addressing a “disconnect between daily life and the reality of climate change.”

Recalling his time as Rector of an Episcopal parish in Malibu, California, Hall cited beach erosion as evidence of a changing climate, pegging it to what he asserted were rising sea levels.

Asked about the church’s role in evangelism, Jefferts Schori praised bishops’ gun control advocacy and the Cathedral “being bold and forward in proclaiming what your vision of a healthy society looks like, what the kingdom of God needs to look like in this place.”

The Presiding Bishop also pointed to “movement outside the walls of the church” and “engagement where people spend their lives.”

“We are leaning how to do that, because it’s been so long since we have,” Jefferts Schori revealed.

Addressing Church Controversies

Asked to respond to a statistic that the Episcopal Church is significantly more white than the U.S. population, Jefferts Schori replied that there are places in the Episcopal Church that have been more intentional about embracing diversity but “we’ve got a long way to go.”

Asked to respond to claims that the Episcopal Church is declining due to its embrace of social issues such as same-sex marriage, Jefferts Schori did not contest the claim, instead noting that all mainline traditions are facing numerical decline over the past 30-40 years. The growth of conservative denominations was not mentioned.

“The reality is that any time you take a clear position on something, some people decide that they don’t want anything to do with it,” Jefferts Schori determined. “At the same time, a clear position is also an invitation to those who do want something to do with it.”

Asked about how to match the national church’s emphasis on climate change at the congregational level, Jefferts Schori suggested “you have to be intentional” and that local clergy were concerned about getting burned “preaching about something that is supposedly controversial”.

“I think it is a basic challenge to our understanding of sin,” Jefferts Schori claimed. “We are being self-centered in the way we live on this Earth and it is impacting other people. Sin has consequences. We are dumping our garbage in places that make it more difficult for other people to live.”

The forum concluded with a question about the Presiding Bishop’s legacy and the role of women in the church, Jefferts Schori noted that Mary Magdalene, the first to proclaim the resurrection, is still called by the Eastern Orthodox Church “Apostle to the Apostles”.

“The Orthodox haven’t yet ordained women, although it would appear they are at least theologically more open to it than the Roman Catholic tradition. Women have been essential to the leadership of the church since the very beginning, even though the roles they have been permitted to fulfill have changed.”

Religious Voices Loud for “Marriage Equality”

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@GagliaAC, Aaron Gaglia, Gary Hall, Gay Marriage, Gene Robinson, Institute on Religion and Democracy, interfaith, IRD Blog, LGBT, March for Marriage, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, Unitarian Universalist, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church

(Photo credit: The IRD)

By Aaron Gaglia (GagliaAC)

Marriage equality advocates gathered early Tuesday morning for an interfaith service promoting gay marriage.

Religious groups have been very vocal on both sides of the gay marriage debate. Tuesday was no exception as religious groups were very prominent at both the March for Marriage (pro-traditional marriage) and the United for Marriage Rally (pro-same-sex marriage). The pro-gay marriage advocates gathered early Tuesday morning for an interfaith service to kick off the day with.

The event entitled, “A Prayer for Love and Justice” took place at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation just down the road from the Supreme Court. The program called participants to “Welcome all spirits and faith traditions to a union of prayer for love, marriage equality and justice for LGBT people.” This event was put on by The United for Marriage: Interfaith Committee & United for Marriage Coalition, and cosponsors included the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a religious pro-choice organization.

This event featured a wide range of religious organizations and traditions including the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church, Mormons for Equality, Metropolitan Community Churches, the Five Mountain Zen Order, Muslims for Progressive Values, and even Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church.

The event began with the Venerable Lawrence Do’an Grecco (Zen Buddhist) chanting to a tribal drum. He was then followed by more chanting from Marlon Fixico (National Confederacy of Two Spirit Organizations). The Muslim Call to Prayer, the blowing of the Shofar, and a Christian song followed the chants.

The service featured five different sets of prayer with songs interspersed throughout. In the opening set of prayers, gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson prayed these words: “We know that you love us and hallow our relationships. We also know that the church, the synagogue, and the mosque have gotten it wrong about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.”

During the set of prayers themed: “Discrimination is Judgment, Judge Not”, Reverend Mary Kay Totty, United Methodist Church, read 1 John 4:20-21, which speaks of the importance of loving our neighbor.

This event also featured two very interesting usages of Scripture. Bishop Yvette Flunder of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, alluded to Ecclesiastes 3 and said “the time has come” for full LGBT equality. Yet the most creative usage of Scripture was from Rev. J. Bennett Guess, Executive Minister for Local Church Ministries of the UCC. He did not just proof text, but gave a pro-gay marriage paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13.

Here is an excerpt from it: “Love, she is amazing. Love is relentless. Love is extra gracious. Love looks after the interest of other people, not the interest of one’s own self. Love doesn’t preserve rights and privileges just for some. Love doesn’t promote hierarchies to the expense of equality because love just doesn’t think that way, love just doesn’t work that way. Love doesn’t hurt people. Love never leaves people out. No, love goes all the way. Love removes every obstacle. Love appeal to the highest court in the land when necessary.”

After praying for marriage equality, ministers then blessed the same-sex couples in the room. The same-sex couples stood up (there were approximately 10 of them) and four different ministers said a blessing over them. Wiccan High Priestess, Reverend Selena Fox led the couples through the Wiccan practice of hand fasting. Then the Very Reverend Gary Hall, the Dean of the Washington National Cathedral, said a blessing over the audience. In his blessing he said, “You made us as we are, gay and straight, bisexual, transgender and you’ve called that good.”Reverend Jill McCrory, the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists and Imam Daayiee Abdullah, Muslims for Progressive Values also blessed the couples.

After the service, the participants then marched to the Supreme Court to the song, “This Little Light of Mine.” By just looking at this service and the rally, it appeared that the battle was lost. People of faith, those traditionally against gay marriage, were present and very vocal in favor of marriage equality. Besides approximately 20 dissenters, including the hate group, Westboro Baptist Church, everyone in front of the Supreme Court was pro-marriage equality.

Yet after about an hour, a flood of proponents of traditional marriage came marching down the road in the March for Marriage. Those participating in the March for Marriage equaled, if not outnumbered, those participating in the marriage equality rally. After stopping in front of the Supreme Court, the marchers made their way back to the National Mall for a rally. Though the traditional marriage rally was not exclusively Christian, it featured many Christian elements.

The juxtaposition of these two events sends a very important message that evangelicals need to hear. The pro-gay interfaith service reminds us that yes, it is true, many Christians have departed from the truth of Scripture, even to the point of being willing to participate in pagan rituals for a common political agenda. Yet the March for Marriage proved this is not the whole story. There are still many Christians who believe and are committed to the Bible’s definition of marriage. Our church and our culture have not come to a unanimous verdict to allow gay marriage. The verdict is still yet to be decided.