On Saturday, April 15, Katie Ricks will become the first openly lesbian minister ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In May of 2011 the 2.1-million member denomination voted to allow openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, including those in same-sex relationships, to be ordained as ministers, elders, and deacons. A 2002 graduate of [...]
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Poised to Ordain First Lesbian Minister |
| By: Laurel Ramseyer Tuesday April 10, 2012 12:23 pm |
7 Comments
Defying Bisexual Invisibility, Presbyterian Clergy Style |
| By: Laurel Ramseyer Thursday February 23, 2012 4:17 pm |
Coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender has its challenges no matter who you are, where you’re from or the age you come out. Some of those challenges are similar for all we LGBT, but there are unique challenges faced by each sub-community as well. Bisexuals, for example, face the special challenge of invisibility: [...]
Celebrating the opening of the Presbyterian ordination process to openly LGBT people |
| By: Laurel Ramseyer Sunday July 10, 2011 11:19 am |
This atheist is celebrating today with her Presbyterian family and friends! I want equality everywhere, even places I wouldn’t go like the military and church. LGBT-positive changes that religious people bring about in their institutions result in members of that institution re-thinking how they treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people everywhere, not just in [...]
Trackback
Guest Post by Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards: What Today’s Vote Means for the Church |
| By: Laurel Ramseyer Tuesday May 10, 2011 8:58 pm |
Big happy news! Ten years of effort have finally paid off. The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted today to remove the barriers to the ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) clergy and lay leaders put in place in 1997! Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards explains below what this development means for the people of the [...]
Presbyterian minister Rev. Jean Southard acquitted in marriage equality trial |
| By: Laurel Ramseyer Tuesday February 8, 2011 9:52 pm |
On March 1, 2008 retired Presbyterian Church (USA) minister Rev. Jean Southard officiated at the marriage ceremony of two of her parishoners, Jen and Sara. The ceremony was conducted at First Presbyterian Church in Waltham, Massachusetts. Marriage equality was already the law of the land in Massachusetts in 2008, but PC(USA)’s ecclesiastical law remains unsettled [...]
Conversation with a straight Presbyterian ally |
| By: Laurel Ramseyer Sunday January 2, 2011 5:17 pm |
Over the holidays I had the opportunity to speak with an old friend who is on staff in a Presbyterian church (PCUSA) in northern New Jersey. She’s been a straight ally for over 30 years, so I was curious to know how her allyship might play out in her church and if it doesn’t, what [...]
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) lifts ban on noncelibate gay clergy but dodges the marriage question |
| By: Laurel Ramseyer Sunday July 11, 2010 5:48 am |
Wonderful news out of Minneapolis, where the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)* held their 219th General Assembly. After about 15 years of trying, the church’s legislative body has lifted the ban on noncelibate gay clergy by a vote of 373 to 323. The old ordination standard was: Those who are called to office in the church are [...]
