Read the original article at MiamiHerald.com | Copyright ©2012 The Miami Herald

Sometimes, people hide inside the Bible.

That is, they use the Christian holy book as authority and excuse for biases that have nothing to do with God. They did this when women sought to vote and when African Americans sought freedom.

They are doing it now, as gay men and lesbians seek the right to be married.

The latest battleground in that fight is North Carolina, where voters go to the polls Tuesday to render a verdict on Amendment One, which would add to the state constitution the following stipulation: “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.”

Mind you, the Tarheel State already has a law on the books banning same-sex marriage. The would-be constitutional amendment is meant to double down on exclusion. And if you read the language carefully, you saw what many observers have seen — that it can also be interpreted as denying legal recognition to unmarried heterosexuals.

Not that this holds any sway with those who hide inside the Bible. “God has defined marriage,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins in a Sunday sermon quoted in the Charlotte Observer. “It is not up to us to redefine it.” In a letter to the editor, an Observer reader put it thusly: “You either believe [the Bible] or not.”

One wishes those people could spend a little quality time with Matthew Vines.

Vines is a Christian, a 22-year-old Harvard undergrad raised in a conservative evangelical church in Kansas. He is also gay and says he grew up being taught that the Bible condemns his sexual orientation. He took two years off from school to research and study whether or not that assertion is true.

The result is The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality. It’s a video — you can find it online with a simple Google search — of a speech he gave in March at a church in Wichita that has become a minor sensation. Small wonder. Vines’ speech is a masterwork of scriptural exegesis and a marvel of patient logic, slicing and dicing with surgical precision the claim that homophobia is God ordained. So effective is the video that after viewing it, Sandra Delemares a Christian blogger from the United Kingdom who had, for years, spoken in staunch opposition to same sex marriage, wrote that it “revolutionised” her thinking.

Vines points out, for instance, that the frequently quoted condemnation (homosexuality is an “abomination”) from the Old Testament lawbook of Leviticus has no application to Christians, who are bound by the teachings of the New Testament. He explains that St. Paul’s admonitions about the “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind” stem from modern mis-translations of ancient Greek terminology.

It is fascinating stuff, and there is not nearly enough space here to do it justice, but the salient point is this: Matthew Vines is not some godless heathen lobbing bombs at Christianity from outside its walls. No, he lives inside Christianity’s walls, still holds the faith in which he was raised. So this is not an outsider’s attack. It is an insider’s plea.

One hopes that plea is heeded. Vines’ speech is long — a little over an hour — but well worth the time, particularly for those seeking to reconcile first-century faith with 21st-century social concerns..

Many in North Carolina — many around the country — are swimming against the tide of human freedom and blaming God for it. Again, this is not a new thing. We saw it back when God was for segregation and against women’s suffrage.

How convenient it must be to lay your own narrowness and smallness off on God, to accept no responsibility for the niggardly nature of your own soul. Vines’ video is a welcome, overdue and eloquent rebuke of the moral and intellectual laziness of throwing rocks, then hiding inside Scripture. It is a reminder, too.

You don’t go to the Bible to hide. You go there to seek.

Read the original article at MiamiHerald.com | Copyright ©2012 The Miami Herald

You can volunteer with our church or be a volunteer for Miami Beach Gay Pride as we work together to make this event a great success.

Come be a part of RPC’s mission – Reflecting the Path of Christ …. WITH PRIDE!! If anyone is interested in joining us please feel free to attend the orientation and/or contact volunteer@miamibeachgaypride.com.

During the first week of November I had the opportunity to attend the Covenant Network conference at First Presbyterian church in Durham, NC with Danny and Laurie. Having never attended a conference such

I was glad when they said unto me: as this, I knew it would be special. Covenant Network, along with its let us go to the house of the Lord, tireless staff, volunteers and sister pro-inclusion organizations, played a big part in the passage of amendment 10A (now known in our Book of Order as G.2.0104b) which changed our ordination standards just a few months ago. I was happy the night 10A passed as I am sure most of my Presbyterian family and friends were, but my heart and mind quickly rested on those who still opposed us. I thought long and hard about what could be done to keep the gap of separation from growing bigger and help mend broken hearts and spirits on both sides. It has been a long journey for our whole church. One of which I have only played a small part. The work isn’t over yet, so I was pleased to learn the theme of the conference was about reconciliation.

On the first day of the conference, Danny and I registered, received our packets, put on our name tags and ventured off to the orientation for new comers where we saw and met new faces and people who were all there to witness and work for the unity of our church. Before we knew it, we were in the sanctuary for the welcome and announcements. As we listened, we thumbed through our packets and found blank cards. These cards, as we quickly learned, were there for us to write down the name of a person with whom we wish to reconcile. Before worship that evening the cards were placed upon the communion table at the front.

