The Episcopal Church and social justice or why I believe Bishop Sisk is wrong when it comes to OWS and Trinity Church

I was saddened and frankly surprised to read Bishop Sisk's letter yesterday on Facebook. The letter disappeared and reappeared shortly thereafter, along with the accompanying comments. It would appear that Bishop Sisk is bowing to public opinion and caving in and is no longer allowing OWS supporters to utilize their facilities at Trinity Church for toileting, sleeping, hanging out, strategizing and other activities.

One of the reasons I left my former faith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is that I felt called and even compelled to do more work along the lines of social and economic justice such as I had done whilst engaged with MESJ or Mormons for Equality and Social Justice. I thought I had found that fit in the Episcopal Church of my birth. Now I am beginning to wonder.

Yes, this might be an isolated incident of one Bishop's lack of foresightedness, but it could also be a scary pattern of caving to the masses.

While Bishop Sisk is certainly a good and honorable man, the Episcopal Church has a calling from God to take particular care of the downtrodden and disenfranchised, in much the same way that the Savior did during his sojourn on the earth. When the moneychangers turned the Temple into a den of thieves and were doing business in the Savior's house, he used righteous indignation to overturn the tables with the merchandise and reprimanded the money changers for debasing his Father's house. We could all learn a valuable lesson from that exchange.

As a Church, I believe we have failed OWS protestors by cutting them off and not allowing them to have a place to crash as it were. They do not have money for expensive hotel rooms and some of the protestors come from as far away as Delaware, many of them are students and low-income workers. They need a soft place to land and continue this important work - while they may be the one percent, they have created a movement unlike any other we have seen in recent years.

Shame on the Episcopal Church of New York - Bishop Sisk, please revisit your decision.

Mormonism is NOT a cult!

It would appear that a man calling himself both a minister and supporter of Rick Perry has recently called upon fellow christians - read evangelists and ultra right wing conservative christians - to boycott Mitt Romney and elect one of their own, rather than someone who is Mormon and belongs to a cult.

Not so. For over 23 years, I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or Mormon Church. During that time I found members to be kind, loving, service minded both in and out of their church community and almost without exception......they devoted numerous hours of service to their faith and ultimately their religious beliefs.

We are living in the year 2011 and I am wondering whence this religious zeal cometh - certainly not from anything I have seen in all my years reading the bible. This election cycle has been hijacked by ultra right winged so-called Christian zealots. It is unfortunate, given that Jesus was one of the first progressives in the Bible.

Indeed, were he here on the earth today, I would venture to say that he would be preaching in much the same way he did while on his earlier mission - that is, spending time with the poor, meek and downtrodden - he certainly would not be spending time with zealots, hypocrites and the like (read zealots) and he would spread forth his compassion to encompass everyone, even publicans and gasp - prostitutes and adulterers.

My heart is heavy and quite saddened for the many LDS/Mormon faithful whom I have been privileged to encounter in these 2+ decades......is this not America - the greatest country in the world, founded on religious freedom? I guess not.

Flying the friendly skies

Yesterday, I flew from the White Plains New York Regional Airport to West Palm Beach, Florida. In typical fashion, I flew Jet Blue. Their fares are simply unbeatable - add to that a buddy pass now and again, and one has a winning combination.

I was at a social gathering recently and heard a pilot speak disparagingly of Jet Blue. His father was a union man and the fact that Jet Blue can offer such low fares really gripes him. I told him that given my present budget, while I would love to support an “American and union” company, with all the safety nets in place, but I have to fly with the airline that best suits my needs. Given the extra leg room (I have a disability and need the extra space), and my own personal flat screen TV (where I watched the US Open yesterday), I am not sure that even if I wanted to pay more money to fly with a “union” airline, I would. In other words, Jet Blue’s success does not hinge upon money alone.

Jet Blue has minimal overhead. Their call center is small. Their agents operate out of their homes in the great Salt Lake Valley of Utah. I know this because I was almost offered a job with them after leaving the Mayor’s office of Salt Lake City. The reason for applying for a job with an airline was quite simple: Miles, baby, buddy passes. I love to travel and don’t get to do so near as much as I would like to. Their staffers are mainly stay at home moms - by and large from the Utah Valley and needing a little extra income to augment their family’s monthly budget. Utah is the state in the nation with the largest number of personal bankruptcy filings. I know this because I lived there for over 7 years and the leaders of the predominant faith (LDS Church) took great pains to try to educate their members not to incur unnecessary debt. Small wonder that many mums with larger families, a la Utah Mormon style, are flocking to a company that allows them to fly to Disney land and NYC and Buffalo and the West Indies and Puerto Rico. If Jet Blue ever flies to Hawaii, I am sunk - I have a dear friend there who is expecting me next year - if I get a decent flight from Jet Blue, I will be likely to visit her annually. I am not sure if she is up for a visit from me every year - but I guess if I keep to the fish and company rule, I should be fine.

