Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 03/15/2014 12:08:09 PM PDT by Darren McCarty
SAGINAW, MI — As a federal judge weighs Michigan's gay marriage ban, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan issued a statement supporting the overturn of the ban.
Bishop Todd Ousley on Thursday, March 13, stated that ending the ban, which U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman may do after hearing eight days of testimony during a trial for a Hazel Park couple's case against the state, would extend “justice and equality to all of God's children.”
“My own experiences with same-sex couples and the experiences in communities and congregations across our diocese have show that there is holy goodness in the lives and love of gay and lesbian couples and their families,” Ousley stated. “Surely, extending justice and equality to all of God's children will not only serve the common good but also further the advance of God's reign marked by respect for the justice and dignity for every person.”
Ousley in 2007 became the second bishop of the diocese, which has its headquarters on North Niagara in Saginaw and has 47 churches in the diocese. He stated that marriage is a “sacred vocation” that should not be “limited to persons of opposite sex” and “encompasses all of God's creation.”
“Therefore, I believe that the faithful, loving, and lifelong union of two persons — regardless of gender identity — is capable of signifying the never failing and gracious love of God in Christ for the church and the world,” he stated. “In a diocese marked by economic despair and continuing cycles of violence, marks of love and grace are needed in abundance and without qualification and restriction.”
Ousley stated he anticipates Friedman will overturn the ban and that clergy members will be able to witness same-sex marriages.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlive.com ...
Todd the “Bishop” is a blasphemer and no Christian. God made the rules. Marriage is between man and woman.
I left the Episcopal Church when they elected a practicing gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in 2003, hence my screen name. I now am a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
A great many of us did. I haven’t heard much of anything about Robinson since those days. What became of that Sodomite?
Sorry, Bishop Todd Ousley, but your argument is based on the false premise that men and women are interchangeable. Your argument does not apply to same sex marriage because men and women are NOT interchangeable.
The consequences of homosexual activity have already increased the cost of medical care to the population at-large. Costs of diagnosis and testing have increased. Because of the risk of cancer and other diseases, a simple sore throat could be instead be caused by a sexually transmitted disease. Hemorrhoids could be instead anal cancer, rectal gonorrhea, or rectal chlamydia. Your flock will pay for those additional costs, not the clergy, not corrupt lawmakers and lawyers in black robes.
The encoding into law perversion will adversely impact the culture resulting in the spread of AIDs and other STDs, the destruction of the family, and increased risk to the physical and mental health of the population, with attendant increases in cost of health care.
Please take a "time out" to pray for guidance, Bishop.
Is the bishop looking for a “friend”?
I forgot why I left this “church” (cult?) but now I remember.
It’s not even just the “religious” side of this...it’s the BIOLOGICAL!!! You don’t stick your private parts in places they shouldn’t be...
I cannot marry a first cousin or any closer blood relative, nor can I marry a woman under the age of consent, a woman who is already married, a non-human animal/plant/object, or a woman whose mental processes are either temporarily or permanently impaired (which I assume includes all democrats). Why would “justice and equality” in redefining marriage apply so narrowly as to include gay “marriage” and not to include polygamy and marriage to a potted plant?
As far as I know he is still happily bishop-ing.
Well, he put in a lot of hard work. Nice to know he’s enjoying the “fruits” of his labors.
I did the same, but a lot earlier. I could see the writing on the Episcopal Church’s door. I am with a presbyterian type evangelical church.
I was still not saved when that happened and sitting in an Episcopal church trying to "get it". Left that church and tried non-denominational and "got it" the first service I attended. Been non-denominational since then because the Bible and those that keep it in context (along with knowing the pertinence and delineations of both Covenants) has everything one needs to understand God's love and Jesus' sacrifice.
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