United Church of Christ

The Rev. Al Sharpton leads prominent African-American clergy in a video calling on Maryland voters to approve Question 6. The Rev. Al Sharpton leads prominent African-American clergy in a video calling on Maryland voters to approve Question 6, the November 6 referendum which asks voters to uphold ? or reject ? a gay marriage law approved? by lawmakers. In the nearly 3-minute video released Thursday by Marylanders for Marriage Equality, Sharpton says fairness is a hallmark value of the African-American community. ?Family, faith and fairness. These are the values that have held together the tapestry of the African-American community over time. It has not always been easy. And like most families, there are times when we don't agree,? Sharpton says. ?But we have learned how to stand together despite our differences,? adds the Rev. Delman Coates, senior pastor of the Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland. ?Acknowledging the importance of protecting the fundamental human and civil ri

Traditionalist bishops voiced dissent Wednesday after the Episcopal Church became the biggest faith group in the United States to approve a provisional rite for blessing same-sex unions.

Supporting gay marriage has brought Rev. Oliver White's St. Paul, Minnesota church to the brink of bankruptcy. Supporting gay marriage has brought Rev. Oliver White's St. Paul, Minnesota church to the brink of bankruptcy. The 69-year-old White lost nearly two-thirds of his congregation immediately after he joined a majority of delegates from across the country in voting in favor of a resolution supporting equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples during a 2005 national synod of the United Church of Christ in Atlanta, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. He now faces uncertainty with a high-interest $200,000 collateral loan coming due by June 30. But White, who ministers at Grace Community United Church of Christ, a predominantly African-American church, is finding support on the Internet. ?We have $13,000 that we are ready to deposit that came in by way of mail so far,? said White on Wednesday. ?So we're at about 20 percent.? On the church's website, White asks supporters to do

Supporters of Governor Martin O'Malley's plans to make Maryland the seventh state to legalize gay marriage will rally on Sunday. Supporters of Governor Martin O'Malley's plans to make Maryland the seventh state to legalize gay marriage will rally on Sunday. Speakers scheduled to attended the Frederick city event include state Senator Ron Young, Delegate Galen Claggett, and state Attorney General Doug Gansler. In 2010, Gansler issued an opinion which concluded that Maryland's highest court would likely decide in favor of recognizing the marriages of gay and lesbian couples performed in other states. The opinion, which arrived a week before a gay marriage law took effect in neighboring District of Columbia, essentially instructed state agencies to recognize the marriages of gay couples performed in other jurisdictions over the objection of state law which bans such unions. O'Malley endorsed the opinion, saying it was ?sound advice,? but gay marriage foes threatened to impeach Gansler. A

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Presbyterians opposed to gay clergy split from the church on Thursday, announcing in Orlando a new denomination called the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians.

Three gay couples in South Carolina will protest the state's ban on gay marriage by asking for marriage licenses. Three gay couples in South Carolina will protest the state's ban on gay marriage by asking for marriage licenses, CBS affiliate WSPA reported. The protest is part of the WE DO Campaign by the gay rights group Campaign for Southern Equality. ?There are 1200 rights that come along with marriage that we're not privileged to,? said Ivy Hill, who wants to marry her girlfriend Misha Gibson. Added Gibson: ?Growing up thinking about the person you're going to marry, and then you meet that person, and realize that you can't here in the state we call home. That's disheartening.? A larger demonstration last year in Asheville, North Carolina included 20 gay and lesbian couples requesting marriage licenses at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office. At least one couple, Elizabeth Eve and the Rev. Kathryn Catledge, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, were arrested w

Elizabeth Eve and the Rev. Kathryn Cartledge on Friday were arrested protesting North Carolina's gay marriage ban. ?Elizabeth Eve and the Rev. Kathryn Cartledge, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, on Friday were arrested protesting North Carolina's gay marriage ban, the AP reported. The WE DO Campaign by the gay rights group Campaign for Southern Equality includes 20 gay and lesbian couples requesting marriage licenses at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office in Asheville ? considered one of North Carolina's most progressive cities. (Related: North Carolina State Senator James Forrester calls Asheville a ?cesspool.?) On Friday, Eve and Cartledge refused to leave the county office building after a clerk had denied them a marriage license. The women were carted away in handcuffs and charged with second-degree trespassing. They were released later in the day. ?I feel so hopeful,? Cartledge said. ?I feel so much hope for the future. Maybe it's the wind blowing outs

