Amazing!

CBS reality show The Amazing Race starts its twelfth season with a pair of lesbian ministers.
Kate Lewis and Pat Hendrickson of Thousand Oaks, California will compete in the around the world race, a race which gave Reichen his start. So, will we be seeing a lot more of these lovely ladies? We sure hope so!

It should come as no surprise to hear that Lewis and Hendrickson are both associated with the Episcopal Church: the Anglican denomination that ordained openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson. That movement, however, has been splitting at the sacred seams over gay inclusion. Perhaps these girls can change some people's minds.

Journo Ina Hughs offers an interesting take on the Episcopal Church's vote to restrain itself on gay ordinations and same-sex blessings:

When Episcopalian leadership voted last week to reaffirm a ban on official prayers over same-sex unions, I had to wonder: Who are they - or anybody else - to censor prayers of any kind? What is an official prayer, anyway?

Does God need an earthly prayer editor? Does He need Anglican, Presbyterian or Baptist or any other denomination's approval before He takes seriously a certain kind of prayer?

If a minister wants to pray over two people wanting to go through life together, to be one another's family, to make a home for each other, to be faithful and kind, to love, honor and cherish each other in sickness and in health - who on earth has the power, the nerve or the audacity to say God would turn a deaf ear? I don't think God is that mean-spirited or that close-minded.

And, frankly, doesn't this God character (pictured?) have bigger, most celestial things to tend to?

Katharine Jefferts Schori stood her ground Sunday. Addressing the congregation at San Fransisco's Grace Cathedral, the Episcopal Archbishop insisted that the American Anglican branch should embrace all believers:

All people—including gay and lesbian Christians and non-Christians—are deserving of the fullest regard of the church. We're not going backward.

Jefferts Schori's promise came less than a week after she and her peers caved to conservatives and vowed to "restrain" themselves over gay inclusion.

Realizing her words would set off a firestorm, Jefferts Schori explained that she had prepared the speech prior to last week's decision. "It's an accident in some sense, but it's a blessed accident."

Nigeria's Anglican Archbishop had harsh words for his American counterparts.

The Episcopal Church voted this week to "restrain" its gay-welcoming urges. Peter Akinola, the aforementioned Archbishop who's pushing the Americans to abandon gays, says the Episcopals aren't going far enough.

Sadly it seems that our hopes were not well-founded and our pleas have once again been ignored. Instead of the change of heart (repentance) we sought, what we have been offered is merely a temporary adjustment in an unrelenting determination.

As if Akinola would know anything about "heart".

Nigeria Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola's tightening his grip on America's soul. The virulent homophobe will pay Woodbridge, Virginia a little visit to appoint former Episcopal clergyman Martyn Minns as the leader of Akinola's Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

Born from the never-ending gay debate, Akinola's Nigeria-based Convocation aims to recruit conservative Americans into his Bible-thumping fold. American Episcopal leader Katharine Jefferts Schori has pleaded with Akinola to back off her territory, but it seems Akinola's hellbent on a bit of religious colonization. Akinola replied by saying that the CANA will:

provide a safe place for those who wish to remain faithful Anglicans but can no longer do so within the Episcopal Church as it is currently being led.

Holy bitchiness!

CONTINUED »

It seems a day doesn't pass without another article on the seemingly imminent breakdown of the worldwide Anglican Church, a distintegration exasperated by the American Episcopal Church's own infighting. Well, you know what, man-loving Archbishop Gene Robinson's had enough.

Speaking in Hartford on Monday, Robinson said the media (that's us) should stop blowing things out of proportion. He also took some time to admonish the bickering Bible thumpers, saying:

In a world facing 40 million people dying of AIDS and an increasing gap between rich and poor, this seems like a waste of our time and energy, debating the rightness and wrongness of gay and lesbian people and their relationships… I think it breaks God's heart that we would be focusing on such an internal issue, instead of focusing upon the world which, as I understand it, Jesus called us to…

Robinson left for the Sundance directly after the speech, saying, "Hey, the world includes celebrity-saturated film festivals, bitches!"

Robinson's in Sundance to help promote For The Bible Tells Me So: the Grand Jury nominated documentary in which he and four other gay Christians appear And, by the looks of this picture, he'll be scoring some wicked Andrew Sullivan and cruising the slopes. Sweet.

• "Don't Ask" Protesters Heading to New York. Soldiers with a cause. [365 Gay]

• Britney names baby Sutton Pierce so kids can have same initials. Gross. [Star Magazine]

• "Gay Warning on Comics a Myth," Marvel Says. Nerds rejoice! [The Washington Blade]

• If you're in San Fran, get some culture with Urquhart's show. You need it. [Artforum]

• Episcopal Church in Texas Splits Off Over Gays. Good riddance. [The Advocate]

• Convict Wants Vagina and Says State Should Pay. No comment. [ABC News]

First they consecrate an openly gay bishop. Next they elect the first female leader in the religion's history. Clearly, changes are afoot inside the Episcopal Church — but likely only in the U.S. In Europe and Africa, meanwhile, things aren't looking so liberal. Which is why America's sect of the Anglican Communion could soon see itself split from the rest of the world.

When Katherine Jefferts Schori was elected Sunday to become head of the 2.2 million member U.S. denomination, shock waves were felt throughout the church. Not only is she a woman, she's pro-gay; she gave Gene Robinson her vote to help him become the New Hampshire leader three years ago.

But this liberal series of changes is, according to all accounts, creating a "schism" (every journalist's favorite word here) inside the 77 million member church. Outside the U.S., and particularly in Africa, Schori's acceptance of gays in the church seems to be the paramount problem. And because of her acceptance of all people, the church is on the verge of splitting into two distinct groups. Some say it already has.

Anglicans face gloomy prediction of schism [Reuters]