A small but growing number of clergy have decided in recent years not to sign marriage licenses because of the reality that in doing so we participate in a system that actively discriminates against gays and lesbians. This weekend I shared with my congregations in a sermon that I would join the ranks of these clergy because no where can I find a Biblical justification for this discrimination.
A generation ago interracial marriage was outlawed. This was justified by the use of Scripture. Genesis 28:1 reads: "Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, 'You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women." In the past, this piece of Scripture was interpreted by some Christians to mean that Hebrews and Canaanites were of different races and therefore no races should inter-marry. We may think this silly today but when Barack Obama was born his father -- a black man -- and his mother -- a white woman -- were barred from being legally married in many states and the justification was often biblical. We have discerned over time, led by the power of the Holy Spirit, to understand not only our own error in interpretation but also the reality that some of what is written in Scripture has no moral authority over us today. Or should I quote from 1 Timothy 2:11-12?
"Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent."
I'm willing to make the faith claim that God has no problems with interracial marriages, wants women to speak boldly with the voice of Sophia (the embodiment of God's wisdom), and that those who use Scripture to justify discrimination against gays and lesbians are making the same mistake in interpretation that we have made as a people over and over again.
I am often asked if I will marry gay and lesbian couples.
Right now I'm a United Church of Christ minister serving two Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church. The United Church of Christ affirms marriage equality. The United Methodist Church says homosexuality is incompatible with Christianity. And both Sunnyside Church and University Park Church have pledged to welcome all, and are faithfully engaging the larger United Methodist Church to change the rules and truly become a church with open hearts and open doors and open minds.
So yes, I will marry any gay and lesbian couple that I believe is ready to make that commitment, using the same criteria to make that call that I would for any heterosexual couple. To respect the rules of the United Methodist Church, I will conduct those services at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, my home congregation.
Is there a risk is making this announcement?
I remember the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who told his church:
No member of Ebenezer Baptist Church called me to the ministry. You called me to Ebenezer, and you may turn me out of here, but you can't turn me out of the ministry, because I got my guidelines and my anointment from God Almighty. And anything I want to say, I'm going to say it from this pulpit. It may hurt somebody, I don't know about that; somebody may not agree with it. But when God speaks, who can but prophesy? The word of God is upon me like fire shut up in my bones, and when God's word gets upon me, I've got to say it, I've got to tell it all over everywhere. And God has called me to deliver those that are in captivity.
What I will no longer do after September is sign wedding licenses. Until the day comes when marriage equality is the law of the land I will no longer act as an agent of the state in an institution that is discriminatory. I will offer the religious rites of the church but will invite people to have their marriage license signed by a judge or other official of the state.
When the General Synod of the United Church of Christ endorsed marriage equality in 2005, they noted:
The message of the Gospel is the lens through which the whole of scripture is to be interpreted. Love and compassion, justice and peace are at the very core of the life and ministry of Jesus. It is a message that always bends toward inclusion. The biblical story recounts the ways in which inclusion and welcome to God's community is ever expanding -- from the story of Abraham and Sarah, to the inclusive ministry of Jesus, to the baptism of Cornelius, to the missionary journeys of Paul throughout the Greco- Roman world. The liberating work of the Spirit as witnessed in the activities of Jesus' ministry has been to address the situations and structures of exclusion, injustice and oppression that diminish God's people and keep them from realizing the full gift of human personhood in the context of human communion.
Will You Marry Me? A Sermon on John 2:1-11, 15:9-17 | Marriage Equality and the Bible from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.
Follow Rev. Chuck Currie on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RevChuckCurrie
Greg Carey: Where Do 'Liberal' Bible Scholars Come From?
Mark Osler: The New Episcopalian
Aaron Taylor: In Defense of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Yes, people will want to respond to this post saying that we dont live in a theocracy. That's not what Im taking about. Im responding to the pastor in regards to what is appropriate in Christian churches and Christian subcultures - Im not referring to the wider community.
It is just not true that promotion of civil same-sex marriage has put pressure on the church.
