BLOGGING-THOMAS

Thanks to the Religion News Service, I just ran across the headline reading: “Couple Rejoices After Jesus Appears On Store Receipt.”

Having been asked by their pastor, “If you know God, would you recognize him if you saw him?’” a South Carolina couple did just that when they discovered Jesus on their WalMart receipt.

What can I say?  You’ll have to judge for yourself.  Now if I’d seen this on my Powerball lottery ticket last week, I might be less sceptical!!

Initially this reads like something from the satirical newspaper, The Onion, who recently ran an article headlined, “Vatican Reverses Stance On Gay Marriage After Meeting Tony And Craig.”   Only this Bishop is Episcopalian, and … it’s true!  This article in The Christian Post is based on an official communication from the Diocese of Long Island to all clergy in that diocese, “A Theological Perspective and Practical Guideline on Marriage in the Diocese of Long Island as New York State Law Allows Same-Gender Marriage.”  At the end of that article, The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island, wrote:

“For the gay and lesbian clergy of this Diocese who are living in domestic partnerships or civil unions, I hereby grant a grace period of nine months from the effective date of the New York State Law permitting same-gender marriages for those relationships to be regularized either by the exchange of vows in marriage or the living apart of said couples.  I deem it to be honest and fair, and I do so direct and require, now that it is legal, that only married couples may live together, either in rectories or elsewhere as a clergy couple living in the midst of our faith community.”

The Episcopal Cafe blog has written about the variety of positions on gay marriage that are held by different bishops in the state of New York, as reported in this New York Times article.   To some extent this was to be expected, given the fact that right now there are some dioceses where clergy are performing same-sex weddings, while at the same time the Episcopal Church officially is still debating whether to develop official liturgies for Same-Sex Blessings or Holy Unions.

While numerous Episcopal clergy in this diocese have performed same sex ceremonies both inside and outside the Diocese of Washington (with some at times having been refused the right to officiate at same sex blessings by bishops of other dioceses), even Washington has become somewhat more restrictive since the legalization of gay marriage in the District of Columbia, restricting clergy to performing gay marriages only for members of their own parishes.  The published guidelines for various marriage-scenarios in the Diocese of Washington can be found here.

Julia Stroud writes about finding a liberal, 20- and 30-something community of faith:

At 1 a.m. on a Sunday you can often find me at a bar. The bar varies, so does the reason: a friend’s departure, a birthday celebration, a long week at the office to forget. The drink rarely varies, however, and I will clutch my gin and ice and sip it through the straw, laughing with friends and planning my exit. I have to be at church in eight hours. Slurp, laugh, check the time. My friends’ nights are open-ended but I have to be at church in — I check the time again — seven hours now.

I do get a perverse thrill from declaring, as I put down my glass, “No, I can’t stay. I have to be at church in the morning,” and seeing my friends nod knowingly while people I’ve just met look shocked. “Are you kidding?” they ask. When I assure them I’m not, sometimes they say things like, “Good for you,” or “But you seem so normal.” Rarely do they add, “Can I come too?”

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What: Washington DC Preservation League Member Event
When: POSTPONED – NEW DATE TBA
Where: St. Thomas’ Parish, 1772 Church St NW

The Washington DC Preservation League is partnering with St. Thomas’  Parish to co-host an event for their members on July 14th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the church.

For more information on the event and to RSVP with the DCPL, visit their website by clicking here.  Availability is limited.

The title of the Event is “Marrying the Historic and the Modern” in Dupont Circle.

The Parish archivists and historians will give a tour of the remnants of the destroyed Gothic building and its artifacts, followed by the architect’s presentation of the new structure, and a discussion of how each building enhances and preserves the other.

For a video presentation of the history of the original church click here.

To follow the progress of this project on the architect’s blog click here.

Sometimes, you stumble across simple things that have profound messages.  This six-chord, guitar-song written by a New Zealander thirty-five years ago is now included in the Episcopal hymnal-supplement, Voices Found: Women in the Church’s Song. We’ll be singing it together this Sunday at St. Thomas’ Parish, but you may enjoy this preview of the original, written by Richard Gillard, who sings it here: