Deputies and bishops are being asked to reconsider the 2006 convention's stand that the church "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion."This article goes into quite a bit of arcane detail about what is being considered during the convention, but one matter stands out -- how the church will respond to same-sex civil marriages in the states where it is legal.The statement was widely acknowledged as applying to gay candidates and was titled Resolution B033.
The Windsor Report also called for a moratorium on "public rites," but some Episcopalians say that the context of the issue has changed. In 2005, civil partnerships and same-gender marriages became legal in England and Canada, respectively.In the United States, the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire allow same-gender marriages or are due to by Jan. 1.
The convention will consider a resolution (B012) to give bishops in those states leeway in performing such marriages. Sponsored by Maine Bishop Steve Lane, the resolution asks convention to extend "generous discretion ... to clergy in the exercise of their pastoral ministry" to adapt the Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage and Blessing of a Civil Marriage rites in the Book of Common Prayer for use with same-gender couples.
Such adaptation would have to take place under the discretion of the bishop and they would give the House of Bishops annual written reports on their experience each March and to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music for its report to the 77th General Convention.
...Previous efforts to have the General Convention ask for the development of authorized liturgies for blessing same-gender unions have failed, but the 2003 meeting allowg allowed dioceses the option of allowing such rites. A few months before that convention, the communion's provincial leaders or primates had said that "it is necessary to maintain a breadth of private response to situations of individual pastoral care."
The Anaheim meeting again will face requests for an official churchwide rite. A typical trajectory for the approval of such a rite could run at least six years, including trial use followed by committee and convention approvals.
(Savage Love) I am a high-functioning regular heroin user (not quite an addict), and I feel constantly compelled to hide my drug use. I feel that there are similarities between being a drug user and having an alternate sexual orientation in the sense that both users and gays are constantly confronting judgmental opposition from an ill-informed and puritanical American public. I wonder whether you have any thoughts on this matter. Do you believe that drug users are deserving of the same kind of empowerment and liberation as gays, or do you view drug use as a "disease" that needs to be "cured" the same way that the Carrie Prejeans of the world believe gays need to be "cured"?I realize that one significant difference between heroin use and sexual tastes is that heroin use is illegal, but of course gay relationships were illegal until relatively recently. Am I just rationalizing? Or could drug use be the next civil-rights frontier?
-Dude Requests Understanding Gay Sensibility
Uh... gee.
I don't believe that all drug use is abuse, and I believe that recreational drugs can be used responsibly. And I believe a person should be able to use a drug regularly without being labeled-by himself, by others, by court order-an "addict." I also wish that more people were open about their drug use-but, in the hypocritical fashion of most Americans, only when we're talking about drugs that I like and have used myself, e.g., caffeine, sugar, pot, and my boyfriend's pheromones.
Recreational heroin? Heroin seems kind of extreme, DRUGS, as recreational drugs go. I've known a few people who've self-medicated with heroin and functioned well enough to get by-just-and I think that all drugs should be legal, your drug of choice included. We need to end the war on drugs, a failure and a waste of money and lives. And the quickest way to end it is for successful drug users-people like you, me, Michael Phelps, and the president of the United States of America-to be open about our past, present, and future drug use. But I don't think "drug user" is an identity that's really comparable to sexual orientation. Using drugs is something you do, DRUGS, it's not something you are.
Look at itk at it this way: If you stopped doing drugs today, DRUGS, you'd no longer be a drug user. If I stopped inhaling my boyfriend's pheromones-and cock-today, DRUGS, I'd still be a big homo. Because gay is like Cats ("now and forever"), while heroin is like Twitter (fun at first, sure, but you'll regret it one day). See the difference?
But, yeah, the freedom to use drugs can certainly be viewed as a civil-rights issue: It's about the right to control what you do with your own body, and that argument resonates with others advanced by gay-rights advocates and advocates of reproductive choice. But different drugs carry different risks-risks of harm, risks of overdose, risks of death-and, legal or not, heroin is a highly dangerous drug. It's a drug that's made more dangerous by its prohibition, sure, but it's dangerous even when it's pure. But I think you have a right to use it, if you want to use it, and that you should have access to safe, medical-grade heroin and clean needles. But I don't think you should use it, not when there are other, better, safer drugs available.
Like my boyfriend's pheromones.
Savage makes good points, many I've made before, but his post led me to thinking about this comparison in a broader context.
So I wrote Dan an email, and asked if he would come on my show to interview about this topic. I also took the liberty of writing to Dan in his own linguistically blunt manner.
