National Cathedral to perform same-sex weddings
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington National Cathedral, where the nation gathers to mourn tragedies and celebrate new presidents, will soon begin performing same-sex marriages.
Cathedral officials tell The Associated Press the church will be among the first Episcopal congregations to implement a new rite of marriage for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members. The church will announce its new policy Wednesday.
As the nation's most prominent church, the decision carries huge symbolism. The 106-year-old cathedral has long been a spiritual center for the nation, hosting presidential inaugural services and funerals for Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors.
In light of the legality of same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia and now Maryland, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, decided in December to allow an expansion of the Christian marriage sacrament. The diocese covers the district and four counties in Maryland. The change is allowed under a "local option" granted by the church's General Convention, church leaders said. Each priest in the diocese can then decide whether to perform same-sex unions.
The Very Rev. Gary Hall, the cathedral's dean, said performing same-sex marriages is an opportunity to break down barriers and build a more inclusive community "that reflects the diversity of God's world."
"I read the Bible as seriously as fundamentalists do," Hall told the AP. "And my reading of the Bible leads me to want to do this because I think it's being faithful to the kind of community that Jesus would have us be."
Celebrating same-sex weddings is important beyond the Episcopal Church, Hall said. Church debate is largely settled on the matter, allowing for local decisions, he said. The move is also a chance to influence the nation.
"As a kind of tall-steeple, public church in the nation's capital, by saying we're going to bless same-sex marriages, conduct same-sex marriages, we are really trying to take the next step for marriage equality in the nation and in the culture," Hall said.
Hall is the 10th dean of the cathedral and has been an ordained minister for more than 35 years. He said he began performing same-sex blessings in 1990 when he served at All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif.
It will likely be six months to a year before the first gay marriages are performed at the cathedral due to its busy schedule and its pre-marital counseling requirement. Generally, only couples affiliated with the cathedral will be eligible. Church leaders had not received any requests for weddings ahead of Wednesday's announcement.
While Hall does not expect any objections within the National Cathedral congregation, he said the change may draw criticism from outside. It may be divisive for some, just as it was to preach against segregation or to push for the ordination of women, Hall said.
The New York-based Episcopal Church is the U.S. body of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. The House of Bishops voted last year 111-41 to authorize a provisional rite for same-sex unions. Some congregations have left the church over its inclusion of gays and lesbians over the years.
Same-sex marriage is now legal in nine states and the District of Columbia. Legislators in Illinois and Rhode Island are set to take up bills to possibly join them, and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear cases on gay marriage in March.
The first same-sex wedding performed last month at West Point's Cadet Chapel drew some protests from conservatives. The National Cathedral is even more visible.
Hall, the cathedral dean, said the church has a long history of taking stands on public issues. But he said he sees marriage as a human issue, not a political issue.
"For us to be able to say we embrace same-sex marriage as a tool for faithful people to live their lives as Christian people," he said, "for us to be able to say that at a moment when so many other barriers toward full equality and full inclusion for gay and lesbian people are falling, I think it is an important symbolic moment."
Cathedral officials tell The Associated Press the church will be among the first Episcopal congregations to implement a new rite of marriage for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members. The church will announce its new policy Wednesday.
As the nation's most prominent church, the decision carries huge symbolism. The 106-year-old cathedral has long been a spiritual center for the nation, hosting presidential inaugural services and funerals for Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors.
In light of the legality of same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia and now Maryland, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, decided in December to allow an expansion of the Christian marriage sacrament. The diocese covers the district and four counties in Maryland. The change is allowed under a "local option" granted by the church's General Convention, church leaders said. Each priest in the diocese can then decide whether to perform same-sex unions.
The Very Rev. Gary Hall, the cathedral's dean, said performing same-sex marriages is an opportunity to break down barriers and build a more inclusive community "that reflects the diversity of God's world."
"I read the Bible as seriously as fundamentalists do," Hall told the AP. "And my reading of the Bible leads me to want to do this because I think it's being faithful to the kind of community that Jesus would have us be."
Celebrating same-sex weddings is important beyond the Episcopal Church, Hall said. Church debate is largely settled on the matter, allowing for local decisions, he said. The move is also a chance to influence the nation.
"As a kind of tall-steeple, public church in the nation's capital, by saying we're going to bless same-sex marriages, conduct same-sex marriages, we are really trying to take the next step for marriage equality in the nation and in the culture," Hall said.
Hall is the 10th dean of the cathedral and has been an ordained minister for more than 35 years. He said he began performing same-sex blessings in 1990 when he served at All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif.
It will likely be six months to a year before the first gay marriages are performed at the cathedral due to its busy schedule and its pre-marital counseling requirement. Generally, only couples affiliated with the cathedral will be eligible. Church leaders had not received any requests for weddings ahead of Wednesday's announcement.
While Hall does not expect any objections within the National Cathedral congregation, he said the change may draw criticism from outside. It may be divisive for some, just as it was to preach against segregation or to push for the ordination of women, Hall said.
The New York-based Episcopal Church is the U.S. body of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. The House of Bishops voted last year 111-41 to authorize a provisional rite for same-sex unions. Some congregations have left the church over its inclusion of gays and lesbians over the years.
Same-sex marriage is now legal in nine states and the District of Columbia. Legislators in Illinois and Rhode Island are set to take up bills to possibly join them, and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear cases on gay marriage in March.
The first same-sex wedding performed last month at West Point's Cadet Chapel drew some protests from conservatives. The National Cathedral is even more visible.
Hall, the cathedral dean, said the church has a long history of taking stands on public issues. But he said he sees marriage as a human issue, not a political issue.
