Impartial, Compassionate God of All Lives
Adrienne TrevathanTune: St. Denio (same as "Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise") Impartial, compassionate God of all lives, In Christ you have shown us your love actualized, Incarnate and weak in the arms of the poor, Destroying all systems that keep closed the door. Unholy, unjustified fear we incite, When we shun our neighbors yet cling to our rights. Your children still wander the streets left in pain, We pass laws against them to prove our disdain. Creator of beauty, we stand not in pride, We do not assume you will stay on our side. For yours is the sacred, unt

The Cause of so much Pain...
By Joey HeathThis is a part of a conversation I have been having with friend who happens to believe that homosexuality is against God's will. After I wrote it to him I felt like it was something worth sharing with other cause I realized I had just poured my heart out to him. I would also like to note that out of respect for him these are only my words and nothing he has said.For me I am simply told to be celibate and alone because I know I will never be attracted to women. I'm told because of that fact, I must turn my sexuality off. That is why I see it as so different. You are not being told to turn your sexuality off just channel it to a proper place. There

Maine and a Personal Concern About Heterosexism
By Rev. Gilbert H. CaldwellThe Vote by a Majority of the Voters in Maine to prohibit Same Gender Marriage when "connected" to the 30 other states that have done something comparable, now means that 31 states have aligned themselves with the hetereosexist legislation of the United Methodist Church re; homosexuality and same gender couples.                       A PERSONAL CONCERN ABOUT HETEROSEXISM Whenever I encounter persons or institutions that in conversation or action, express attitudes of pre-judgment, prejudice, bias and bigotry toward homosexuality and homosexual persons, I wonder if I am in the presence also of unacknowledged and

The "Music" of Noah's Curse May Be Over, but the "Melody" Lingers On
Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell One of the joys as well as challenges of "downsizing" as one attempts to settle into what will probably be his/her last home is to re-discover books that have been forgotten. "It" was in one of the boxes that had been set aside to be opened at a later date. When it was time to open that box, "It" peered out at me. "It" was NOAH'S CURSE, The Biblical Justification of American Slavery, Stephen R. Haynes, Oxford University Press, 2002. Of course, finding the book prompted me to revisit those words in Genesis 9:24-27 that served as the Biblical justification for slavery and racial segregation: "When Noah awoke from his wine an

Opposing Homophobia and Heterosexism Resolution (#2043, 2008 BOR)
WHEREAS, homophobia is the discrimination of people perceived to be non-heterosexual, regardless of the victim’s actual sexual orientation or sexual identity; and, WHEREAS, heterosexism is a self-justifying system of homophobia that: 1) perpetuates stereotypical categories of what is essentially “masculine” and what is essentially “feminine,” 2) provides a privileged status for people who identify as culturally defined heterosexuals, and 3) discriminates against persons who, regar