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--- Begin Message ---
*Marriage Equality*
*Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until
faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until
Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has
come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you
are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into
Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or
Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female;
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then
you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.** (Galatians 3:
23-29 emphasis added by Editor)*
Recent events have converged to make the freedom to marry a concern to all
people in California. The California Council of Churches and IMPACT have
long stood strong against discrimination against any of God's children. At
the same time, we recognize that many churches and people of faith believe
they must oppose the freedom to marry based on what they have been taught
the Bible has to say on the subject. Therefore, we have produced this study
guide to help congregations in California struggling with differences of
opinion on the subject of marriage equality to discuss the biblical texts,
theology, church traditions, and civil rights from a place of compassion and
love of neighbor — the central elements of Jesus' teachings.
An important point for this study is the distinction between marriage as a
civil ceremony and a religious ceremony or sacrament. We call on all people
to acknowledge the secular civil right even as churches wrestle with the
sacramental issues. We can agree to guarantee civil rights even as
denominations deliberate with the issue of marriage equality as an element
of church law/rites/blessings. Equal protection under the law, tolerance
and respect for diversity, and defining one's own views while permitting
other views, are consistent with authentic religious commitments where we
all can live in a world of differences and ambiguities while still
respecting other people's secular rights.
It is very important for communities of faith of all perspectives to
understand that there is no law or pressure that any individual or faith
community will be forced to perform marriages against their beliefs.
Conversely, there is pressure to deny churches and individuals to have or
bless same-sex unions. Separation of church and state requires us to
respect differences in each denomination or church. Those seeking to permit
same-sex marriage must have equal standing with those that do not. To
forbid such marriages across the board infringes on the religious liberty of
clergy and congregations whose faith requires them to perform this pastoral
care. It is anti-democratic to impose one religious viewpoint on everyone
else.
We encourage you to use our new study guide: *Living Lovingly: Talking About
Marriage Equality from a Faith Perspective *in your congregation. You
can download
a PDF version of this study
guide<http://www.calchurches.org/publication_pdfs/marriageequalityguide.pdf>
[at
the link shown below]. We also hope you will make use of the many other
excellent study guides, videos, and resources to help move your congregation
to a place of compassion and inclusiveness. It is our prayer that people of
faith throughout California will engage in open and honest conversation
about this important issue from a place of compassion, love, and grace.
________________________________________
[From http://www.calchurches.org/marriage Note: Emphasis added (bold font)
in quotations in first three paragraphs above.]
Download "Living Lovingly: Marriage Equality from a Faith Perspective" at
http://www.calchurches.org/publication_pdfs/marriageequalityguide.pdf
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