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MLP staff member ordained |
| Katie Morrison ordained in PC(USA)
[10-22-01]
Press release from
More Light Presbyterians
San Anselmo, CA -- 10-22-01 - For the first time since the 1978 ban on
the ordination of "practicing, self-affirming homosexuals," an
openly lesbian candidate has been ordained as Minister of Word and
Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Redwoods Presbytery, one of the 173 local governing bodies with
jurisdiction for ordination of ministers in the 2.3-million-member
denomination, voted 90-37 September 21 to approve the ordination of
Katie Morrison, M.Div., a life-long Presbyterian and 1997 graduate of
San Francisco Theological Seminary.
"Where the world closes a door, God opens a window for more light
to break through. Allelujah!" said Morrison. "I am thrilled
about this wonderful opportunity to live further into my call to
ministry within the Presbyterian Church (USA)."
The 2-hour service of ordination and installation was held Sunday,
October 21 at First Presbyterian Church, San Anselmo, CA, Morrison's
home congregation. The worship service was joyful in tone, celebrating
the historic moment and Katie's gifts and call to the ministry.
Participants included Executive Presbyter of Redwoods Presbytery Brian
Pippen, Chandler Stokes, pastor of First Presbyterian San Anselmo and
chair of Morrison's Committee on Preparation for Ministry, the Rev. Dr.
Yvette Flunder of the City of Refuge Ministry in San Francisco, and
Katie's father, an elder at Pasadena Presbyterian Church (Pasadena, CA).
Bill Moss and Mitzi Henderson, Co-Moderators of More Light Presbyterians
(MLP), participated in the installation of Katie Morrison as a National
Field Organizer for MLP, which works for "the full participation of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the life, ministry,
and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."
"We live into hope that the door is open to all God's people,"
said MLP Co-Moderator Bill Moss. "With this act today God opened
this door to Katie. Katie's job is to keep that door open and to welcome
others into the church who have been excluded."
Especially poignant was the acknowledgment throughout the service that
there is a huge cloud of witnesses who have been denied opportunities to
serve the church in an ordained capacity. The sanctuary was adorned with
a multitude of liturgical stoles from the Shower of Stoles Project,
donated by individuals barred from service in the church because of
their sexual orientation or gender identity. Martha Juillerat, Director
of the Shower of Stoles Project, spoke about the meaning of ordination,
as a woman who gave up her ministry in order to be out, and later found
she reclaimed ordination in its truest sense as understood in the Bible
and in the Reformed tradition. Juillerat said, "For all those folks
who never saw this day or who lost their ministries, this is certainly
an amazing ray of hope."
The Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr, a lesbian minister whose call to the
Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester NY was denied by the
denomination's highest judicial commission in 1992, delivered one of the
reflections during the service. Lisa Larges, who was denied ordination
as minister in 1993 because she came out as a lesbian, delivered the
charge. Rev. Susan Leo, who left the PC(USA) so she could serve openly
in the United Church of Christ, presented the invitation to Communion.
Katie Morrison began work as MLP National Field Organizer in September
2001.
Presbyterian News Service reports on
a challenge to Morrison's ordination,
which was not sustained by the Presbytery. [10-23-01]
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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