“Love is patient, love is kind.” This is one of the most well-known verses in scripture. It is the start of a section describing what real love looks like (1Corinthians 13: 4-7) and is frequently read at weddings. It is a beautiful piece of prose.

Many of you will have heard the Macklemore song “Same Love”, which unequivocally supports gay marriage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0

The female singer on the track is Mary Lambert and the parts that she sings on “Same Love” are from her song “She Keeps Me Warm.” This is a beautifully melodic lesbian love song, describing the beginning of a relationship – “What’s your middle name? Do you hate your job? What’s your favourite word?” At the end of the song, there is the refrain

“I don’t cry on Sundays “and the backing singers sing “Love is patient, love is kind.” http://marylambertsings.com/video/

This gentle singing out of a scriptural truth is such a rebuttal to all those who loudly, aggressively and sometimes cruelly denounce same sex relationships, especially on scriptural grounds. For me, “She Keeps Me Warm” is a wonderful track, not just because I love the melody and am a hopeless romantic (the video is fab). I love it because it effortlessly combines my spirituality and my sexuality. It reflects who I am, in a fully integrated way.

There are many wonderful, moving hymns and worship songs in which I can lose myself. There are powerful love songs that describe my emotional state far better than I ever could. It is just such a delight to find a song that brings these two aspects of me together.

Our mission statement at MCC Newcastle is “Be yourself. Find Meaning. Know God.” We try and create a space where we all can enjoy being fully ourselves, before God and with each other: a sacred space where our sexuality and spirituality can be fully integrated and celebrated. It is a space where we can live out “Love is patient, love is kind.” May love keep you warm this week.

God bless

Cecilia

Many of you will be familiar with the film “Sister Act”. A loud, rough casino singer from Las Vegas is placed in a convent by the police, after she witnesses a murder by a gangster and his mob. The singer, impeccably played by Whoopi
Goldberg, turns life in the convent upside down, until the gangsters finally catch up with her.

The gangster orders his hapless henchmen to shoot the
singer, but they won’t “because she’s a nun”. When he steps forward to do the deed himself, the Mother Superior, who has resented all the turmoil and change in the convent, steps forward and says “Yes, she is a real nun”. She goes on to list the virtues that this raucous woman has and how she has been a blessing to the Mother Superior and the other sisters.

The Mother Superior finally recognised it was the qualities of character and not the vows taken, the rules obeyed or the traditions upheld that made this woman holy and her life pleasing to God. She looked beyond the surface to what lay in the woman’s heart. (We will learn from "Sister Act” in August’s worship theme "The Gospel According to Hollywood!)

This week, the Church of England issued its response to the
consultation by the Government on Equal Marriage. Sadly, the response concentrates on tradition, rules and gender, instead of describing the characteristics of a good and wholesome marriage that nourishes and supports both partners and is pleasing to God.

It is worth noting that marriage as a sacrament only came into being in 1439. The English Marriage Act of 1753
lay down the legal requirements for marriage and, in 1836, the law was amended to allow the use of secular registrars as well as an Anglican clergy to perform marriages. Marriage has evolved over time, both in church and in civil law. In the 21st century, it is reasonable for it to evolve again.

God bless,

Cecilia 

This Saturday we will be “making a noise against homophobia and transphobia” in the middle of Newcastle city centre. This is part of IDAHO – an international day which recognises that we still have a very long way to go before the world is a completely safe place for 
 LGBT people to live in.

This week ILGA – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association, published its annual world map on lesbian and gay rights, and its report on State Sponsored Homophobia.  It is heartening to see on the map that there are more and more countries that have laws banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. The map is also gradually changing in favour or equal marriage.

In most of Africa and much of Asia however, the picture is very different – death penalty or imprisonment for up to 14 years or at the very least a lack of legislation that can make violent homophobia perfectly acceptable and encouraged by the state.

In worship this Sunday, we will reflect on our Bedrock Belief about Jesus:

At MCC Newcastle we believe:

Jesus offers everyone chances for new life and hope, especially to those on the edges of society. His life is
an important example to follow.

Jesus spent his ministry challenging injustice and reaching out to those who were dismissed as unimportant by the religious and state authorities of the day. We will represent Jesus as we make a noise against homophobia and transphobia this Saturday and every day.  

God bless,

Cecilia