Friday, May 16, 2008

A weekly look-around at the Church in the World.



Today the State of California is at the top of the national news: “The California Supreme Court, striking down two state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman, ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.” (New York Times.) In its decision, the Court wrote, “…the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.”



Barely three weeks ago, the United Methodist Church sustained the current language of our Book of Discipline, which will continue to exclude those who are not heterosexual from full participation in the life and leadership of the Church. What to make of this timely juxtaposition of two major institutions addressing what is essentially the same issue?



For me, what stands out is how much the roles of church and state—i