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JANINE AND JIM EDEN/FLICKR A same-sex marriage ceremony at a United Methodist Church in New York The trial of a United Methodist Church (UMC) minister who performed a same-sex marriage ceremony has been halted by a bishop before it began. Meanwhile, a retired UMC bishop may face a trial of his own for a similar ceremony. Bishop Martin McLee of New York committed this week to stopping all such trials in his region. The New York Times has the details . Meanwhile, Religion News Service reports on the latest (and highest-ranking) dissident to potentially face punishment , and assesses how geography is shaping the "emerging dynamic that allows some pastors in the country's second-largest Protestant denomination to skirt rules banning clergy from performing same-sex wedding , while others risk costly church trials and the loss of clergy credentials." "The just resolution provisions of the Book of Discipline are clear in voicing just resolution as the pref

BOSTON, – For Massachusetts’s social conservatives , it was the straw that broke the camel’s back: Karyn Polito , Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and former state senator, recently  reversed  her long-held opposition to same-sex “marriage” and announced she now favors the redefinition of marriage to include homosexual couples. Now, pro-family activists are threatening to withdraw their support for Polito and her running mate , gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker, and back political novice Mark Fisher instead. Both Baker and Polito were always going to be a hard sell for social conservatives.  Both candidates are strongly in favor of legalized abortion-on-demand, and Baker chose an openly homosexual abortion supporter as his running mate during his previous failed bid for the governorship in 2010.  But Polito, at least, had one thing going for her in the eyes of family values voters: She had tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to turn the tide against same-sex “marriage” i

BOSTON, July 25, 2012, - Chicago Mayor and former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has backed calls to keep Chick-fil-A from doing business in his city, saying the restaurant chain’s Christian beliefs on marriage “are not Chicago values.” Meanwhile, the  Boston Globe  has come to the defense of Chick-fil-A leaders’ right to hold those beliefs in the wake of similar comments from that city’s mayor. Rahm Emanuel told the  Chicago Tribune  Wednesday that he agreed with Alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno’s effort to stop Chick-fil-A from opening a new restaurant in his area of the city based on president Dan Cathy’s “bigoted, homophobic” views. Cathy, who is famously outspoken in his Christian beliefs, had said last week that he was “guilty as charged” for supporting traditional marriage, saying that redefining the institution meant “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values,” Emanuel  told  the Tribune . “They

Image via CrunchBase How is this law going to hurt your marriage? That is the jeer hurled at opponents of New York ’s new same-sex marriage law. As the Boston Globe put it memorably some time ago, same-sex marriage will “no more undermine traditional marriage than sailing undermines swimming”. Indeed, many supporters of traditional marriage don't know how to respond. Fortunately, however, at least three answers were quickly presented in the  New York Times . The Times supported the law and praised as “a powerful and principled choice” when it was passed. Since it is New York’s newspaper of record and the flagship of American progressive thinking, there can be little doubt that the ideas promoted in its pages will someday emerge as real options. The first was  an op-ed piece by Katherine M. Franke , a Columbia University law professor. On the day before the bill passed, she confessed that she really didn’t want to marry her long-time lesbian partner anyway.  Why lose the

Image via Wikipedia A Catholic parish and its pastor strongly allied with the gay rights movement in Boston have expressed frustration and defiance after their archdiocese put the kibosh on a much-anticipated “gay-friendly” Mass. Rev. John J. Unni, pastor of St.  Cecilia’s Church in the Back Bay, lashed out in Sunday’s sermon against Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s decision to forbid a Mass Unni had planned for next weekend to celebrate the homosexual community. “You are welcome here, gay or straight, rich or poor, young or old, black or white,’’ said Unni as he paced the center aisle, according to  the Boston Globe . “Here, you all can say, ‘I can worship the God who made me as I am.’ ’’ The sermon received a standing ovation from the parish, whose members are heavily involved in its “Rainbow Ministry” for homosexuals. More than 200 parishioners wore buttons with a cross, a rainbow, and the words “All Are Welcome,” the Globe reports. The mass, advertised with the theme “All Are W

Image via Wikipedia A political compromise on marriage legislation has made temporary political bedfellows of two intractable foes in Rhode Island : pro-family advocates and gay activists. Both the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) have come out in opposition to a civil unions bill that will give homosexual couples all the rights and benefits of marriage, except the name – albeit for very different reasons. The House Judiciary Committee voted has 9-3 to approve the civil unions legislation for a full vote on the House floor. The vote should take place Thursday. Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence) described the bill as “better than nothing,” according to the Boston Globe . However, MERI refuses to support the bill, arguing that civil unions legislation would mean second class status for homosexual couples. NOM’s Rhode Island chapter has also denounced the measure, but because it paves the way for the courts to redefine marriage aw