Articles in Religion
Blue Christmas service Dec. 21 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Anchorage
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church will hold a Blue Christmas Service on Wednesday evening, December 21, 2011 for those experiencing grief and loss during the holiday season.
Christians for Equality: We affirm that all people are people of sacred worth
On December 8, 2011, Christians for Equality held a press conference at Anchorage’s First Congregational Church in support of the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative. Among the prepared statements read at the press conference was that of Rev. Peter K. Perry, United Methodist pastor.
Christians for Equality: Human sexuality is not sinful — prejudice and bigotry are
On December 8, 2011, Christians for Equality held a press conference at Anchorage’s First Congregational Church in support of the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative. Among the prepared statements read at the press conference was that of Rev. Sara Gavit of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, which Bent Alaska presents here.
Christians for Equality speak out for Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative
Christians for Equality, a new group representing a number of religious and faith-based organizations in the Anchorage area, has formed in support of the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative.
Thanksgiving potluck at the LGBTQ-welcoming Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
You are invited to join the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Day) at 2 p.m. for a community potluck Thanksgiving dinner.
We will gather around 1:00 to 1:30 PM for wine and cheese, and plan to start eating at 2 PM. Everyone is welcome, and if your plans change, come and join us (even if it’s the last minute). We can usually expect between 30 and 45 people. People can come early and help set up chairs and tables, etc. Come and be with your church family if your own isn’t an option. Let us celebrate together this wonderful, very American holiday with good food and fellowship.
Like the Unitarian Universalist Association as a whole, the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is LGBT-welcoming, inclusive, and affirming. They are also non-doctrinaire, holding the inherent worth and dignity of every person as one of their seven core principles. EVERYONE is welcome.
- Date/time: Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Day). Gather at 1:00 to 1:30 PM; Thanksgiving potluck at 2:00 PM.
- Location: Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3201 Turnagain Street, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- Cost of admission: Free! But please bring a dish.
- Further info: Contact Shirley Dickens at 563-4499 if you need ideas about what to bring.
If you know of other LGBTQ-welcoming Thanksgiving celebrations anywhere in Alaska, please let Bent Alaska know by writing to bentalaska at gmail dot com or Facebooking us at https://www.facebook.com/bent.alaska.
Denise L. Eger, rabbi (LGBT History Month)
One of the first openly gay rabbis, Denise Eger served as rabbi for the world’s first gay and lesbian synagogue. She is the first female and the first openly gay president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. Bent Alaska presents her story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Denise L. Eger
“I believe God made me just as I am. That is all I need to know, that I am exactly who God created me to be!”
One of the first openly gay rabbis, Denise Eger (born March 14, 1960) served as rabbi for the world’s first gay and lesbian synagogue. She is the first female and the first openly gay president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California.
Eger was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. Active in her synagogue, she taught religious school from the time she was 12. She studied opera as a teen, intending to be a voice major in college.
Eger received a bachelor’s degree in religion from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree from Hebrew Union College (HUC) – Jewish Institute of Religion. In 1988, she was ordained a Reform rabbi.
Following ordination, she served as the first full-time rabbi at Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim, the first gay and lesbian synagogue. In 1991, Rabbi Eger cofounded West Hollywood’s LGBT-welcoming Congregation Kol Ami, which means “all my people.”
Rabbi Eger was the founding president of the Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Interfaith Clergy Association. She worked with the Central Conference of American Rabbis to pass the resolution that allowed Reform rabbis to officiate at same-sex commitment ceremonies.
In 2008, Rabbi Eger officiated at the first legal wedding of a lesbian couple in California. The National Women’s Political Caucus named her one of its 12 Remarkable Women in 2010. The Human Rights Campaign presented her with the Community Equality Award in 2011.
Rabbi Eger lives with her son in Los Angeles.
In 2010, Rabbi Eger recorded a video for the It Gets Better Project. Watch:
For more about Denise Eger, visit her page at the Congregation Kol Ami website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Rabbi Denise Eger at Meet in the Middle for Equality, Fresno, California, 30 May 2009. Photo by Paul Schreiber; used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
Bent News, 10/1/11: Catholics and LGBT equality
Catholics and LGBT equality and and more in this edition of Bent News.
(Based on @bentalaska 9/30 tweets and Facebook shares, with supplementation.)
Catholics and LGBT equality
- MN Diocese: Catholics for Marriage Equality “not in good standing w/ church.” (via @TPEquality) http://t.co/fMlPXdZb # [ThinkProgress LGBT]
- (In fact, a majority of Catholics favor equality: it’s the church hierarchy that it out of step with the laiety.) #
When that second tweet landed on Bent Alaska’s Facebook wall yesterday, it raised questions with one reader, who asked, “Where does that information come from? In my personal life, I haven’t seen that.”
There have been a number of polls over the past year or two which show that of all faith traditions, Catholics are the most supportive of LGBT equality including legal recognition of same sex relationships through marriage or domestic partnership. Some of the figures from those surveys are included in the Think Progress article linked in the previous tweet, which describes how the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are attempting to weaken Catholics for Marriage Equality MN. Both sides are engaged in a hard-fought campaign over a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution similar to the one which entered the Alaska Constitution in 1998: defining marriage as being only between one man and one woman.
“But the Catholic Church is not speaking on behalf of its membership,” Zack Ford of Think Progress writes,
In fact, if supporters of marriage equality were truly not “in good standing” with the Church, the Church would lose over half its membership:
- March, 2011: 53 percent of white Catholics support marriage equality.
- March, 2011: 74 percent of Catholics favor legally recognizing same-sex relationships.
- July, 2011: 59 percent of Catholics support New York’s marriage equality law.
- August, 2010: 63 percent of Rhode Island Catholics support marriage equality.
Follow this links to stories about the studies cited in the Think Progress article. Detailed information can be found in a March 2011 study from the Public Religion Research Institue, Catholic Attitudes on Gay and Lesbian Issues: A Comprehensive Portrait from Recent Research Analysis.
Another great resource for Catholics who favor LGBT equality is the national organization Catholics for Equality. They also have a Facebook page.
Other tweets
- Pentagon to allow military chaplains to perform same-sex ceremonies in marriage equality states (via @TPEquality) http://t.co/pFBjn6PF #
- Openly gay Congressman Jared Polis (D–CO) & partner Marlon Reis announce birth of their first child, a baby boy. http://t.co/BjN8AVnD #
Prevo divorce documents raise “loosey-goosey” questions about Anchorage Baptist Temple house
Court documents in the divorce of Allen Prevo, son of Anchorage Baptist Temple pastor Jerry Prevo, and Holly Jo Prevo raise questions about ABT religious exemption housing. Or, in the judge’s words, “if there was a tax appraiser or a reporter from the Anchorage Daily News, things would not look good… it’s pretty loosey-goosey to me.”
James Steven “Steve” Reese (1968–2011)
We were saddened to learn last week of the death of PFLAG Juneau volunteer Steve Reese. Our condolences to his children, family and friends, and all who knew him. We excerpt one of his letters to the editor, on Christian attitudes towards LGBT people: “If your Bible tells you to hate or to do hateful things, then you are reading your Bible wrong.”
Remembering James Crump; and counseling & spiritual support
This post has information about psychological counseling and spiritual support for those affected by the events of last Saturday, when our brother and friend James L. Crump tragically lost his life. There will also be a resolution introduced tonight in the Anchorage Assembly to remember and honor James, and anyone who can attend is asked to.
