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An evangelical Christian photographer was brought before the New Mexico Human Rights Commission after she declined for religious reasons to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony. When Elaine Huguenin of Albuquerque, N.M., declined in September 2006 an e-mail request from a lesbian couple to photograph their ceremony, one of the lesbians responded by lodging a human rights complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Division, the state agency charged with enforcing state anti-discrimination laws and sending cases to the commission to be adjudicated.

Former president Jimmy Carter convened a large assembly of moderate and liberal Baptists in Atlanta a few weeks ago, meeting under the banner of a "Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant," seeking unity for social action across racial and theological boundaries among 30 different Baptist denominations. Ironically, President Carter's appeal to the first century dispute between Paul and Peter as an example of why Christians today should seek unity in spite of theological differences is actually a vivid illustration of the theological danger ahead for this effort and why Southern Baptists cannot be involved. Conspicuously absent from the gathering was...

In concluding her Jan. 30 column about homosexuality and the Catholic Church ("It's not a mortal sin to work for justice"), Mary Jean Smith writes: "The archbishop and others are wrong on this issue. I am not guilty of mortal sin. It is not a sin to love my daughter and work for justice on her behalf." Here is what Archbishop John Nienstedt actually said: "Those who actively encourage or promote homosexual acts or such activity within a homosexual lifestyle formally cooperate in a grave evil and, if they do so knowingly and willingly, are guilty of mortal sin," he...

Jeremy Bernard thinks he has been sucked into a time warp. Only five months ago, he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with U.S. Senator Barack Obama in the back of a black SUV, speeding through West Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard, talking about the fine points of gay and lesbian federal legislation. An hour later, the Democratic presidential candidate was hitting every detail they had discussed in the car, but this time on network television. For Bernard, it was mind-blowing. The key fund-raiser for the Obama campaign was seeing his issues dramatically migrate from a personal chat to the national...

LONDON, July 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "Gay", "queer", and any other words or behaviours offensive to homosexuals must be stamped out among schoolchildren in the United Kingdom says the new Children's Minister. Children's Minister Kevin Brennan told the homosexual advocacy group Stonewall that the government will require teachers to treat "homophobic abuse" just the same as "racist abuse." Brennan promised new regulations this autumn that would require teachers to act on name-calling such as "gay" and "queer" or be guilty of colluding in "homophobia," even when the words are being used as synonyms for "lame" or "bad.""This is too often...

ATLANTA - The tattered cloth scraps started arriving at St. John's Lutheran Church shortly after the Rev. Bradley Schmeling took his stand against the church hierarchy, each with an embroidered or drawn message of support. "God is with you. Make fire in Atlanta," reads one of the hundreds of prayer cloths. "All love is holy," says another. Schmeling's refusal last year to resign after telling a church bishop he was in a gay relationship has earned him quite a following. More than 1,000 supporters joined an online prayer vigil to back Schmeling while a disciplinary committee was making its decision...

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama belongs to the United Church of Christ, one of the country's most racially diverse and liberal Protestant denominations -- the first to ordain an openly gay minister and to call for equal marriage rights for all people, regardless of gender. The UCC prides itself as being "out front" on social justice issues, battling civil rights, women's rights and gay rights ahead of the mainstream. One Sunday hymnal equally celebrates male and female images of God.

Leading officials from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) say a report by a conservative group of Presbyterians "mischaracterizes" the denomination's positions on controversial matters. The PC(USA)’s stated clerk, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, and its General Assembly Council executive director, Linda Valentine, addressed a letter to leaders within the denomination clarifying the church's stance on biblical authority, the singular saving Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the Trinity among other issues. The letter, dated June 12, and an attached document deals with a February strategy report released by the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) – a network of dissident Presbyterians in the...

The Rev. Grant Lynn Ford appeared on a recent Caribbean radio program hoping to improve relations between Jamaicans in South Florida and the gay and lesbian community. Instead, the pastor from Sunshine Cathedral, which recently started a gay and lesbian congregation in Jamaica, endured a hostile radio audience. Jamaican callers chastised him for promoting homosexuality in their country. One caller said Ford would get a bullet through his head if he set foot on the island.

The Rev. Mark Alan Lewis and the Rev. K. Dennis Winslow, Episcopal priests, were joined in civil union on Tuesday. The Rev. Tim S. Hall, also an Episcopal priest, officiated at the couple’s home in Union City, N.J., assisted by his wife, the Rev. Jacqueline Schmidt. Mr. Lewis (above, left), 47, is the vicar at the Episcopal Church of our Saviour in Secaucus, N.J. Mr. Winslow, 57, is the rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in New York. [snip] The couple met 15 years ago this week, shortly after Mr. Lewis moved to New Jersey. Mr. Lewis didn’t find the...

