A Really Good Week for Lesbian Ministers

Published November 11, 2009 @ 08:14PM PT

Stained glass It's been a very good week for lesbian clergy. First Sweden consecrates the world's first lesbian bishop, Lutheran Eva Brunne, and now a section of the Presbyterian Church of the United States has voted, albeit by a mere 18 votes, to ordain their first lesbian minister. It's good news for Lisa Larges, who if everything continues to move forward, will be known from this point on as Rev. Lisa Larges.

Larges' appointment as minister had been blocked for fifteen years by folks who thought ordaining gay clergy would cause the sky to fall on the Presbyterian Church. Less than 24 hours after voting 156-138 to finally allow Larges to be a Reverend, the sky is still floating above. And the Presbyterian Church has taken a giant step toward inclusion.

In a statement released after the vote, Larges noted that the times they are a-changin'. Next thing you know the official Mormon Church might be supporting a gay rights measure.

"Change is happening in the churches," Larges said in her statement. "People are realizing that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have long functioned as contributing members of their faith traditions. It is time to tell the truth -- we are all created in God's image."

The decision to ordain Larges could still be appealed, as it has been in the past (January 2008 to be exact). And the larger Presbyterian Church still bans gay clergy -- this was a case where a region of the Presbyterian Church was able to vote on its own.

Still, as Larges moves closer and closer to becoming Rev. Larges, another wall of discrimination has started to be taken down in the faith world.

(Photo courtesy of seanmcgrath's photostream on Flickr.)

Spread the Word

More You Can Do

Get action and news alerts about Gay Rights »
Browse top Gay Rights organizations to support »
Find out more about Gay Rights and what you can do to help »

Comments (6)

It's always wonderful to see more GLBTQ people, especially lesbians as new ministers, priests, and bishops. Good to see that some churches have chosen love, acceptance, and inclusion. They can only benefit from the gifts which GLBTQ clergy will bring to their ministries.

Posted by Ioan Lightoller on 11/11/2009 @ 10:31PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
It is great news that there are more gay ministers.I hope this happens more in our country.

Posted by Martin Martinez on 11/12/2009 @ 05:24AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Ioan
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
It's good that Lisa Larges could well become a minister who is also lesbian. The Presbyterian church must not deny Lisa Larges to become a minister in her church. It's unjustified that her appointment to the clergy has been blocked for over a decade but since the uglyness of intolerance is eroding, Lisa Larges might very well become the first lesbian minister for that church. Although part of that church has voted for her advancement for the clergy, it must come through.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 11/12/2009 @ 02:12PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Edwin
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I would agree that the church’s inclusion and acceptance of LGBT people is a good thing. However, from a religious viewpoint, ignoring parts of what is supposedly the Word of God weakens the religion. If one thing is incorrect, than what else is? Of course ignoring edicts of the Bible is nothing new; for example, we don’t see children executed for disrespecting their parents.

I do not see this as a problem with LGBT people; I see it as a problem with a lot of the different revealed religions. Perhaps people are so passionate to be Christians, Jews, or Muslims because of the cultures involved. We are indoctrinated from birth to believe in whatever system our parents raised us with. Sometimes people break free from this, more often people hold on to those beliefs.

My own opinion is to find a system of belief that more correctly suits you and doesn’t persecute you just because you sleep with someone of the same sex or are deemed immoral due to the religion’s impossibly “high” standards. I believe there are other good options out there that are more inclusive. I am a Deist and Deism has absolutely nothing to say on the subject. A lot of Deists see homosexuality as a variant to humanity. It is neither good nor bad—it just is.

While I disagree with the religion, I do feel that a kinder and gentler Christianity is not a bad thing. I think we all have experienced enough hate. As an example, my brother and I got into a discussion on his Facebook blog over religion. He’s very far-right and ultra-conservative; he called me stupid for being a Deist and deleted all that we wrote. I don’t think he would ever have me around his family in fear that I may contaminate them with my “Deist crap”. In other words he’s a total douche. What I thought was a stimulating religious discussion quickly turned into a name-calling session from him with the elimination of all of our posts. What was left was him commenting how stupid I was. Since he deleted my posts, he eliminated any proof either way. I don’t know what he is saying to the rest of the family so I may not be welcome in a few other places too. However, I am supposed to not mind all the Christian stuff he posts. What a douche.

Posted by Mark Reed on 11/15/2009 @ 08:15PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
Personaly I dont see why parts of the bible shouldnt be ignored...In particular, the majority of the old testement.

The christian bible has been changed and rewritten so many times that Im hoping one day for the true christians to actually do away with the entire old testement with the exception of the 10 commandments and as for the new testement...Just keep the 4 gospels and focus on what jesus preached.

The bible thumpers can keep the rest since theyre focused on that shit anyways.

Posted by Reverend Boony on 11/17/2009 @ 03:58AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Mark
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
The more good true christians...The better.

Posted by Reverend Boony on 11/17/2009 @ 03:59AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Reverend
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He is the former Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, as well as the former Director of Communications for Pax Christi USA, a national Catholic peace and justice organization. Mike is a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and he is also a proud sketch comedy writer.