Mr. Savage, I loved your column's response to the heroin user who asked about the parallels between gay civil rights and use of drugs. I write for Pam's House Blend, a popular LGBT blog (though I'm hetero) and have made the civil rights comparison many times.But I disagree slightly with this comparison of yours:
If you stopped doing drugs today, DRUGS, you'd no longer be a drug user. If I stopped inhaling my boyfriend's pheromones-and cock-today, DRUGS, I'd still be a big homo.I get your point - that sexuality is innate and taking drugs is a choice. However, I think that is only valid in a narrow view. Think of it more broadly: the urge to alter consciousness and the urge to fuck are both innate. I may smoke pot, DRUGS may shoot smack, others may bungee jump, ski, or skydive to get their adrenaline high; I may fuck women, you may inhale cock, others may beat off in an apple pie.
But when I stop smoking pot (ha! rarely!) I have not stopped being a high-seeking human. You're looking at the act of taking drugs like homophobes look at the act of sucking cock, confusing the physical act (a choice) with the desire (innate). I would contend that the abstinent pot smoker is still a "stoner", in that the desire to alter consciousness in that manner still exists. It's like how the alcoholics in AA never say they're "cured"
It's not a perfect analogy, granted. But I just don't think the act of taking drugs alone defines the people who take drugs.
The more I think about it, the more I like it. Everybody wants to get off - sexually and mentally - but society has criminalized or rendered taboo some of the choices on the menu. I'd say that the shared goal of both movements is to allow people to pursue that sexual or mental high in any way they see fit so long as they do no harm to others.
I'm innately a pothead. I've done alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, LSD, mushrooms, Ecstasy, cocaine, and meth all to one degree or another, and they were all fun in their own way (and somewhat destructive in others), but when I use cannabis, I feel normal (with an "a"). When I discovered it, it was like an "aha!" moment. For the first time I felt whole and like my brain finally wasn't sabotaging me with depression, anxiety, constant internal criticism, self-loathing, and disjointesjointed thoughts.
It's still not a perfect analogy, I know. But like the homobigots who say, "Well, you gays have all the marriage rights everyone else does, so long as you marry a woman," I feel bombarded with "Well, you potheads can get as high as you like, so long as you drink beer."
* Note: understand that my use of terms like "pothead" and "stoner" are much like some African-Americans' use of a certain six-letter perjorative - I can call myself that, we can call each other that, but you damn sure better not call us that!
Welcome to post-racial America, where people have their heads in the sand about the state of race relations in this country because a black man was elected POTUS.
The staff at the Valley Swim Club in NE Philly must have stepped into the DeLorean and took a spin back into the days of segregation, as 60 kids were turned away from the pool there and apparently the people at the Swim Club didn't mind their inner bigot surface for all to see. (NBC Philly):
Excuse me, what year is this? Am I watching a rerun of a scene in Far From Heaven (2002)? There was a scene in the Todd Haynes film, set in the 1950s, where a black boy, the son of service worker at a Miami hotel, dares to step into the hotel pool. His father rushes and pulls him out, but it's too late -- the white people in the pool race to get out of the "contaminated" water"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.
The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.
"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."..."There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.
Contact information for the club is here. This is so outrageous that I'm almost unable to type.
I don't see anything on the membership app asking about race, so when do they determine you can't join -- when you show up? Check out the club's rules of operations below the fold.
I don't see anything here about no Negroes.
The Valley ClubMore at J&J Politics. Here's a great video:
2009 Rules of Operation(7) Only one person allowed on the diving board at a time.
(8) No glass of any kind is allowed on the club grounds.
(9) Floating devices not secured to the swimmer are prohibited except at specific times.
(10) Swimming under the diving board is strictly forbidden.
(11) The pool apron must be kept free of blankets, towels, clothing, chairs, strollers, etc...
(12) The baby pool and nearby play area are for children under 7 years of age.
(13) Baby swim diapers must be worn in the baby pool.
(14) Children not toilet trained may not use the large pool.
(15) No guard is on duty for the baby pool. Parents are responsible.
(16) Smoking, eating, drinking, and gum chewing is not permitted on the pool apron or in the pool. Smoking is permitted in designated areas only.
(17) Each member is responsible for keeping the grounds clean.
(18) Please do not attempt to intimidate the pool employees in the performance of their duties.
(19) Pool managers and lifeguards are responsible for enforcing the above rules and regulations.
GENERAL
(1) Types of Membership: FULL-SEASON=entitles members to access club every day we are open. WEEKENDS=entitles members to access club on Fri, Saturdays,& Sundays WEEKDAYS=entitles members to access club Mondays thru ThursdaysALL WELCOME ON HOLIDAYS!
