“I can not do this,” I thought to myself as I began my inaugural ascent out of the basement of The Bistro, the premier gay bar in Bloomington, Ill. My right hand traced up the railing, and my left hand clenched tightly around a nine-inch
When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat’s head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts
The White House has an oft-overlooked religious ally for solving the country’s social problems through greatly expanded government programs, if a new survey of senior pastors in mainline Protestant churches is a good indication. Republican politicians and commentators have opposed President Obama’s economic stimulus initiatives
“The Church’s Unfinished Sexual Revolution” was the title of an article in the spring 2006 issue of Yale Divinity School’s Reflections magazine. In it longtime Christian ethicist James B. Nelson described some progress in church thinking about sexual ethics, but contended that the church’s agenda
A United Methodist News Service report A transgender United Methodist pastor has shared his story with other members of the denomination’s Baltimore-Washington Conference in the hopes of promoting a broader discussion about gender identity. The Rev. Drew Phoenix – formerly the Rev. Ann Gordon –
What do a defrocked Methodist minister, a furniture maker and a former, self-described, homophobic, right-wing bigot have in common? A commitment to ending religious-based discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Their weapon of choice? Advertising. “These ads are intended to start something –
Read the related article on Jack Rogers Listen to another podcast interview with Jack Rogers The eighth podcast, or “Godcast” from Whosoever features an interview with Rev. Jimmy Creech, whose new organization, Faith in America, is using a powerful ad campaign to show how harmful
Northaven United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas Reading for the Second Sunday in Lent and Trinity Sunday: John 3:1-17 In case you haven’t figured it out, there is something advertisers know about us. There is something that the sellers of consumer goods know about us. There
United Methodist News Service (Dec. 27, 2004) – Irene Elizabeth “Beth” Stroud has decided to appeal the Dec. 2 decision by a United Methodist trial court to revoke her ministerial credentials. Then the associate pastor at First United Methodist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia, she
First United Methodist Church of Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa. Readings for the Third Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 35:1-16, Luke 1:46-55 One of the characteristics of the life of faith is the experience of counterintuitive joy. Just when the logical response to external circumstances would seem to