During one of the breaks Thursday, I noticed etched into the steps leading down to the sanctuary these words: “I was glad when they said unto me: let us go to the house of the Lord.” Those words, as I now know, are from Psalm 122 and they struck me as deeply profound given the theme of the conference. So, that evening, as we walked down those steps into the sanctuary to hear Scott Anderson preach the opening worship service, I glanced once again at those words and let them sink deep within me. The moment Scott stood up to preach his sermon, he spoke no more than three or four words before all of the witnessing attendees stood up in gratitude and tears and applause for a full five minutes. I placed my hand on Danny’s back and thought about his calling and his chance to become ordained in the word and sacrament, as I know he is meant to be. Laurie came over and embraced us both and at that moment, I felt love and hope for the church. A deep and personal reconciliation also happened then and it moved me to tears.

On the second day of the conference we gathered at the church and met and communed with our newly made friends and carried on that day in workshops, where we learned about the Respectful Dialogue Initiative, which is a new program to help prepare clergy and lay leaders to create safe and neutral places for dialogue on reconciling our communities. We also heard from Cindy Bolbach, moderator of the PCUSA and Gradye Parsons speak on the state of the church, which was both honest and promising at the same time. After dinner that evening we gathered once again for worship and we were again given blank cards. This time, we were to write down the names of those who have been serving the church in silence before the passing of the now G.2.0104b, and the names of those we hope can now serve openly. During the offering we placed the names of those people on the same communion table as the names of those with whom we need to reconcile. And there they were, sitting side by side together as guests at one table, brought together by the hearts and prayers of those of us who long to see our church united. I was once again moved with emotion as my mind drifted to those words on the steps.

I imagined those words, that Psalm, could have been sung by any one of us entering the sanctuary that evening; a song of joy in the gathering of ALL people at one table to worship God in truth and spirit. I would like to think that our voices were heard by God and our prayers lifted up for our brothers and sisters in the church who still feel that alienation, that separation of understanding. I have faith that they were. I have faith in our church and in God to bring reconciliation and unity back to the PCUSA. We have a long journey ahead of us, but if we bravely walk down this path, with Christ as our guide, I believe that one day our children and grandchildren will look back on all of this and wonder why we ever disagreed in the first place.

Never have I been so moved by a gathering of voices and hearts. I am honored to have been a witness to such commitment in the full inclusion of ALL of God’s people in the church. I want to extend a special deeply felt thank you to Laurie on the behalf of our LGBT family members and friends at Riviera for all of her hard work and dedication for playing a spirit moved role in making what once seemed impossible, possible.

Thank you.

While these global numbers are sobering, World AIDS Day this year notes some positive changes. At least 56 countries have either stabilized or reduced new HIV infections by more than 25% in the last decade. New infections among babies have dropped by 25% and now more than 4 million people are on antiretroviral therapy.

Recently a series of highly publicized scientific advancements have fundamentally altered future possibilities and equipped us to turn the tide of HIV and AIDS. In May 2011, researchers announced a breakthrough that proved treating HIV positive people with antiretroviral therapy can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to uninfected partners. We now know for certain that treatment is prevention.

Despite emerging opportunities, we also know that public concern about HIV and AIDS has plummeted significantly since 1995. We are greatly alarmed that global AIDS spending fell in 2010 and among nine states in the U.S. there are now over 8,500 persons on waiting lists for the treatment.

For more information go to www.worldaidsday.org

Our new Moderator, Dr. Gwendolyn Magby, was installed and ably moderated the meeting with the help of the members of Presbytery and a wireless communication connected to the Stated Clerk. Welcome, Gwen, to this important ministry!

The Presbytery voted on adding the proposed Belhar Confession to the Book of Confessions by secret ballot. The amendment was rejected by our Presbytery by a vote of 31 yes, 67 no, and 2 abstaining. (NOTE: As of this writing, the amendment has failed having received 61 no votes – more than the 58 required to defeat the amendment. A 2/3 majority (116 out of 173 Presbyteries) is required to pass an amendment to the Book of Confession.)

The Presbytery voted by consent agenda to approve a one year consulting contract with the “Growing Healthy Churches Network”; to allocate funds for 2 years for a new church plant in Port Pierce (sponsored by the Indian River Church); to redefine the guidelines for the 2nd Presbyterian Church Administrative Commission to “explore future missional options for the members” of that church; to commit funding for the next three years to the Korean Central New Church Development; to commit funds for the next 3 years for the Wounded Healer church plant.

