The segment description is as follows:
George Conger and Kevin Kallsen discuss this day in History and the death of John Stott. This week we also have two contributors – AS Haley delves into New York states new same sex marriage law and Bishop Love discusses how this new law affects the Diocese of Albany NY. –Oh and for the curious…. we have the blooper reel at the end of the show.
Watch it all.
“Jesus wept.” (St John 11:35) As a child I learned that “Jesus wept” was the shortest sentence in the Gospels. I grew to understand that it is also one of the most powerful. I wept not long ago when I learned that the State of Alabama (the lower part of which is within my episcopal jurisdiction) passed legislation that would put me in violation involuntarily with State law because of my faith and religious convictions. With the implementation of HB56, we face one state’s edict to limit assistance and ministry only to those who can produce certain documentation.
Judge Loretta M. Giorgi ordered San Francisco’s director of elections to strike the measure from the city’s ballot because she said that it is “expressly preempted” by the California Business and Professions Code.
Under that statute, only the state is allowed to regulate medical procedures, and “the evidence presented is overwhelmingly persuasive that circumcision is a widely practiced medical procedure,” the ruling said.
After a brief hearing, Giorgi also found that the proposed ban would violate citizens’ right to the free exercise of religion, said Deputy City Atty. Mollie Lee, because it targets Muslims and Jews, whose faiths call for circumcising males.
As a church that permitted “gay and lesbian clergy” to hold themselves forth as such, the Episcopal Church found it could not resist permitting such individuals to live with their “partners,” cohabiting openly without benefit of marriage. A kind of ancestral conservatism prevented Episcopalians from boldly sallying forth to bless same-sex unions as sacramental marriages so long as the state was not willing to legalize civil marriage for such couples. Thus the church found itself obliged to wink at something”“sexual relationships openly proclaimed by cohabiting but unmarried “clergy couples” of the same sex”“that it would not tolerate if the couples were heterosexual.
Ah, but now comes the state to the rescue! What the state has blessed, the Episcopal Church can now bless. Even more, it will now insist on its long-suppressed moral strictures about marriage! No more of this living in sin, which just yesterday we didn’t have the nerve to call sin! You folks better get married, because the state has decided for us that we can give you the sacrament!
Or if we want to keep our footing and not join Bishop Tanglefoot in a heap at the foot of the cathedral stairs, we can speak as Christians ought to speak: the Episcopal Church has been tolerating its clergy living openly in sin. Now it will bless the sin and the sinners alike. But it will righteously insist on it!
Gwen Corey’s unemployment benefits may run out in September, if she doesn’t qualify for a second extension or find a job before then. She has $6 in her wallet and 15 cents in her bank account for the next three weeks after her rent check clears.
The Mount Pleasant woman has been laid off since fall 2008, except for a temporary stint working for the U.S. Census, and she is desperate to find work.
“I just want to be busy,” Corey said. “I want to be so busy. It drives me crazy to sit around. I cannot sit and watch TV.”
South Carolina’s jobless rate spiked in June to 10.5 percent, rising half a percentage point from May, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce reported Friday.
A jump in the number of people looking for work combined with a decrease in job openings resulted in the seasonally adjusted increase to put the state the fifth highest in the nation in joblessness, the agency said.
The Charleston metro area’s unemployment rate vaulted from 8.7 percent in May to 9.8 percent in June.
Moody’s Investors Service warned Tuesday that it probably will lower the credit rating on five states ”” including South Carolina ”” if it downgrades the U.S. government’s credit rating.
The credit rating agency said it has placed on review for possible downgrade the triple-A bond ratings of South Carolina, Maryland, New Mexico, Tennessee and Virginia.
A triple-A rating is the highest for debt and tells investors an institutional borrower presents a minimal credit risk.
The study linked these disciplinary actions to lower rates of graduation and higher rates of later criminal activity and found that minority students were more likely than whites to face the more severe punishments.
“In the last 20 to 25 years, there have been dramatic increases in the number of suspensions and expulsions,” said Michael Thompson, who headed the study as director of the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments, a nonpartisan group. “This quantifies how you’re in the minority if you have not been removed from the classroom at least once. This is not just being sent to the principal’s office, and it’s not after-school detention or weekend detention or extra homework. This is in the student’s record.”
He first noted that New York passed the legislation, “hauntingly, on the Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist, whom King Herod would behead because the saint dared to defend the God-given truth about marriage.”
Then he offered a variety of reflections, ranging from gratitude for “those courageous millions who valiantly fought this unfortunate project of social engineering” to worry over the future of religious freedom in New York.
