Council of Churches Urges NO on Proposition 8

The Council is proud to call your attention to the ad running in the San Jose Mercury News, signed by 25 local churches.

As people of faith,
We believe that all people are made in the image of God. 
We believe in loving, faithful and committed relationships. 
We affirm everyone's right to the freedom to marry. 
We urge you to..
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 8.
Don't eliminate marriage for anyone.

Wonder why?
Dr. Walter Wink, a professor of Biblical Interpretation, writes:
"We must critique the sexual mores of any given time and place by the love ethic exemplified by Jesus.  Our moral task, then, is to apply Jesus' love ethic to whatever sexual mores are prevalent.  This means that everything is to be critiqued by Jesus' love commandment. ... Christian morality is the attempt to discover a manner of living that is consistent with who God created us to be. ... The Bible knows only a love ethic, which is constantly being brought to bear on whatever sexual mores are dominant." (from "Homosexuality and the Bible" by Walter Wink. Click here to download a free pdf of the full article.)

Click here to watch a 1 minute video of local clergy saying why they urge you to vote NO on proposition 8, and click here to hear Fr. Francisco Castro speak in Spanish.

Some reflections from local pastors:

Rev. Randle R. Mixon, Ph.D., Pastor, First Baptist Church of Palo Alto:
Baptists are nothing if not people of "The Book" and there is nothing in the biblical tradition that sacralizes marriage as it is currently practiced in the USA.  In fact, if we were to practice so-called biblical marriage we would be blessing a return to treating women as property and patriarchs with multiple wives and concubines. ...
To me, the bottom line concerns how human beings commit to, care for and love one another.  Those are qualities Jesus lifted up and blessed and those are the real standards we ought to fight for - for everyone. ...
Voting no on Proposition 8 ensures that each faith group, not the government, gets to decide how to handle marriage within the confines of its tradition; at the same time it ensures that all citizens of California are afforded equal protection under the law of our land.

Rev. Karen Siegfriedt, Rector of St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church in Cupertino:
Eight years ago the people of the Episcopal Church supported a resolution* which spells out what is expected of couples who are living in marriage: "We expect such relationships to be characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God."
It is my opinion that the right to marry should be based on a commitment to these characteristics rather than the sexual orientation of the couple making the commitment. (*Resolution D039, July 2000)

Rev. Dr. L.T. Archer Summers, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto:
We live in a democratic replublic, which means that there are certain rights that cannot be taken away from us by the State or even by the voting public.  So I am flummoxed that as a Californian I have the option of voting on Question 8, for it shouldn't even be on our ballot.
God forbid, should this question pass, for it will make a mockery of the Civil War and our Fourteenth Amendment.  We might as well pack our bags and secede from the Union for we're essentially saying that fundamental Constitutional rights extend to all people with one exception: that is with the exception of same-sex couples...
God's grace is a gift, and it is a transformative one that allows you and me to stop worshiping the status quo.  It is a gift that gives us the confidence and the optimism to build our world and lives anew.
Let us do so now as we vote NO on Question 8.

From the "Statement on Proposition 8" by the Episcopal Diocesan Bishops of California:
As Episcopal Bishops of California, we are moved to urge voters to vote "No" on Proposition 8.
Proponents of Proposition 8 have suggested that this amendment to the Constitution would protect marriage.  We do not believe that marriage of heterosexuals is threatened by same-sex marriage.  Rather, the Christian values of monogamy, commitment, love, mutual respect and witness of monogamy are enhanced for all by providing this right to gay and straight alike.  Society is strengthened when two people who love each other choose to enter into marriage, engage in a lifetime of disciplined relationship building that serves as a witness to the importance of love and commitment. ...
We believe that continued access to civil marriage for all, regardless of sexual orientation, is consistent with the best principles of our constitutional rights.  We believe that this continued access promotes Jesus' ethic of love, giving and hope. ...

The ad reads, in full:

As people of faith,
We believe all people are made in the image of God.
We believe in loving, faithful and committed relationships.
We affirm everyone's right to the freedom to marry.
We urge you to...
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 8!
Don't eliminate marriage for anyone.

Following Jesus' call for justice and compassion, this ad is sponsored by the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County Committee Against Proposition 8 and 23 congregations:

Almaden Hills United Methodist Church, San Jose
Alum Rock United Methodist Church, San Jose
Campbell United Church of Christ Council
Campbell United Methodist Church
Celebration Of Faith Church, San Jose
Center for Spiritual Living, San Jose
College Heights United Church of Christ, San Mateo
First Christian Church, San Jose
First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, Peace & Justice Task Force
First Congregational Church of San Jose, United Church of Christ
First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto
First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto
First Unitarian Church of San Jose
Grace Baptist Church, San Jose
Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church of San Jose
Metropolitan Community Church of San Jose
Morgan Hill United Methodist Church
New Community of Faith, San Jose (U.C.C. & American Baptist)
St. Jude's Episcopal Church, Social Justice/Outreach Committee,Cupertino
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Santa Clara
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, San Jose
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Sunnyvale
Stone Church of Willow Glen (Presbyterian), San Jose
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, San Jose
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Board

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