Tag: marriage

My Testimony for Marriage Equality in my church

I’m happy to report that the vote in my Presbytery, (Chicago), to expand the definition of marriage in the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), was 179 yes, 60 no, with 8 abstentions. If this change is adopted, the PC(USA) constitution would not limit marriage to being between a man and a woman, and would say …

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Bride 1 & Bride 2

When my partner and I went to the county clerk’s office to get our marriage license, the clerk asked us, “Do you want to be referred to as spouse and spouse, or bride and bride?” I looked at my girlfriend and thought of the two t-shirts she had specially made for us. They said, Bride …

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A Love that Enriches

As a pastor, I have officiated many weddings and seen lots of emotions between brides and grooms, and some of my emotions mirror theirs. There was a bride who couldn’t stop crying during her pre-marital counseling sessions. In that case, I think it was because she was so overwhelmed by the reality of being deeply …

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Married

When I walked into the ballroom where I was to be married, I walked into a crowd of 120 people all standing in honor of me and the ceremony that was about to happen. Their standing gave a sense of gravity to the moment. It felt real and deep. This was important! The crowd seemed …

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Marriage Matters

These are the words I spoke today in support of changing the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to allow for same gender marriage equality in our denomination. The overture passed at the Chicago Presbytery by a large margin and will now be sent to the national General Assembly for debate and vote this summer. …

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