“If the experience of those few other states and countries where this is already law is any indication, the churches, and believers, will soon be harassed, threatened, and hauled into court for their conviction that marriage is between one man, one woman, forever, bringing children into the world,” he said.
Several states have passed laws requiring affiliates of online retailers like Amazon (AMZN) to collect and remit sales taxes. “Amazon tax” laws have passed in California, New York, Colorado, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Connecticut and Illinois. Lawmakers have tried in at least 14 other states.
But in nearly every case, online retailers have cut ties with their state affiliates. Residents can still buy from the e-tailers, but the affiliates lose business or move.
“The nation’s first few Amazon taxes have not produced any revenue at all, and there is some evidence of lost revenue,” according to a National Tax Foundation study last year.
North Dakota is amending its constitution because of a long-standing technical omission that some claim makes its statehood invalid. So does that mean it’s really just a US territory and not a state at all?
Every American child is taught there are 50 states in the US.
But an 82-year-old care home resident in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is throwing the truth of that universally held statement into some doubt.
South Carolina boasts a strong connection to the shuttle program. At least six NASA shuttle astronauts have state ties, ranging from Ronald E. McNair of Lake City, who died in the 1986 Challenger explosion, to current NASA administrator Charles Bolden of Columbia, pilot of the mission that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. Both are black and were born and raised in segregation.
Beyond providing astronauts, though, there’s bad news on the horizon as the state is losing one of its chosen paths to the skies.
For three decades, experiments run by South Carolina researchers had ready shuttle access beyond Earth’s gravity. They include about 30 programs run by the University of South Carolina and 35 more by Clemson University. Even tiny Claflin University was in the mix, with four of its projects sent into orbit.
Mormon officials are telling their top, full-time leaders that they and their spouses should not participate in political campaigns, including making donations or endorsing candidates.
However, part-time leaders””including local and regional congregational leaders””are still allowed to do that, but are cautioned to make clear they are acting as individuals and do not represent the church.
Local leaders are also told not to engage in political fundraising or campaigning focused on members of congregations they oversee.
According to [Don] Waring, the Episcopal bishop of New York permits rectors to exercise their own discretion in conferring religious blessings on same-sex couples who have been civilly married. Waring said he hasn’t performed such a ceremony because the situation hasn’t yet presented itself to him.
“We are still sort of in no-man’s land, trying to figure out what sort of blessings to provide, what language to use,” he said.
“We celebrate the passage of the marriage equality act and the equal rights for gay couples under the law in the civil sphere,” Waring added. “In the church sphere, we’re moving in step with the diocese of New York, which is: We’re all still trying to figure this out.”
It was a fight involving an age-old definition of marriage, with several Catholics playing key roles.
But in the end, the effort to stop a same-sex marriage bill in the New York Legislature came down to money and political favors — neither of which were at the disposal of Catholic leaders and their allies working to keep the traditional view that marriage can only be between one man and one woman.
“Money talked in this case,” said Dennis Poust, director of communications for the New York State Catholic Conference, in an interview with Catholic News Service.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Given the unique role and responsibility of the Church and its clergy in representing both the Church and the State during marriage ceremonies officiated by the clergy, I want to address the recent marriage legislation passed by the New York State Legislature and signed by the Governor.
Christian marriage is a sacramental act and as defined in the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer “is a solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman in the presence of God.” (BCP pg. 422) This has been the understanding and teaching of the Church for over 2000 years and is supported by Holy Scripture in both the Old and New Testament (Genesis 2:24, Mark 10:6-9).
As you are all well aware, there has been a strong move by some in Society for quite some time to redefine marriage in such a way as to allow for the “marriage” of two individuals of the same gender. New York has now joined five other states in redefining marriage. Effective July 24, 2011, marriage as a civil contract in New York will no longer be restricted to heterosexual couples, but may also include same gender couples as well.
With the passage of this new legislation, there is now in New York State a significant difference between the Church’s teaching that marriage “is a solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman” as outlined above, and the State’s interpretation of marriage which will no longer differentiate by gender. In anticipation that this situation might some day arise, the Diocese of Albany overwhelmingly passed Canon 16.1 and 16.2 at its 140th Diocesan Convention in 2008.
Canon 16.1 continues the Church’s historic understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman, and specifically bars any other union “even if they be recognized in other jurisdictions.” This canon simply states the past and present pastoral practice in the Diocese of Albany and is in agreement with the mainstream of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the wider Church. It also specifies the extent to which the clergy (deacons, priests and bishops) of the Diocese of Albany, (both canonically resident and licensed) may participate in the celebration or blessing of a marriage. Canon 16.2 speaks to the extent to which properties of the Diocese, parishes, and other Episcopal-related bodies within the Diocese may be used for marriage ceremonies. The full text of the canon may be found […here].