(2) Membership cards must be presented upon request to obtain entrance to the club. Please be prepared to show a driver's license with your membership card.
(3) Pets are not permitted on club grounds
(4) Persons under the influence of intoxicants will be denied admission to the club.
(5) Possession and/or the use of alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited. The club is not responsible for the loss or damage to personal property.
(6) Any member (or guest) deliberately destroying or damaging pool property will be subject to financial reimbursement for the damages and disciplinary action in violating the by-laws.
(7) Loading and unloading of vehicles will be permitted at the upper level, but all members and guest vehicles must be returned to the paved parking lot located at the club entrance.
(8) Picnic tables must not be placed anywhere other than the picnic area, nor may they be reserved. A limited number of picnic tables may be reserved by the Club Manager for pre-registered member parties during the week.
(9) Cooking must be confined to the areas designated for this purpose.
(10) Tables on the patio next to the snack bar are to be used only for eating food purchased at the snack bar.
(11) Water Volleyball Schedule
Saturdays/Sundays
2:00 to 2:30 pm and 4:00 to 4:30 pm
(12) Adult Lap Swim Schedule
Everyday
11:30 am to 12:30 pm; 2:30 to 2:50 pm; 4:30 to 4:50 pm; 5:30 to 6:00 pm
(13) The shallow end of the pool will remain open to the full m full membership during these lap swims.
POOL HOURS
(1) The gate to the pool will be open from 11:30 am until 8:30 pm, weather permitting.
(2) If there is inclement weather forecast for the day, please call the club answering machine to find out if the club is open or not.
(3) During Our Swim Lessons (Mondays thru Thursdays), the shallow end of the pool will open at 12:30 pm to accommodate swim lessons.
These rules are for the benefit of all club members and must be obeyed at all times. Members are responsible for their children and guests, in compliance with club rules. It is the responsibility of each member to inform guest of pool rules. Infractions may result in temporary loss of club privileges or loss of membership. Please help by respecting and obeying the rules. Situations arising that are not specifically covered by the established rules will be resolved by the manager or the Board of Directors at anytime.HEALTH AND SAFETY
(1) All members use the club facilities at their own risk.
(2) Children under the age of 13 must be accompanied at all times by an adult member (17 years or older).
(3) All children under the age of 13 must pass a swimming test to be permitted in the deep end without an adult.
(4) Use of the pool will be refused to anyone wearing bandages or having skin abrasions, colds, coughs, inflamed eyes, skin infections, etc...
(5) All bathers must shower before entering the pool.
(6) Running is not permitted on the pool apron.GUEST REGULATIONS
(1) All guests must be accompanied by the sponsoring member upon entering the club grounds. Members must remain with their guests. You may not bring guests into the club and leave the grounds.
(2)The club strongly urges the use of pre-paid guest cards. These cards may be purchased pre-season with dues. They may also be purchased through the pool manager.
(3) Guest Rates:
Adults $10.00
Children (under 17) $5.00
Guest Rates After 6:00 pm
Adults $5.00 Children (under 17) $2.00
(4) We invite you to have your family birthday or other parties at our club (including summer company picnic). Our Party Rate for 2009 Members will be $7 per person. For non-members it is $10 per person. For parties, our grounds are open to members and non-members, alike. Parties must pre-register with the pool manager to reserve enough tables/space.
Join Our Swim and Dive Teams: TheValleyClub.com
Oregon advocate Bonnie Tinker was killed in a tragic bike accident last Thursday while attending a conference in Virginia. Tinker has been a dedicated activist in Oregon’s progressive community for decades. She championed equality as founder and director of Love Makes a Family, peace through her work with Seriously P.O.’ed Grannies, and justice as a member of the Religious Society of Friends. Her energy, commitment, and vision of a more just and peaceful world will be missed. Visit Love Makes a Family for links to remembrances and information about memorial services. 
]]>="http://www.basicrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gentle-tinker-300x200.jpg" alt="gentle-tinker-300×200.jpg" /> Oregon advocate Bonnie Tinker was killed in a tragic bike accident last Thursday while attending a conference in Virginia. Tinker has been a dedicated activist in Oregon’s progressive community for decades. She championed equality as founder and director of Love Makes a Family, peace through her work with Seriously P.O.’ed Grannies, and justice as a member of the Religious Society of Friends. Her energy, commitment, and vision of a more just and peaceful world will be missed. Visit Love Makes a Family for links to remembrances and information about memorial services. 
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