Pain from Equality
The title may be a little confusing to some. You may be thinking what pain is there in equality, so let me explain. In my city, Washington, DC, the city council will be voting on marriage equality for the District very soon. It is our belief is that this will pass and we are also hopeful that it will be accepted by Congress (as we are the only city subject to have our laws reviewed by Congress). We know there will be celebration when this does happen but then there will also most likely be pain. See here is DC we are up to six reconciling congregations inside the city and I had not thought about this possible pain until just recently. H

A Reconciling Prayer of/for Thanksgiving
by Leland Spencer We give thanks, O God, for the cornucopia of this season,For its many colors, its many vegetables, its many fruits (!),For the plenty it represents, and for the fullness and wholeness you give. We give thanks, O God, for the cornucopia of this movement,For its many congregations, communities, and campus ministries,For the richness of reconciling conversations and reconciling relationships. We give thanks O God, for the cornucopia of opportunity,For all that lies behind and all that lies ahead,For the diversity of gifts among us, and the diversity of the challenges th

Transgender Day of Remembrance
by Violet FennRedistributed from Reconciling Ministries FlashNet Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Today, many memorial services will be held around the world to remember the lives of men and women that were killed because of they were transgendered. As of November 11th, eighty-eight (11 in the U.S) beautiful children of God are no longer with us because of hatred and bigotry at its worst.I am a transwoman. Though I have never been a victim of a violent attack, I have experienced bigotry. In June, I was asked not to return to

Street Theatre Challenges Pastoral Leadership
by Peter L. DeGroote Self-appointed “messengers” of God recently tried to get arrested by demonstrating in front of the Justice Department in Washington. Their goal was to use their arrest to challenge the protection of glbt from hate crimes by way of the 2nd Amendment guarantee of free speech. (They see the law as a threat to their hate mongering.) First, a summary: I am relying on the reporting of Dana Milbank writing in the Washington Post on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 under the title The Messengers of God can’t get arrested in this town. (

Bishops seek younger membership by 2019
By Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell(United Methodist News Service headline, November 5, 2009) At the age of 76 and as a 3rd generation Methodist/United Methodist, I like many others, am pleased that our United Methodist Bishops have expressed this commitment. My family tells me that my mind sometimes makes "peculiar" connections. When I read the story with the above title, I thought of President Ronald Reagan's often-quoted words; "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall". Reagan's comments about the Berlin Wall have been remembered as we observe the anniversary of the fall o