Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light

[nenya_kanadka]

I am reliably informed that three things make a post.

1) This month, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the USA released a first draft of an official liturgy for the blessing of a same-sex marriage. The section in the report is called "I Will Bless You, and You Will Be A Blessing"; the entire Report can be found here in PDF format (discussion on the same-sex liturgy starts on p. 184, actual proposed service p. 241).

Some excerpts from The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant:

opening comments:

Dear friends in Christ, we have gathered together today to witness N. N. and N. N. publically committing themselves to one another and, in the name of the Church, to bless their union: a relationship of mutual fidelity and steadfast love, forsaking all others, holding one another in tenderness and respect, in strength and bravery, come what may, as long as they live.

Ahead of them is a life of joy and sorrow, of blessing and struggle, of gain and loss, demanding of them the kind of self-giving love made manifest to us in the life of Jesus. Christ stands among us today, calling these two people always to witness in their life together to the generosity of his life for the sake of the world, a life in which Christ calls us all to share.

Let us pray, then, that they may be strengthened for the promises they make this day, and that we will have the generosity to support them in what they undertake and the wisdom to see God at work in their life together.

some of the collects:

Almighty and everliving God: look tenderly upon N. and N., who stand before you in the company of your Church. Lift them up in joy in their life together. Grant them so to love selflessly and live humbly, that they may be to one another and to the world a witness and a sign of your never-failing care; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, to the ages of ages. Amen.

or this

O God, faithful and true, whose steadfast love endures for ever: we give you thanks for sustaining N. and N. in the life they share and for bringing them to this day. Nurture them and fill them with joy in their life together, continuing the good work you have begun in them; and grant us, with them, a dwelling place eternal in the heavens where all your people will share the joy of perfect love, and where you, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

There is also an option specifically for families with children.

vows:

In the name of God, I, N., give myself to you, N. I will support and care for you [by the grace of God]: enduring all things, bearing all things. I will hold and cherish you [in the love of Christ]: in times of plenty, in times of want. I will honor and keep you [with the Spirit’s help]: forsaking all others, as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow.

[bracketed sections are optional, which I feel shows sensitivity to couples who may want a church wedding without having God in every sentence; this seems especially important to be aware of for LGBT people who may have bad history with the church]

Blessing of the rings has an option for:

If the two have previously given and worn rings as a symbol of their commitment, the rings may be blessed on the hands of the couple.

which I like because it acknowledges the complex social and legal status of a lot of gay couples.

blessings:

Most gracious God, we praise you for the tender mercy and unfailing care revealed to us in Jesus the Christ and for the great joy and comfort bestowed upon us in the gift of human love. We give you thanks for N. and N., and the covenant of faithfulness they have made. Pour out the abundance of your Holy Spirit upon them. Keep them in your steadfast love; protect them from all danger; fill them with your wisdom and peace; lead them in holy service to each other and the world.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve, and keep you, and mercifully grant you rich and boundless grace, that you may please God in body and soul. God make you a sign of the loving-kindness and steadfast fidelity manifest in the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, and bring you at last to the delight of the heavenly banquet, where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

The whole thing is pretty damn explicitly Christian (what does one expect, it's the Episcopal Church!) which makes my agnostic-in-self-defense side twitch a bit after a while. But at the same time, it is an explicitly Christian blessing of queer relationships. It kind of blows my mind in that respect. To hear all these blessings, to hear same-sex love equated with the love of Christ for the church, to be held up as an example of faithfulness and good true things...that just curls up around my heart and makes me go "Ohhh," with happiness.

There's also the fact that the several years I spent in the Episcopal church were the happiest I've ever been in a church, and just the rhythm of the liturgy takes me back to that time and reminds me of the wonderful people I met there and the sense of love that our tiny church exuded from the walls. Also, the liturgy is really pretty. :D

I also wouldn't be surprised if a lot of different-sex couples use these rites at some point.

Other things:

2) Ode To Joy flashmob: fifty-something musicians (bass, cello, violin, horns, and at the end vocals) perform gloriously in a public square. The best part of this is the people in the audience: all the reactions, all the happiness, all the little kids playing conductor. I'm not ashamed to say I sniffled as the crescendo rose towards the end. It's apparently also in support of some bank or other, but I really don't care. It's gorgeous.