"For us to be able to say we embrace same-sex marriage as a tool for faithful people to live their lives as Christian people," he said, "for us to be able to say that at a moment when so many other barriers toward full equality and full inclusion for gay and lesbian people are falling, I think it is an important symbolic moment."
If supporting gay marriage and loving people for who they are makes me a sinner, I'll be the first person to go to hell ...and all my hellish friends and I will laugh...and laugh...and laugh...because we love people for people. You guys head up there and judge away. Your God judges you for being a "bad person" when he also claims to determine the path of your life. Enjoy your stay, robots.
Marriage is between a man & a woman. Â Anything else is a fraud..
 @sortbait You are a fraud. You think only what you do is right and you have a general lack of respect for people. You are gonna feel like a real POS in 20 years when people finally turn around and realize that discriminating against people is wrong. Remember that little thing called slavery?
 @sortbait However, those pictures I have of you with a goat are real.
The apostle Paul wrote that in the last days there would be a great falling away. When churches - who are supposed to preach what the Bible says and be examples of God-like behavior - legitimize sinful behavior (the Biible DOES say homosexuality is a sin) and say it is acceptable in God's sight by performing same-sex marriage, we are seeing Paul's prophecy come true.
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The Rev. Gary Hall has it wrong. Performing same-sex marriage is NOT what Christ would have him - or any preacher of the Gospel - do. Christ defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Performing same-sex marriage therefore goes against what Christ taught.
@theprodigal The apostle Paul was to blame for all of the creative writing that eventually became the christian part of the Judea-Christian tradition.
 @theprodigal Please prove to me that God exists. You lose.
@mikeyb123 @theprodigal Prove He doesn't.
@theprodigal Can we say that anything doesnât exist? With certainty, probably not. But with the confidence that we can say that anything doesnât existâleprechauns, fairies,purple unicorns or Merlin the wizardâwe can say that God doesn't exist as we'll.
 @theprodigal Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. "Guilty until proven innocent" is backwards. You are implying that all things that can't be proven are true. There is no proof of this so called "God" therefore those who are not brainwashed choose to not live in fear of something that can not be proven. If I told you "prove that Aliens don't exist"...I would be an idiot. This is not to say that either your God or Aliens do not (or did) exist. The possibility is there. But to BASE YOUR LIFE off something with absolutely NO evidence is ridiculous. The worst part is, You choose to hate people and call them "sinners" (the lowest of low in your religion) (even though you are too, all of you) just because you believe in fairy tales. Pull your head out of the sand and LOVE PEOPLE FOR PEOPLE. THAT, is my religion.
 @theprodigal Jesus didn't say very much at all about marriage.  Â
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What would a Birkenstock wearing hippie wannabe who walked around in the desert for months at a time with 12 other men know about the concept anyway?
@Festivus In a sense, Festivus, you are right about Jesus not saying very much about marriage. If I recall correctly, the Bible records just one time (though I believe the incident is mentioned in two of the Gospels) when Jesus spoke about marriage - when the Pharisees came to Him and asked about divorce. It was then that Christ defined marriage as between one man and one woman. In defining marriage as between one man and one woman, Jesus spoke volumes.
 @theprodigal  @Festivus Matthew 19 4-6
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âHavenât you read,â he replied, âthat at the beginning the Creator âmade them male and female,â and said, âFor this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one fleshâ? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.â
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Jesus doesn't define marriage as strictly between one man and one woman, but refers to the predominant definition of the time only as a referent to the question of whether or not divorce is permissible (and I'm betting your church allows it for various reasons today).  Jewish law of his era allowed for a man to have more than one wife for many reasons, but Jesus makes no mention of that here either. Â
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"Jesus speaking volumes" here might just be a case of volumes being inserted into Jesus' mouth.
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Not that I, an atheist, living in a secular society care much for what he had to say on the matter one way or another.
@theprodigal The Bible says a lot of things are sin, but churches these days have no interest in addressing the sins of those who fill their pews and coffers. No let's point the fingers of judgment at those outside the church, less chance of losing the pride and cash that a full church provides. The church needs an enemy to excite the masses, they've found one with gay people.
@JTesla You are right, JTesla, in that many churches are not interested in confronting the sins of their congregations - they only want to tickle the ears of their audience. This was also prophesied by the apostle Paul. Fortunately, I attend a church that does not hesitate to address sin. My pastor and the associate pastor often remind the congregation that when they (the pastors to whom I referred) point the finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at them.
 @theprodigal So what makes your sin any less of a "gay sin"? Maybe we shouldn't allow you to get married and stone you too. Hypocrites.
 @theprodigal you have no clue what you are talking aboutÂ
@Tyler Van Pelt I suppose you know the Bible better than I do? I was raised in the church, left in my teens, explored other religions (mainly the New Age) in my adulthood and rededicated my life to Christ in 1995.
 @Tyler Van Pelt  @theprodigal Actually he does. The Bible does say this. In fact in Ezekial it say that a man that lays with another man shall be stoned (and their not talking about smoking pot).
 @Tyler Van Pelt  @theprodigal OOPS! I stand corrected. It's actually Leviticus 20:13 - If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
 @theprodigal  Oops! I just assumed and look where it got me. :) Sorry about that.
@scoreboard @Tyler Van Pelt @theprodigal Actually, scoreboard, I am a female. : )
 @theprodigal Paul was no prophet. He was as weak and fallible as you and I.
 @Harvey 1701  @theprodigal And a misogynist to boot.
Good for them. A church that believes in tolerance and equality for all.