The new marriage law passed by the New York Legislature and signed by the Governor, recognized that the State’s expanded interpretation of marriage to include same-gender couples may very well be at odds with the teachings and practices of different religious organizations and bodies. As a result, the new marriage legislation includes special protections and safeguards for clergy and religious institutions that choose not to participate in same gender marriages or blessings. The legislation states:
…no clergyman or minister as defined in section two of the religious corporations law…shall be required to solemnize any marriage when acting in his or her capacity under this subdivision. A refusal by a clergyman or minister as defined in section two of the religious corporations law…to solemnize any marriage under this subdivision shall not create a civil claim or cause of action or result in any state or local government action to penalize, withhold benefits or discriminate against such clergyman or minister.”
Having said all of the above, I am very aware that while the overwhelming majority of the people and clergy of the Diocese of Albany do not and cannot support the new marriage legislation. There are some very well meaning people in the Diocese who are sympathetic to and support the legalization of same-gender marriages and the blessing of such unions. We all know this has been and is a very emotional and highly charged issue.
Our Church has a long-standing commitment to acknowledge homosexual persons as loved by God, and as recipients of pastoral care within the Church. It is my hope and prayer that every parish in the Diocese of Albany will welcome and share God’s love with ANYONE who is seeking a deeper relationship with and desiring to worship and serve our Lord Jesus Christ.
When it comes to ministering to and providing pastoral support to any couple desirous of being married in the Church, as your Bishop and Brother in Christ, it is my expectation that the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Albany will honor and uphold the Diocesan Canons.
Faithfully Yours in Christ,
–(The Rt. Rev.) William Love is Bishop of Albany
Despite already passing the largest package of tax increases in state history, legislators must return to Hartford on Thursday after an agreement with the state employee unions imploded. But the unbalanced budget is hardly the only problem. Connecticut, despite its affluent image and past successes, is facing a startling series of economic and fiscal challenges that it now has no option but to confront.
“No state had more resources and did less with them over the past 20 years,” said William E. Curry Jr., a former Democratic candidate for governor who now writes about state and national politics. “Yeah, we wiped out in finance and real estate, but the real problem was our own poor choices.
“We tried to import jobs you must grow yourself. We tried to save cities with ballparks and convention centers. We borrowed like shopaholics, shortchanged pension funds and barely showed up for collective bargaining.”
This came in this morning from a friend who lives in Washington:
WA state is so good. I got my new property tax assessment yd, house and land dropped 8.3% but property will will actually be $194.67 higher each 6 months. ggggg what a deal
“Marriage, the union of a man and a woman, forms the foundation of social well-being by promoting love and respect between the two most fundamental representatives of the human community,” he said. “The institution of marriage also affirms the vital and unique importance to children of receiving care from both their mother and father together. Making marriage law indifferent to the absence of either sex creates an institutional and cultural crisis with generational ramifications yet to be seen. To eliminate marriage’s very essence ”“ its essence as the union of husband and wife ”“ from its legal definition is to ignore not only basic anthropology and biology but also the purpose of law generally. Law is meant to uphold the common good, not undermine it. Now, New York’s government will be forced to ignore that children have a basic right to be raised by their mother and father together. Also, as demonstrated in other states where marriage redefinition has occurred, officials there will be in a position to retaliate against those who continue to uphold these basic truths. This is a mark of a profoundly unjust law.”
It will be difficult to exaggerate the impact of New York’s move to legalize same-sex marriage. The statistics tell part of the story. New York State becomes the sixth state to recognize same-sex marriage, but its population is greater than that of the other five combined. When same-sex marriage is legal in New York next month, fully one in every nine Americans will live in a state or jurisdiction where same-sex marriage is legal. By any measure, this is a massive development in the nation’s legal and moral life.
Add to this the fact that California, the nation’s most populous state, is hanging in the balance as Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment passed by the state’s voters defining marriage as exclusively the union of a man and a woman, is now an issue before the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco. It arrived at the appellate court after a federal judge in California ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. If California is added (again) to the states with legal same-sex marriage, more than a third of the nation’s citizens will live where same-sex marriage is the law of the land.
At least one Episcopal Church bishop in the state of New York has said that clergy in his diocese may solemnize same-gender marriages as soon as the state’s recently passed Marriage Equality Act goes into effect.
