I Am A Priest!

Yesterday, a man I love and admire as the head of my congregation stood at the pulpit and said I could be a priest.

This was a little odd, you see, because I remember being eight years old and having announced with all the self importance of childhood, that when I grew up, I was going to be a priest. Since I was Roman-Catholic, it fell to my mom and our priest to explain to me that I couldn't actually be a priest because I was a girl. Because the pope said so. And I was heartbroken, because not only did a dream die, but because my Mom had no idea what to say when I reminded her, "But you said girls can do anything boys can."

Except for that it seemed.

So yesterday, when I heard Rev. Neil, the head pastor at my church, say that 'priest' and 'minister' meant in our faith that priesthood of all believers, that it included me, that those in service to God could call themselves 'priest' and 'minister', I started to cry. I had no idea that some part of me still needed to hear those words.

I could be a priest.

After service, I went to Rev. Neil, to thank him, to share what it had meant to me to hear that I could be a priest. And he gave me one of his little smiles, one that says I'm being quite silly not to see the whole picture, and said, "You already are."

I am a priest.

Somewhere, an eight year old version of myself is dancing around and singing the "I Told You So" song.

We now resume our regular (ha ha) posting schedule..

I really am laughably bad at keeping committed to this blog. Mostly because I'm really bad at journaling and talking about myself, neither of which suits one well for blogging. But I figured a general update would be nice, and I have a blog planned for later today talking about a great spiritual experience I had yesterday. Eureka will be back in July, and I intend to pick up my reviews again then.

I've continued to plug away on "Heights" which will be a major editing/rewriting project sometime this summer. I'm also working on the revamp of "The Devil's Wife" as a full length screenplay I've been working on.

I'll of course be at the Great American Pitchfest this June, because I adore Signe and Bob and will probably volunteer every year I live in this town, even in years like this one, where I don't really plan on pitching anything. Maybe "Heights" to the one or two book publishers who show, but we'll see. Not sure it's quite ready for that (or will be come June). But I encourage everyone to check out the event! I have a blast every year.

Just because I didn't kill myself doesn't mean I didn't feel like I was dying

In the wake of Tyler Clementi's Suicide, I wanted to share a great article, then take a moment on my soapbox, before giving you a link with a petition- you can, and should, do something.

Just because I didn't kill myself, doesn't mean I didn't feel like I was dying

Something's got to change. I'm no longer even sure of what it is, whose attitude or what laws have to shift, because there's so much hurt and injustice coming from all sides. I've heard a lot of people talking about how these bullies will only be charged with violating privacy and not involuntary manslaughter, and it surprises me to realize that hearing that makes me angry. Bullying someone into taking their life should have consequences.

But a few minutes later, I turn around and see that not only is it apparently an acceptable practice in the state of Michigan, a man with the district attorney's office can cyber bully a college student, calling it free speech. And he's not even going to be fired.

I've known students who didn't kill themselves, but they were dying, bit by bit with every slur, sometimes to the point of cutting and para-suicide actions. It's not uncommon; it's so common it hurts. I've been the teacher who was reprimanded for daring to punish those who used the slurs, for calling it hate speech. The protectors can't protect, the students suffer, and we're all waiting on the world to change.

Something has to change. I believe in free speech, but isn't this level of bullying and harassment akin to yelling fire in a crowded theatre? If you're ready to call this enough, just to start to get to the point that we can say it's too much to be borne, then consider signing the Human Rights Campaign petition to the Secretary of Education, to toughen anti-bullying programs.

Happy Celebrate Bisexuality Day!!

Today I'm taking the opportunity today to share some great articles about bisexuality. Because even in the gay and lesbian community sometimes we're on the outside. And yes, I've had the argument with lesbian women before about bisexuality not existing- hello, here I am!! *waves* Nice to meet you. I exist. I'm not gay, I'm not straight, I'm bisexual.

First up, an article I really enjoyed not just for content, but because it was written by a former student of mine.

Bisexuality: The Punching-Bag Orientation

"Many people, straight or gay, understand gender preference with a Kinsey Scale mentality: a straight man likes women, a gay man likes men, and a bisexual man likes both. But bisexuality isn’t a gender preference for both genders; it’s a lack of gender preference for either. For most bisexuals, the gender of the person they find attractive is substantially less important than who that person is. We’re not in the middle of the Kinsey scale; we’re off the chart altogether."

And another great article I found thanks to GLADD and today's celebration:

Reflections on Bi Visibility and Coming Out

"As we heard from bisexual health expert Amy Andre, bisexual people have higher rates of suicidal ideation than gay or straight people. I have to think that the near constant onslaught of widely affirmed propaganda that we do not exist is a strong contributor to this."

Happy Celebrate Bisexuality Day! I hope it's an amazing day for you all!

Prop 8 Overturned!!

From the official legal document on the overturning of Prop 8:

"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional."

Good day for LGBT rights! If you have the opportunity, you should read the full (138) page document from the decision, because Judge Walker prepared an amazing dissection of the facts and lack of merit in arguments against same sex marriage. The pdf can be found here.