3) Just Another Princess Movie: a review of Brave, about the surprising ways in which it isn't Just Another One. I love her point about how she as a female viewer sees things in it that her male friends didn't, because she's hyper-aware of the tropes for female characters. This review syncs pretty well with my response to the movie and why I walked out of the theatre glowing gently on the inside. Fair warning: spoileriffic review.

Bonus things (a trilogy in five parts):

4) Sally Ride was gay. Holy crap. :D :D :D Sally Fucking Ride.

5) This picture of kd lang from the cover of "Drag." You guys, I am so sad I lived under a rock in my teen years. (I got to see her live at a music fest a couple of weeks ago. OMG, such stage presence, so much charm. *flailyhands*)

Comments

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I loved, loved, loved that flashmob video. That song is only better when squeaked out on a rented violin by my nine-year old. :)

The Brave review was interesting (no, I haven't seen the movie but then I often read reviews before/without seeing the film). Again with different eyes and differing interpretations.

Have you seen the trailer for Cloud Atlas?

And go, go Sally Ride. I loved the understated declaration; no muss, no fuss, just grief and acceptance and family.

[nenya_kanadka]

Hee! Congrats on your kid for being a wee violinist! ♥

I admit I saw Brave in the theatre, which means I didn't catch most of the dialogue (I'll need to wait for a subtitled DVD for that), so I enjoyed the moderate spoilers in the review as they helped me fill in a few of the blanks.

I have not seen the trailer for Cloud Atlas. What is that about?

I wanted to be an astronaut, when I was wee...

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

#2 has laid off practicing for the summer but hopefully he'll fall back into it.

R and #2 went to see Brave--I'll catch it on Netflix eventually. #2 was most impressed with the mooning scene. *rolls eyes*

Cloud Atlas is apparently an award-winning novel that I'd never heard of but ufgator1977 posted a link to the trailer (google it; worth the effort) and it looks awesome. I will have to forego my irrational dislike of Tom Hanks to see it.

I wanted to be an astronaut but my eyes were too bad for the Air Force (my planned point of entry.) Now it's too late for NASA and too poor for SpaceX.

Are you posting anything for babylon5_love? They're trolling for new talent--posting starts August 1st but plenty of days left. And Sept. 1-2 are free-for-all. I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel to get a few things together. But I would hate to miss it.

[nenya_kanadka]

I wanted to be a genius mathematician and get in that way (I have no idea if that would have been a viable plan) but I was pretty damn nearsighted and deaf both. Also Canadian--and I mean, we've got a space agency, but it's not nearly as big. So vicarious space travel it is.

Oh! babylon5_love! I did mean to check them out the next time they ran something. Thank you for reminding me. I'll have to think of something (no idea if any of my current projects would qualify, or not. Best go check out the comm, I suppose.)

[chomiji]

Re: Sally Ride. Yeah, there was an article about how her partner of 17 years wasn't getting any of her death benefits from her earlier federal employment. And I am so not shocked that she was gay.

Lucky you, seeing k.d. live! I thought it was awesome when she sang at the Olympics, and Canada was just so matter-of-fact about having her do so. Why do all those rightwingers never remember that our neighbors and allies to the north have had gay marriage and universal health coverage for ages?

Thanks for the marriage ceremony info. The late (gay) rabbi and singer/songwriter Debbie Friedman had a lovely setting for the passage that includes "I Will Bless You, and You Will Be A Blessing": Lech lecha (mp3 link at the bottom of the page).

[nenya_kanadka]

kd lang is Canadian and famous, of course she'll be invited to sing at things! :P It's the Canadian way. They'd have to be pretty homophobic for that to override the instinct to lay claim to One Of Our Canucks Who Done Good.

Why do all those rightwingers never remember that our neighbors and allies to the north have had gay marriage and universal health coverage for ages?

Exactly. Though some of them think we're hopelessly corrupted by socialism or something. I don't get it. Same standards of living up here--slightly better, in fact--and practically the same culture. And yet.

Thanks for the link!

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

thank you so much for linking to that Brave review. *loves loves loves*

[nenya_kanadka]

You're welcome! <3 <3 <3

(Sorry for not answering these right away--LJ alerts seem to be down.)

