PFLAG Alamance

Jimmy Creech Shared this Link on Facebook

ketcham — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:42:08 +0000

Jimmy Creech- Author of Adam’s Gift shared a link.

Why I disobeyed the United Methodist Church’s unjust teaching on same-sex marriage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/05/08/why-i-disobeyed-the-united-methodist-churchs-unjust-teaching-on-same-sex-marriage/

“My experiences in the Civil Rights movement have illumined my responses to what I perceive to be unjust disciplinary rules in the United Methodist Church, especially rules that denied my right to officiate at my own son’s wedding.” —- Rev. Thomas W. Ogilvie, former dean of Yale University Divinity School.

Another distinquished Methodist minister has presided over a same-sex marriage—his own sons….and this link is to his story in the Washington Post.

GETTING THE GAY DEBATE WRONG, 4 WAYS–

ketcham — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:14:41 +0000

Four ways Christians are getting the gay debate wrong.

gcnjustin.tumblr.com

Yesterday, basketball center Jason Collins became the first professional American athlete to come out as gay while still active in a team sport. But this columnist says there are four ways many American Christians are getting this whole thing wrong.

1. Equating “being gay” with “having sex

2. Using that (assumed) sex act to define us as people.

3. Treating gay people as symbols of a culture war instead of as human beings.

4. Assuming that being gay is a choice.

(maybe the most important?)

go to http://gcnjustin.tumblr.com/post/49276838693/four-ways-christians-are-getting-the-gay-debate-wrong

READ this perceptive article…..It says that the Jason Collins story has been widely publicized, but misses the main points, which we need to stress.

I-40 BILLBOARDS, COURTESY ON REPLACEMENTS

ketcham — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 02:20:20 +0000

We hope all our readers have seen this Billboard on I-40 near Replacements Limited.

Replacements donated this to us, and we are most grateful!

We hope to reach more people, and if you are coming to this website for the first time because of this message please go to our Facebook page and tell us. PflagAlamance.org.

We also hope to meet you at one of our monthly meetings.

Elon’s Board of Trustees votes to keep Chick-Fil-A on Campus

ketcham — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:37:19 +0000

by Katherine Blunton
April 25, 2013 in Campus News

After several months of controversy, Chick-fil-A will remain on Elon’s campus. The Board of Trustees found “no actionable cause” to remove it.
|
The Pendulum
http://www.elonpendulum.comPflagAlamance ·

In response, PflagAlamance supports Spectrum.
Remember, Elon students, you don’t have to buy their sandwiches. Vote with your Feet!

NC RULES ON HOSPITAL VISITATION

ketcham — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:42:03 +0000

Equality NC drew attention this week to North Carolina’s Rules on Hospital Visitation for Samesex Couples. See below:

State Rules

In 2008, Equality NC secured a statewide provision helping ensure that same-sex partners and other loved ones would be treated the same as immediate family. With passage of this statewide provision, North Carolina hospital patients have the right to receive the visitors who matter most to them regardless of the legal status of their relationship.

The provision – added to the Patients’ Bill of Rights – states: “A patient has the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient’s immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient.” The right applies to hospitals statewide.

In 2007, Equality NC Foundation petitioned the state to add this provision to the Patient’s Bill of Rights, and tirelessly advocated for the change through the rule-making process. The Medical Care Commission unanimously approved the rule at its February 2008 meeting and the Rules Review Commission gave final approval, allowing the rule to take effect on May 1, 2008.

CLICK HERE TO READ AND PRINT North Carolina’s PATIENT BILL OF RIGHTS (includes: “(25) A patient has the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient’s immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient.”)

IMPORTANT: Same-sex couples should be aware that this policy *only covers visitation.* In order to ensure that same-sex partners have the ability to make medical decisions in the event a partner is incapacitated, it is still vita to complete health care powers of attorney.

Without a valid health care power of attorney, decision-making authority will go to the patient’s nearest legal relative, as same-sex relationships receive no recognition under North Carolina law.

Federal Rules

In 2010, the Obama Administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued guidelines requiring all hospitals receiving Medicaid and Medicare funding — nearly every hospital in the country — to adopt visitation policies similar to those we have in place in North Carolina, allowing for visitation in the hospital for same sex couples on an equal footing with straight couples.