Quite the other way around, as far as I can tell.
If a pair assembled from among my straight brothers and sisters asks you to do the only thing you can do with regard to the civil institution of their marriage, which is to sign their civil marriage license, I would implore you not to deny them that.
Granted, as a minister, your only role in civil marriage is that you're empowered to substitute for the notary they'd otherwise have to hire -- and feed at the reception. Weddings are expensive enough already.
My point is that, while I appreciate your gesture of solidarity, your point is that you should be able to extend that blessing to adult couples without regard to sexual orientation. Please don't deny to straight couples the comfort of your office (and boost their catering bills) on my behalf.
You see, we want to get married, but we don't want to interfere with anyone else's right to be happy.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
You can’t refuse to do good, no matter how important the point you’re trying to make – or how much it made me smile that you’re making it.
I'm not a celebrity watcher, but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, after having sunk a huge chunk of money into trying to protect my right to get married, said that they wouldn't get married until same-sex couples could get married, too. Cool, huh?
They changed their minds recently, and some people thought it should be some huge controversy, but they've got kids, and the kids are wondering why Mommy and Daddy aren't married, so they decided to get married. God bless both of them, for the kids they've adopted and given a loving home to, and for the way that Brad Pitt is helping to rebuild my home town of New Orleans (what's up with that? -- I don't know the guy but he stands up for my civil rights AND is working to rebuild my hometown even though he's both straight and not from New Orleans -- if he's not careful, people might start caling him a hero).
I get what Brother Chuck is doing, and it warms my heart. I just don't want my rights getting in the way of somebody else's happiness.
Personally, if you can get someone to officiate, go for it!
If they're people of faith, they'll choose a faith that doesn't discriminate against them. And, there's plenty of faiths that don't discriminate. Thank Zeus.
Or are you referring to the lying "ministers of unrighteousness" from Westboro Baptist? Or to Tony Perkins? Or to James Dobson? Or to Pat Buchanan? Or to Jerry Falsewell? Or to Brian Brown? Or to Bryan Fischer? Or to Maggie Gallagher (not her real name)? Or to Dan Cathy? Or to Pat Robertson? Or to Jimmy Swggart? Or to Ted Haggart? Or to Catholic-basher Hagee? Or ... well, the list is long indeed, but Rev'd. Currie is not among them.
I applaud these ministers for doing this. Marriage licensing and ceremony should be in the hands of the state as it is in Europe/ Those couples wishing a religious ceremony can go to the extra time and expense/
Not everyone's god is the same as yours. Stop thinking your religious views should have any more weight than anyone else's, which is to say NONE.
P.S. My faith is perfectly fine with same-gender marriage. So why should (what is really) YOUR faith's view of marriage trump mine or anyone else's? I'm not a member of YOUR "church". Why should I be forced to agree with or abide by the tenets of a faith to which I do not subscribe?
P.S. My post is directed at Christians who want to change the most fundamental part of marriage just because it's trendy to think like that nowadays. Since you're not a Christian then you can ignore me, this is not for you.
We've had a few exchanges here, AtWill, and that whole "friend" thing is not a euphemism where you're concerned, so I'll tell you something about my family.
I'm a Methodist. My Uncle Bill was a Methodist minister. For decades, he officiated at the weddings of everybody in our family -- including my grandparents, my parents, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and my sister.
Uncle Bill passed away a few years ago, but I know that he would have officiated at my marriage to Mr. Right even though that would have risked a trial for heresy and the loss of his pension. (Note to self: Keep trying to find Mr. Right.)
My disagreement with Brother Chuck (our traditional Methodist way of referring to pastors) is that I don’t think he should deny straight couples the blessings of his office simply because the government denies me the rights he wants me to have.
I’ll be fine. Uncle Bill passed the baton to my cousin Anne, who is also a Methodist minister, and feels the same way he did (and no doubt still does). Sure, she’s the daughter of his wife’s first cousin, but that doesn’t matter because we’re talking about family values here.