Alternatives

Well, after a jam-packed weekend that included a two-day Diocesan Convention and an Annual Parish Meeting, I'm not quite brain dead but pretty much zapped.

I still have a few gray matter cells left in my brain, however, to be outraged over this blog post from Bryan Fischer of 'Rightly Concerned' (a Blog maintained by the American Family Association), in which he calls for legal sanctions for LGBT people.

Here are some "low lights" of his post:

* It might be worth noting that what I actually suggested is that we impose the same sanctions on those who engage in homosexual behavior as we do on those who engage in intravenous drug abuse, since both pose the same kind of risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

* If you believe that what drug abusers need is to go into an effective detox program, then we should likewise put active homosexuals through an effective reparative therapy program.

* The bottom line here is that, biblically, those “who practice homosexuality” should come under the purview of the law just as much as those who take people captive in order to sell them into slavery.

* If you believe all Scripture is inspired, then you are compelled to accept that legal sanctions may appropriately be applied to those who engage in homosexual behavior.

No, he's not from Uganda. This is a United States Citizen. A man who purports to be Christian (even quotes the Bible). This is America where you have to be brave in order to maintain your freedom.

It would be easy enough to dismiss this as just so much inflammatory rhetoric from the Right Wingnuts, but we do so at our peril.

These are the folks who sponsor the National Prayer Breakfast - a gathering of Washington senators and congressmen, lobbyists and power brokers and other Washington elite cognoscenti - which will be held this week.

In the past, some of our shining liberal stars like Hillary Clinton have attended. It has become the place to "see and be seen."

Well, now there is an alternative.

The Lead over at Episcopal Cafe is reporting:

A coalition of organizations is sponsoring The American Prayer Hour as an alternative to the National Prayer Breakfast which is connected to both the semi-secret religious and political group known as The Family and, through them, to the 'Kill-The-Gays' bill being proposed in Uganda.

The American Prayer Hour is "an inclusive, justice-oriented time of prayer and action" which will be launched on February 4th.

The American Prayer Hour will be anchored by events in the following cities:

* Dallas—Creating Change (Sheraton Dallas – Dallas Ballroom A)
* Chicago Theological Seminary (The Chapel)
* Berkeley–Pacific School of Religion (The Chapel)
* Washington, DC (Calvary Baptist Church, Chapel)
* Anchorage, AK (Church Life Alaska)
* Boynton Beach, FL (Church of Our Savior, MCC)

The website also provides some suggests as to how "we the people" can be involved.

There are four ways to get involved:

1. If you live in a city where an American Prayer Hour event is already occurring, please consider attending.
2. If you are interested in creating an American Prayer Hour event in your hometown, please contact Wayne Besen, wbesen@truthwinsout.org.
3. Spread the word about the American Prayer Hour and the truth behind the National Prayer Breakfast
4. Pray where you are—wherever you are—for a world safe for all families regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

You don't have to be half-brain dead to recognize the hideous evil of the prejudice espoused in the name of Jesus by Mr. Fischer.

Neither is it hard to miss a great idea and a good alternative like The American Prayer Hour when you see one.

Please spread the word to your folks in Washington and urge them to consider attending or participating in the alternative to prejudice and bigotry and ignorance wrapped in the mantle of prayer.

Please pray for all families everywhere that God, who calls us together in the sacred vocation of family, may also give us the courage and strength to live out that vocation with integrity and love.

"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" as founding principles of this country are exceptional values from which no citizen in this country is exempt.

Freedom to Choose. It's one of the building blocks of American democracy.

The Right Wingnuts may claim ownership of "the fundamentals of faith" (newsflash: they don't), but you don't have to be half brain dead to remember the fundamentals of life.

I mean, I may not have gotten much sleep this weekend, but I did still wake up in America, right?