The memo quoted the hospital visitation provision of the North Carolina Hospital Patients’ Bill of Rights which Equality NC proposed and got adopted by the state in 2008.

The Presidential Memorandum stated:

Many States have taken steps to try to put an end to these problems. North Carolina recently amended its Patients’ Bill of Rights to give each patient “the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient’s immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient” — a right that applies in every hospital in the State. Delaware, Nebraska, and Minnesota have adopted similar laws.

American Academy of Pediatrics Endorses Marriage Equality

ketcham — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:09:09 +0000

The most influential pediatricians group in the country has endorsed gay marriage with its new policy.

“….. it is a stable relationship between parents, and not the parents’ sexual orientation, that contribute to a child’s health and well-being. The academy believes that a two-parent marriage is best equipped to provide a nurturing and financially and emotionally stable environment for a child’s development.”

See http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2013/03/21/influential-american-academy-pediatrics-back-gay-marriage-with-new-policy.

IS MARRIAGE EQUALITY “BAD” FOR KIDS ?

ketcham — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:08:03 +0000

One argument we keep hearing against marriage equality is that same-sex marriage is bad for children.”….

A well-researched column in the New York Times (April 8, 2013) concludes this: …..it is fair to say that the research shows no significant disadvantage associated with being raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers — not in academic performance, not in psychological health, not in social or sexual development, not in violent behavior or substance abuse. And the research leaves little doubt that stable, two-parent households (of whatever flavor) are likely to be better off financially, more attentive to the upbringing of children and more secure than single-parent households.”

For the entire op ed piece, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/opinion/keller-about-the-children.html?ref

SUPREME COURT DECISIONS: CHART OF MANY THINGS WHICH COULD HAPPEN

ketcham — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:22:00 +0000

GO TO THIS URL for an excellent complete chart of the several decisions the Supreme Court might make this Spring as they consider the Defense of Marriage Act and the California Prop 8 issue:

http://nyti.ms/169Sh4D.

NEW POPE: Perhaps there is hope….

ketcham — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:26:03 +0000

Retired Episcopali Priest, John Shelby Spong writes as follows about Pope Francis:

“Homosexuality, we now know, is no more a choice than is skin color, gender, blue eyes or left-handedness; yet the prejudice against homosexuality, now largely gone in the secular world, continues to linger in this Church, encouraged by the condemnation that continues to emanate from the hierarchy. Dare we hope that this new knowledge might somehow permeate the structures of the Catholic Church and find expression in this new Pope?

It took 400 years for the Vatican to admit that Galileo was right! In this day of instant communications waiting for centuries to address a public problem is no longer an option. The perpetuation of sexual ignorance, revealed in dated sexual prejudices, can no longer be tolerated by the thinking world.

Hopes burn brightly at the beginning of every new administration, whether it be religious or political, and Cardinal Bergoglio appears to bring many things to his new position.
–Because prior to his election he was an outsider, he comes to this position with little baggage and thus he has the freedom to act.
–Because he is from outside of Europe, he brings a new inclusiveness to Catholic Christianity. —-Because he is a “Latino,” he represents the largest concentration of Catholic worshipers in the world today. Forty percent of all Catholics today are “Latinos.” One third of the Catholics in the United States are “Latinos.”
–Because he is a Jesuit, he brings to his office the Jesuit commitment to intellectual rigor and honesty……..”and more

“We Conservatives……” wrote Sen. Rob Portman

ketcham — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 15:00:30 +0000

Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, announced this week that he could no longer oppose gay marriage because his 21 year old son is gay and he wants his son to have the “joy and stability of marriage” that he and his wife has had for 26 years and which he also wants for his other children.

He wrote “We conservatives believe in personal liberty and minimal government interference in people’s lives. We also consider the family unit to be the fundamental building block of society. We should encourage people to make long-term commitments to each other and build families, so as to foster strong cable communities and promote personal responsibility.”

What a wonderful message!! For a full story see http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/us/politics/ohios-portman-says-he-supports-gay-marriage.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0&pagewanted=print