Wednesday, May 27, 2009

ELM Congregation & Pastors in News Following Prop 8 Ruling

The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the ballot measure that banned same-sex marriages in the state, by a 6-1 vote Tuesday, May 26. But the seven justices unanimously ruled that the 18,000 marriages that took place during the five months before the ban went into effect last November are still valid under California law.

An article in the Bay Area Reporter by Matthew Bajko (link to the full article there) mentioned a faith service at ELM congregation St. Francis Lutheran Church and included quotes by ELM pastor Dawn Roginski:

Bajko writes: "This morning it was LGBT ministers who led a service at St. Francis Lutheran Church in the gay Castro District to pray for justice and to also offer a prayer of protection to those individuals planning to participate in the civil disobedience actions.

Following the service, a group of 125 people marched from the Church Street sanctuary to join those in the Civic Center. Wearing T-shirts that said "Separate is not Equal," they walked behind a rainbow-colored banner that said "Faith Demands Justice."

"We plan to occupy Van Ness at Grove until we get arrested," said Kip Williams, one of the organizers of the protest.

The Reverend Dawn Roginksi, the lesbian pastor at St. Francis, said she planned to join the demonstration in order to "stand on the side of equality and the side of love."

"We can not stand by and let well-funded conservative voices be the only voices hear din California," said Roginski."

Read the full article here: http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3942

Read the Supreme Court ruling here: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts

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