Yesterday in the course of my duties as a page in the House of Deputies, I had the good fortune to be in the room as the Episcopal church voted for full inclusion of our transgendered brothers and sisters in the life of the church.
As a further gift during the debate - I am frequently critical of progressive Christians for being almost afraid of the Bible. So I was pleased to see a deputy from Alabama read the following passage from Isaiah 56 in the course of his remarks in support:
For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, within my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them a name that shall not be cut off.
And as I was just typing the paragraph above, a young transgendered man sitting near me was on the phone with his father having the first nervous conversation with him since coming out a few weeks ago. He was so overjoyed that everything went fine he just spilled out the story to a random stranger eating a sandwich next to him.
Meanwhile, a few hundred yards away, the House of Bishops voted to approve a rite for the blessing of same sex couples in an overwhelming majority. The legislation will be taken up by the House of Deputies at 5:00 today.
Finally, last night at the Integrity Eucharist, Bishop Gene Robinson reminded the congregation that we have gotten this far only because the LGBT people within the Episcopal church have believed that God is good and that God is on the side of inclusion of all people. All Episcopalians have the responsibility to give thanks for God's goodness, and the spread the word, because a lot of people are looking for what we offer but don't know we're here. We can't be shy about evangelism. This good news can't be our little secret.
The budget committee presents the proposed budget to a joint session of the deputies and the bishops at 2:15. I'll be the page wearing a bow tie up front. Can my sincere sense of optimism withstand a fight about money? We'll see.
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