The Presbytery approved the call of and welcomed into membership the Rev. Jose Manuel Capella­Pratts, the new pastor at First Spanish, Miami; and approved the call and voted to ordain Heidi Arencibia on her success­ful completion of all ordination requirements. After a lengthy discussion and numerous amendments, substitutions, and other parliamentary procedures, the Presbytery voted to receive an overture from the Memorial Church Session (West Palm) regarding “gracious separation;” to refer both it and the revised draft of the Presbytery’s gracious separation policy back to the Peace, Unity, and Purity Administrative Commission; reconstitute the PUP A/C with the following serving: Lucky Arnold, Laurie Kraus, David Kwon, Kennedy McGowan, Michelle Ready, Dick Anderson (Palm City), Ray Anglin, Maxine Long, Skip Bush, and John Little; and instruct the PUP A/C to bring to the Stated Presbytery Meeting on September 27, 2011, a final report and recommendation for action.

In the midst of all this, and other business, we enjoyed the hospitality of First Presbyterian Church, Pompano Beach, along with worship and fellowship as a Presbytery.

When words fall silent and there is nothing more to say.
It is just you and God.
God is there, in the darkness and silence waiting.
Then, the soul speaks, and God listens, and holds the soul in great care.

– A. Anderson 2011 ­

Ten years ago, begrudgingly, I walked through the doors of Riviera Presbyterian Church and was transformed by the graceful and powerful witness of Riviera’s people and Pastor, Laurie Kraus. Shortly after, I became a faithful member in the

Presbyterian church USA; A miracle within itself. God opened my eyes to people who cared, not because I was gay, but cared genuinely for who I was as a person of faith. Patiently, you all waited for my wall to fall, and when it did, you embraced me with open arms and treated me like family. To me, this is what reflecting the path of Christ is all about. Accepting each other, despite our differ­ences, our faults and our views on faith.

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. A golden rule to live by and one that I feel we as a small church in south Miami try to practice daily and, so far, have succeeded. Something so simple yet frightening for many.

This week, PC USA presbyteries passed amendment 10­A that will change the ordination standards for candidates of the offices of Minister, Elder and Deacon. No more are the words “fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman and chastity in singleness” going to cause faithful LGBT persons a denial of their calling to preach the word and sacrament. Instead, each candidate will be faithfully considered regardless of orientation, or marriage status. While it brings me joy to have witnessed God’s grace in the hearts of my fellow Presbyterian brothers and sisters, I cannot deny the hurt those must feel who genuinely regard this vote as the wrong choice.

My heart breaks at the thought of the possibility of churches and peo­ple leaving our denomination over this. So now is the time I call upon you, my Riviera family, to help heal those wounds, and prayerfully and gracefully, find a way to rebuild bridges that were burned. We must now heal the hearts of those who were hurt by the old standards and help heal the hearts of those who do not agree. This, I believe is our calling; our time to show we are truly a church that accepts ALL of Gods children. We must reach out to those who are strangers to us, and welcome them as family, our family under one God.

We must open our hearts to those who distance themselves out of faith and fear and together find the peace in the chaos, find the hope in the heartache and walk our paths hand in hand as one church and as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thanks be to God and to all God’s children. Respectfully and with love,

Allison Anderson

May 10, 2011

Dear Riviera family of faith,

This evening, the Presbytery of Twin Cities became the 87th presbytery of the PCUSA to adopt Amendment 10-A into the Book of Order, making it church law.  With several presbyteries still scheduled to vote, it is likely that the final margin of the passage of 10-A will put the number of presbyteries affirming this language well into the nineties. As we here at Riviera experience a sense of relief and deep gratitude for this long-awaited change in the Book of Order, we know that the PCUSA and its congregations have very mixed feelings. Our congregation has been, and continues to be, in prayer with all our neighbors for the fidelity of our shared mission through Jesus Christ in the PCUSA, as the Church begins to live into a different season of life together.

Central Florida Presbytery offered this analysis, which I found helpful, and reproduce with their permission:

Here is what the new language of the book of order says:

“Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of JesusChrist in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed inthe constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”

Here is what it DOESN’T say:

10-A eliminates the mandates on who should/should not be considered for ordination that are present in the current language. [The wording previously said that “Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the< covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness….”] Instead, the new language re-focuses the discussion of ordination on who examines (presbytery or session) and on what basis (joyful obedience to the Lordship of Christ, gifts, preparation and suitability for office, and commitment to fulfill the ordination vows).

This new standard reminds us that all areas of a person’s life including, but not limited to, sexual behavior are subject to the Lordship of Christ. Ever since the current language was adopted in 1996, sessions and presbyteries have disagreed about whether the Scripture precludes ordination for homosexual persons. The revised language will lay on sessions and presbyteries the responsibility to answer that question for themselves and to take seriously their responsibility to prepare and examine those who are called to church office in their context.

We are aware that many of our neighboring congregations and their leadership are grieving and anxious as this change comes to the Church.  As a congregation which has found itself, for the past 16 years, in a similar position of grief and dissent from stated PCUSA policies, we understand how it feels to be in theological dissent from the majority position of the Church. Like some of our neighboring congregations are doing presently, we struggled, in these years of dissent, with how to maintain faithful relationship with the PCUSA. We experienced congregational anxiety as we pondered the risk of being under judicial action or of leaving our denomination, our church buildings, and our treasured history and relationships behind.