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

No worries. :)

[muccamukk]

I like that ceremony. It's about the right amount of church for me, though it would probably drive my family nuts.

Brave review slightly teal deer, but makes good points. However, I think she's making lemonade having been given lemons. I don't think that Pixar was as intentional about it as she things (as in they've admitted they made a princess movie because they couldn't think of anything else to do with a woman, and I rather think this is their first movie about a woman because they mostly thought about men).

I actually had not heard of Sally Ride before her death. I was always a lot more focused on Doctor Roberta Bondar. Nice to know she was one of the rainbow people, though it is a pity she wasn't out when she was alive. A lot of people in my circle have been saying she was their hero growing up, and how amazing would that have been?

Drag is a great album. You should listen to it.

[nenya_kanadka]

It makes me happy. I expect my dad would enjoy it, and Rosie, but not so sure if the rest of my family would get the nice parts of the Episcopalian-ness and not be lost in all the now-we-sit-now-we-stand parts. I expect it's modifyable.

Oh, I totally agree that Pixar took so long to make a movie starring a woman because they probably default to male. I think I'll need to see it with subs on before I have a totally solid idea of how much of the good stuff is actually in there vs how much is reading it into the movie, though. Until then I shall squee unironically, because redhead tomboy who isn't *just* a stereotype--hooray!

And I hadn't heard of Dr. Bondar! (I'm going to blame being raised by Americans.) She sounds really cool though. I did have an article about Julie Payette clipped out and put up on my wall in college, though.

I think it would have been awesome for Dr. Ride to have been out, though I can totally see why she didn't, as a woman already fighting through the shit that comes with being in such a male-dominated field. Sigh.

Still, lesbians in space! :D

I should. Do you have it? *eyes YouTube*

[nenya_kanadka]

I like this ongoing discussion of Brave over at Ana Mardoll's.

[valtyr]

That's a lovely service, but the solemnity was slightly undermined for me as I surf with the Ponify extension on.

Most gracious Celestia, we praise you for the tender mercy and unfailing care revealed to us in Jesus the Christ and for the great joy and comfort bestowed upon us in the gift of pony love.

[nenya_kanadka]

*snort* *giggle* I love that so much. :D

Somehow I feel that "Jesus the Christ" should be replaced as well, though. With what, though? Hmm.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you for linking to that flash mob. I love flash mobs. I watch the Sound of Music one all the time, when I need happiness.

And that brought it to my attention that I don't have a decent recording of Ode to Joy in my iTunes. Huh.

[nenya_kanadka]

There is a Sound of Music flash mob?

Ode to Joy is one of my favourite songs ever. I should get a copy of it for my files, as well.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Do Re Mi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k)

I'll pick up a copy of Beethoven's 9th at work tomorrow (and we better have it in our collection or I will go after the AV music orderer) and upload it. :D

[nenya_kanadka]

Omg AWWWW. *hand over heart* That's so cute! And all the dancing!!

[hapaxnym.livejournal.com]

Since I am dear friends with one of the priests who worked so hard for four years on that liturgy, I am so glad to hear that it has a possibility to resonate with those who have been hurt by the Church as well as with those of us who love it.

And that flashmob brought a burst of joy to a day that has badly needed it.

[nenya_kanadka]

Oh, I'm so glad. Drama elseweb has me thinking this week must be a tough one. So am glad the Ode was Joyful.

If you see your liturgy-composing friend, feel free to pass on my appreciation. I have the greatest of respect for liturgy writers...they have to compose things that mean something and are pretty and easy to follow along with, in a rhythmic sort of way. It must be somewhat nervewracking working on something you know will be used by so many people. Anyway--yes. Please thank them for me, should you think of it.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Good for the Episcopal Church, but mostly good for people who love each other.

[nenya_kanadka]

I'm just so delighted that there's another new way to share that love with the community. To me, that matters: it's not that your relationship isn't important if it isn't validated by your community, but being seen, recognized, known, included, all that good stuff, makes a big difference to me, I've found (whether I was dating a boy or a girl).

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Agreed. By the way, after all these years I still miss the short-lived TV series "The Book of Daniel", which was about an Episcopalian priest struggling to deal with those issues.