PENSACOLA BEACH -- Souvenir shops that line this sugary white Panhandle beach display Confederate flag beach towels, window decals and T-shirts. Hooters and other bars fly POW-MIA, Marine and Navy flags and cater to the sailors and Marines from the nearby base. Vacationing Southern families usually fill the hotels and condominiums in this slice of paradise long nicknamed "The Redneck Riviera." But every Memorial Day they mostly stay away as this Florida Panhandle town becomes more like trendy Miami Beach -- 700 miles and a world away. Starting in the mid-1980s, gay men from New Orleans and other nearby cities...

The nation’s leading Christian conservative is dead. On CNN’s “Crossfire” and other shows, I debated Jerry Falwell many times. I’m still trying to recover from that fact that he once called me “his favorite liberal.” But I will say: He was a true gentleman, always tough, and always fair. Jerry Falwell was a true believer. It’s too bad his brand of Christianity was so narrow and so negative. As a Christian myself, listening to Falwell, I often wondered if he and I had read the same Scripture. Certainly the Gospel of Jerry Falwell was not the Gospel of Jesus Christ....

Concord, NH -- Shortly after a civil unions bill cleared its last hurdle Thursday, the state's best-known gay resident said he will use it. "Absolutely. My partner and I look forward to taking full advantage of the new law," Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson told The Associated Press. The Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Union of which it is part are still dealing with repercussions from Robinson's 2003 consecration as bishop of New Hampshire.

The BBC is to relay a 'gay Mass' from San Francisco this Sunday, the first time such a service has been broadcast. The 50-minute Mass at the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the predominantly gay Castro district of the city will feature prayers and readings tailored for the gay community. The church has been described as an "inspiration" to gay and lesbian Christians around the world because of its ministry to homosexuals. Scroll down for more... The BBC is to relay a 'gay Mass' from San Francisco the first time such a service has been broadcast. Above, Members of...

Even on American highways crowded with giant family cars, buses are still big enough to make a point. ... The one driving down Route 7 in Virginia yesterday was purplish on one side and orange sunset on the other. In huge letters it said "Social Justice for Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People." On the highway, fellow drivers either honked and waved or threw Coke cans. In Sioux City, Iowa, someone spray-painted the bus with "Fag, God doesn't love you." The 25 "equality riders" from a group called Soulforce have roughly followed certain routes of the Freedom Riders who battled Southern...

Unhappy Presbyterians urged fellow members to separate from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in their attempt to counteract the leeway granted for gay ordination. Constitutional Presbyterians and other opponents of gay ordination discussed when it is proper to leave a denomination at a weekend gathering in Greenville, S.C. Some already believe that departure is necessary from the PC(USA) and have denounced it as not being a "true church." "Here in your hearing I publicly want to say that I denounce those leaders of our denomination who dare to suggest that the PC(USA) is the true church," said the Rev. J. Howard...

With the Presbyterian church re-examining its ban on the ordination of actively gay men and women, a five-week course on homosexuality and the Bible at a Danville congregation is drawing overflowing crowds. "We want to provide a safe place for people to listen," said Roberta Hestenes, teaching pastor at Community Presbyterian Church. "The issue inspires so much controversy it deserves more than slogans, clichés and sound bites." The course focuses only on the ordination of pastors, elders and deacons -- not on sexuality or the blessing of gay unions. "At this moment in history, this issue is the sharp front...

Early this summer, the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church convened, representing 120,000 Methodists in the greater New York area. Based on its resolutions, the meeting sounded more like a MoveOn.org rally than a church convention. The Methodists called for President Bush’s impeachment, commended divestment in firms doing business with Israel, and urged support for “progressive” Latin American regimes like Venezuala’s Hugo Chavez. And, oh yes, they demanded an expeditious U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. What does all that have to do with Christianity? Arguably, not much. But liberal Protestantism, which denies or minimizes the transcendent doctrines of...

Flag stirs flap at Howell High Controversy centered over meaning of Diversity Club message Thursday, December 23, 2004 BY STEPHENIE KOEHN News Staff Reporter What is the meaning of a rainbow? For many who see one during or after a rainstorm, it's a harbinger of good luck or at least a warm and fuzzy feeling. In the form of a flag hanging at Howell High School, however, it has created a controversy between those who see it as an expression of diversity and those who see it as supporting homosexuality. Confusion over the meaning of the flag, said Howell High...

Rainbow flags will add color to Saturday's Three Rivers Arts Festival and Bucs game scenes when local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Pittsburghers celebrate PrideFest 2004. PrideFest 2004 is set for noon to 6 p.m. on the North Shore. The event is expected to draw as many as 2,000 revelers to the scheduled parade, festival and Pirates baseball game.The day will be capped off by Pride Day at PNC Park where representatives from the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community will hurl the ceremonial first pitch, kicking off play between the Pirates and the Seattle Mariners, Sette said.