Scott Anderson on Saturday became the Presbyterian Church USA's first openly gay minister. ???Scott Anderson on Saturday became the Presbyterian Church USA's first openly gay minister. The 56-year-old Anderson was forced to step down from the pulpit in the spring of 1990. ?I left the ministry 21 years ago and I never thought this day would come in my life time,? Anderson said. While serving as parish minister at Bethany Presbyterian Church in south Sacramento, California, a couple angry at Anderson because he had declined to help them raise money for a cause they were backing threatened to out him. Instead, Anderson chose to announce to his congregation that he was gay and retire as minister. ?It was an empowering, liberating moment,? he told the Los Angeles Times. ?But there was also the sadness and grief to leave the work I loved so much.? He remained active in the church, though, and in 2006 he began a formal petition to return to the ministry. In July, the 2-million-member Presbyte

On Saturday, the Presbyterian Church will ordain Scott Anderson, its first openly gay minister. On Saturday, the Presbyterian Church will ordain Scott Anderson, its first openly gay minister. Anderson's ordination comes after the 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) began welcoming non-celibate gay clergy in July. A policy change decades in the making. In the spring of 1990, Anderson was serving as the head pastor of Bethany Presbyterian in Sacramento, California when he was outed by two parishioners. Soon after, he departed from the church. ?Getting outed at Bethany was both the best and worst moment of my life,? Anderson is quoted as saying at the Christian blog JohnShore.com. ?On the one hand, it was so freeing and empowering to finally be honest about the truth of who I am. On the other hand, it forced me to step away from my passion. The gay issue had never been part of my ministry at Bethany; it hadn't played any role at all in our conversations there. When out of the blue

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Before the September 11 attacks, the arrival of a car with out-of-state license plates was all it took to capture the attention of residents in Shanksville, a close-knit rural community in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The US Presbyterian Church voted to allow gays and lesbians to be ordained as ministers and lay leaders, becoming the fourth mainline Protestant church to do so.

The United States has struck a deal with the Marshall Islands to continue using the key missile testing range at Kwajalein Atoll through to 2066, officials said on Wednesday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Presbyterian Church voted on Tuesday to allow the ordination of gays, becoming the fourth Protestant denomination in the United States to make the move that experts say reflects a larger cultural shift.

The 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) on Tuesday agreed to allow the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy. The 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) on Tuesday agreed to allow the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy, Reuters reported. Church delegates meeting in Minneapolis for their biennial convention last year agreed to allow the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy, but narrowly rejected gay marriage. The change needed to be ratified by a majority of the church's 173 U.S. presbyteries before coming into force. The deciding vote came Tuesday, when the liberal Minneapolis-St. Paul presbytery cast its vote. Ministers and elders meeting in St. Louis Park overwhelmingly approved the amendment with a 205 to 56 vote. Supporters had unsuccessfully lobbied to overturn the policy since the late 1990s. The church currently requires that officers either be in a monogamous heterosexual marriage or remain celibate. The new language removes any mention of sexuality and takes eff

Pastor Rick Meyer says Lady Gaga has got it right in gay anthem 'Born This Way'. Pastor Rick Meyer says Lady Gaga has got it right in gay anthem Born This Way. According to alternative weekly Riverfront Times, Meyer of the Maplewood United Church of Christ in suburban St. Louis agreed with Lady Gaga in a sign posted outside his church. ?To my children,? the sign says. ?Lady Gaga's got it ? Born This Way!? ?I don't make mistakes! - God,? the sign adds. Malaysian radio stations censored Born This Way after it was released in March because of worries that the lyrics would violate the government's censorship rules that strictly prohibit the promotion of being gay. In the song, Lady Gaga sings, ?No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I'm on the right track, baby.? (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.) Social conservatives in the U.S. also condemned the song's message after it was featured on the Fox musical-comedy Glee, which they claimed glamorized g

Religious groups, retirees warn of conflicts for military chaplains if 'don't ask' is repealed. Dozens of retired military chaplains say that serving both God and the U.S. armed forces will become impossible for chaplains whose faiths consider homosexuality a sin if the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is thrown out.

Religion News in Brief. An Indianapolis church that has stood on a busy commercial corner for nearly a century says the city is infringing on its right to sell the property by imposing a historic designation on the building that prevents it from being demolished.

As congregations dwindle, routine maintenance of churches becomes a bigger burden. About halfway through Sunday service at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, as worshipers passed around the collection plate, a chorus of screams pierced the air.

Presbyterians continue to be divided over gays as leaders split on 2 gay-friendly measures. A split decision from Presbyterian leaders on two gay-friendly measures guarantees even more debate among the U.S. church's members on an issue they've been divided over for years.

Oklahoma labor groups want Coburn, Inhofe to end opposition to jobless benefits bill. Oklahoma labor groups said Wednesday they want the state's two U.S. senators to end their opposition to a bill that would extend unemployment benefits for laid-off workers.