Priests who participate in a same-sex wedding would go against the teaching of the church, said Bishop Robert Cunningham, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse.
“We would have to take appropriate action at that time,” he said.
By contrast, Bishop Skip Adams, who leads the Central New York Episcopal diocese, sent a letter Monday freeing priests to perform the ceremonies.
“They are free to use their own discretion in their pastoral responsibilities in their own parishes,” Adams said.
I’m hosting this month’s CGI America meeting on the assumption that there will be no federal stimulus and no further tax incentives targeted directly toward creating new jobs. Going on these assumptions, we want to analyze America’s economy: What are our assets? What are our liabilities? What are our options? There must be opportunities to be tapped, given all the cash in banks and corporate treasuries. If we have some success, we might be able to influence the debate in Washington in a nonpartisan way because we’ll have economic evidence to show them. I don’t have any problem at all if Congress wants to give tax credits to companies that actually hire people. But I think we have to pay for them, so I’d be happy to go back to the tax rates people at my income level paid when I was president in order to pay for the tax incentives to put more people to work.
The whole purpose of CGI America is to highlight good ideas because not everyone is aware of what’s out there. I’m going to try to get enough commitments that are representative enough of the circumstances facing diverse industries and different cities and states to persuade people across America to try their own version of them in a discussion of our economic stagnation. There’s been a remarkable lack of attention to “microeconomics,” the untapped growth potential of American corporations, entrepreneurs, and workers.
Some, including the Episcopal Church, are embracing that debate, and looking for ways to evolve their faith.
Bishop R. William Franklin of the Episcopal Diocese of WNY said, “Many Episcopalians believe that in community, we can discern with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, a way in which the letter of Scripture is compatible with a wider inclusion of the life of partner gay and lesbian people in our community. And that would apply, now, to the question of marriage.”
Others are choosing to adhere to more traditional views
“This is about prayer,” he said inside the cathedral. “I sort of needed a good dose of the Lord’s grace and mercy because I’ve been down a little lately as you can imagine.”
Archbishop [Timothy] Dolan said he was disheartened that the same-sex marriage bill was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
“I would have to say I was sad because it’s not good for the common good,” the archbishop said. “I think society and culture is at its peril.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It was with thanksgiving and joy that I received the news of the New York State legislature’s affirmative action on the Marriage Equality legislation that it had been debating with such intensity.
The legislation, as enacted, appears to be closely aligned with the long standing views of this Diocese that the civil rights of all people should be respected equally before the law. In terms of the issue of marriage rights for gay and lesbian people that position was made most explicit in the resolution enacted at our 2009 Diocesan Convention.
The legislature’s action in broadening the definition of marriage to include same sex unions has to do with civil law, as it properly should. It does not determine Church teaching about the nature of sacraments. That is our continuing work. However, nothing in the unfinished nature of that work should cause us to hesitate to give our most profound thanks for the step that has been taken in affording equal civil rights for our brothers and sisters.
Faithfully yours, (The Rt. Rev.) Mark Sisk
The passage by the Legislature of a bill to alter radically and forever humanity’s historic understanding of marriage leaves us deeply disappointed and troubled.
We strongly uphold the Catholic Church’s clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves. This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths.
We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization.
Our society must regain what it appears to have lost ”“ a true understanding of the meaning and the place of marriage, as revealed by God, grounded in nature, and respected by America’s foundational principles.
Lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born.
The marriage bill, whose fate was uncertain until moments before the vote, was approved 33 to 29 in a packed but hushed Senate chamber. Four members of the Republican majority joined all but one Democrat in the Senate in supporting the measure after an intense and emotional campaign aimed at the handful of lawmakers wrestling with a decision that divided their friends, their constituents and sometimes their own homes….
Even before the state’s new budget is formally adopted social-service providers in the North Country were struggling. Now with more cuts expected they are worrying that the new budget will make things much worse.
A dozen or so representatives from various social service agencies got together last Friday in Berlin at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.
They invited some North Country legislators to discuss what they see as a grim outlook for helping those who are down on their luck
Some churches are objecting to Alabama’s tough new law that aims to clamp down on illegal immigration, saying it violates Christian principles in the heart of the Bible Belt.
Leaders of the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church all have criticized the law as running counter to biblical teachings about caring for neighbors, helping visitors and showing hospitality to strangers. Episcopal Bishop Henry N. Parsley of Birmingham said the law “will make it impossible to love and be hospitable to our neighbors as we ought to be.”
“It is a profoundly disappointing decision and a sad moment for our state,” he said in a statement late Wednesday.