Weddings in Connecticut: On November 12, the state of Connecticut married its first same-sex couples. The first license issued in New Haven went to Robin and Barbara Levine-Ritterman (pictured), who have been together since 1989 and were among the plaintiffs in the legal proceeding that led to the state supreme court ruling in favor of marriage equality. A crowd of about 100 people outside city hall applauded as Barbara Levine-Ritterman proudly held up the license.
The Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), the Boston-based legal group who litigated on behalf of Connecticut’s committed gay couples, says civil unions are still valid and those in civil unions may marry the person with whom they have the union. According to the state public health department, 2,032 civil union licenses were issued in Connecticut between Oct. 2005 and July 2008.

Rolling Back Inequality: On Saturday November 15, people across the United States staged demonstrations to demand marriage equality. California's hotly contested Proposition 8, which was passed in the Nov. 4 election and revoked the right of same-sex couples to marry, was the focal point for many of the demonstrations.
In Los Angeles, more than 10,000 people gathered, and the L.A. Times ran into our friend (and fellow Lutheran) Carl Hunter carrying a sign that read "Christians for gay marriage." Carl and Rev. Dan Hooper of Hollywood Lutheran were married in October. (Congratulations Carl and Dan!)
In San Francisco, a crowd of 10,000 heard Supervisor Tom Ammiano declare: It's not about sex, boys and girls, it's about love. About 1000 people marched from the rally to the Castro neighborhood.
Lutheran pastors Rev. Dawn Roginski and Rev. Megan Rohrer (pictured, left) were among those arrested for staging a sit-in that closed a nearby freeway off-ramp.
Rev. Lura Groen of Grace Lutheran Church was among the speakers at the rally in Houston, Texas.
In Chicago, more than 2000 people rallied in Federal Plaza and then staged a spontaneous march to City Hall and Michigan Avenue. Organizers were ticketed for failure to secure a parade permit, but there were no other incidents.
Thousands marched down the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The Des Moines Register interviewed Amalia Vagts, an organizer of the rally in Decorah, IA:
We want our state to be one that gives the same opportunities and responsibilities to all families. Marriage equality is about supporting two people who love each other and want to make a lifetime commitment to building a life with each other. These are all Iowa values.

Truth Vs. Love?: The Truth "Versus" Love Project sponsors the The Greg M. Johnson Homiletics Award, a $2500 sermon-writing contest for ELCA seminarians. The project's objective is to encourage traditional law and gospel preaching about bible passages which have been viewed as a source of humanitarian concern

:
[D]o we have to choose between theological orthodoxy and compassion?...
Can anyone preach a law message that offends us in our comfortable conservatism, and a gospel message that offends us in our liberal moralisms?
The readings prescribed for this year's contest are all from Isaiah (chs. 58, 55, and 53).
Entries must be received no later than November 29. See the Truth "Versus" Love web site for complete contest rules.
Greg M. Johnson is a lay member of an ELCA congregation who has served in the areas of Social Ministry and the education of adults and children

What Life Is This?: On November 6, Concordia Seminary St. Louis acknowledged the winner of the 2008 Pamela Ann Prevallet hymn writing competition. This year's winning hymn is titled What Life Is This and was written by seminarian Michael Priem (pictured).
Mr. Priem said of his hymn:
By means of Law and Gospel, I hope to redefine death and life for both singers and hearers and lead them to confident hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. This theme is ideally associated with Lent, although parts, especially the final verses, may be borrowed for funerals throughout the year.
The annual hymn competition was created in 2000 by Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Prevallet in memory of their daughter. The competition is open to students of Concordia Seminary who are serving their vicarage, or internship, at a Lutheran congregation.

Voting and Communion: According to Associated Press on Sunday November 9, The Rev. Jay Scott Newman of St. Mary's Catholic Church (the mother church of Catholicism in upstate South Carolina) in Greenville, S.C. advised parishioners who might have voted for President Elect Barack Obama that receiving Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote would put their souls at risk:
Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ's Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation.
On Friday, November 14 Monsignor Martin T. Laughlin, administrator of the Diocese of Charleston issued a statement On Voting and Communion repudiating Rev. Newman's position:
As Administrator of the Diocese of Charleston, let me state with clarity that Father Newman’s statements do not adequately reflect the Catholic Church’s teachings. Any comments or statements to the contrary are repudiated...
Christ gives us freedom to explore our own conscience and to make our own decisions while adhering to the law of God and the teachings of the faith. Therefore, if a person has formed his or her conscience well, he or she should not be denied Communion, nor be told to go to confession before receiving Communion.
Rev. Newman's remarks are no longer available on the church's web site, but the complete text has now appeared in Catholic Online.

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