After prayerful discernment, we turned away from anxiety and towards hopeful engagement. We intentionally sought conversation and wisdom from our brothers and sisters in faith, and from our own session and congregation members, especially our LGBT members and friends, whose lives in church have borne the brunt of these hurtful and exclusionary policies.  As a result, Clerk of Session Michele Ready and I served for three years on a presbytery commission for the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, which was formed explicitly for discussion, study, and prayer around these matters. We read the bible, continued to study reformed theology, prayed without ceasing, and above all, sought to live, day by day and season by season, faithful to our congregation’s mission and calling, to reflect the path of Christ here in Miami. We tried to exercise our responsibility as presbyters, in Tropical Florida and in the national PCUSA, with openness and grace, despite painful conflicts.

Our national leadership’s efforts with regard to changes in denominational polity has striven for a high standard of ordination which respects the conscience and calling of our diverse faith communities, a standard which compels no one to act or ordain outside of God’s call in each congregation’s life and mission.

While we welcome 10-A as a grace-filled reframing of our national ordination standards, we are aware that many, if not most, in our presbytery disagree. We believe we, as a congregation, are stronger and wiser because of the challenges and blessings of living these past years within a larger community of faith that did not share our perspective.  Now that church polity has provided a more gracious space in which Riviera can discern God’s call and mission, we recall the lessons learned over the past 16 years.  We understand that God is calling us toward renewed relationship with our neighbors in faith, and to the important witness that is being the face of Christ for one another, especially as we disagree.  This will be hard work drawing deep from our (mutually) depleted energies for more patience, more forbearance with the hope that there will ultimately be healing and reconciliation.

We hope that those of our neighbors who now find themselves in a similar circumstance will continue in prayer and common mission with us, just as we have done these past 16 years, and we will continue to work, along with you all, for the peace, unity, and purity of our Church, the many “nations, tribes, and languages” who together seek to serve God and honor Christ here in South Florida.

I hope we will find, in this new moment, a renewed sense of congregational freedom and commitment to our worship and work, finding a place for all of us who call this congregation “home” to become more actively engaged and deeply connected to a shared life in faith and service.  Please know how deeply grateful and proud we are to serve alongside you at RPC.

With love and gratitude,

Laurie

Michele

Ten years ago, begrudgingly, I walked trough the doors of Riviera Presbyterian Church and was transformed by the graceful and powerful witness of Riviera’s people and Pastor, Laurie Kraus. Shortly after, I became a faithful member In the Presbyterian Church USA; A miracle within itself.

God opened my eyes to people who cared, not because I was gay, but cared genuinely for who I was as a person of faith. Patiently, you all waited for my wall to fall, and when it did, you embraced me with open arms and treated me like family. To me, this is what reflecting the path of Christ is all about. Accepting each other, despite our differences, our faults and our views on faith. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. A golden rule to live by and one that I feel we as a small church in south Miami try to practice daily and, so far, have succeeded. Something so simple yet frightening for many.

Tonight, PC USA presbyteries passed amendment 10-A that will change the ordination standards for candidates of the offices of Minister, Elder and Deacon. No more are the words “fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman and chastity in singleness” going to cause faithful LGBT persons a denial of their calling to preach the word and sacrament. Instead, each candidate, will be faithfully considered regardless of orientation, or marriage status.

While it brings me joy to have witnessed God’s grace in the hearts of my fellow Presbyterian brothers and sisters, I cannot deny the hurt those must feel who genuinely regard this vote as the wrong choice. My heart breaks at the thought of the possibility of churches and people leaving our denomination over this.

So now is the time I call upon you, my Riviera family, to help heal those wounds, and prayerfully and gracefully, find a way to rebuild bridges that were burned. We must now heal the hearts of those who were hurt by the old standards and help heal the hearts of those who do not agree. This, I believe is our calling; our time to show we are truly a church that accepts ALL of Gods children. We must reach out to those who are strangers to us, and welcome them as family, our family under one God. We must open our hearts to those who distance themselves out of faith and fear and together find the peace in the chaos, find the hope in the heartache and walk our paths hand in hand as one church and as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thanks be to God and to all God’s children.

Respectfully and with love, Allison Anderson

If I’m not mistaken,there are 33 churches remaining that will vote by the
end of this month. with the vote count ( at last I heard) 37 yes to 30 no
( and 6 FLIPS YAY!) it’s looking positive. Keep the prayers going, the
emails going, the calls going.
Wouldn’t this be a nice b-day present for me if we push it over the 87 by
March 14th? I’ve seen smaller miracles!

Feel free to share this link with anyone

http://www.amendment10a.org/