The founder of Jet Blue is LDS or Mormon and a shrewd businessman, hence the purchase of used planes, no large call center - though Utah is home to the likes of 1-800-CONTACTS. He is committed to paying average Utah wages and basing his operation in a right to work state. All these are keys to success. He is likely going to be the Donald Trump of the airline business if he keeps this up.

Today, I interviewed his spokesperson, Alison Croyle, and learned that he has since moved on. A new face is at the helm of this flagship of airlines: Dave Barger. Every month, Dave flies the friendly skies, working alongside crewmembers, taking out trash, recycling and bidding flyers adieu. He is a hands on kind of man - he wants to see the flying experience first hand and takes his job very seriously as he interacts with customers.

He lives the 5 "Jet Blue Commandments" shall we call them:
1. Safety
2. Caring
3. Integrity
4. Fun
5. Passion

On my flight yesterday, I noted the amazing difference between the Jet Blue crew members and those of say Northwest and Delta they are not angry because of union negotiations gone bad. They are happy to do their respective jobs - they seem to find pleasure in ensuring that the customer is number one and do not mutter under their breaths, even when I asked for an extra snack (I am borderline type II diabetic) of Animal Crackers, my flight attendant was most gracious and accommodating. Fortunately for me, I have maintained a negative type II status since having lost some 50 lbs and can now fit more comfortably in a plane seat. The crew is made up of mostly “family” members . This is no surprise, as it is a service-based industry and works very well with the personalities of “family” members. Indeed, my interaction with staffers indicated that the company was “extremely gay friendly.” I am going to see about having Jet Blue sponsor an event I am putting together at the Metropolitan Museum in the very near future.

I interacted with two business persons on the plane -a power couple - she an IBM staffer, he a consultant, doing the same as I - carving out a niche for himself after having been laid off. Natasha is a mother of two small children. We both bemoaned the fact that there is no place on a plane to take care of small children, be that nursing them, or getting them to calm down. I know how stressful flying can be - I have anxiety and am generally the last one on the plane and the last one off.

Now that my consulting business is taking off and my writing is becoming more popular, I might be able to choose another airline, but I think I will stick with Blue - Jet Blue that is.

Vermont lawmakers give ok to gay marriage

It is unprecedented - historic - a day for rejoicing and celebration for all GLBT, progressives and allies across the country.

As a writer, I try really hard to be objective, but this decision takes on personal significance for me. My regular readers and friends know that I was married for 15 years to a person who was gay - we remain close friends, but the bottom line is simple: Had gay marriage been an option, we likely would not have spent 15 years spinning our proverbial wheels, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole - no pun intended. I have so many friends and associates who are gay and have become an ally for GLBT causes.

I was recently encouraged to see Mayor Bloomberg endorse gay marriage again. I hope to attend a day of lobbying in Albany in April to address GLBT issues and the gay marriage issue as well.

Here is an excerpt of the article that rang true to me - it is why I ultimately, and with deep sadness, had to make the painful decision to leave my religion (The Mormon/LDS Church) of some 20 plus years: "Opponents of the measure spoke of their respect for its advocates. One, Rep. Albert "Sonny" Audette, expressed sadness at having concluded he was required by his church to vote no.

"I am a devout Catholic," Audette said. "My religion at this point would not want me to vote for this. I wish that I could and I hope for the best and I congratulate the people who are trying to get this through."

What would Jesus do in a case like this? What would he have done about slavery, or the Nazi occupation, or the Rwanda genocide or the massacre in Darfur?

This is a civil rights issue and again, equal means everyone - when one of us is marginalized, we are all lesser people.

Here is the link to the entire story as posted on USA Today: http://sprint.usatoday.mlogic3g.com/236583/news/

What are civil rights anyway?

There is a nasty rumor swirling around Proposition 8 in California. The reason it was successful was due in large part to African American so-called Christians. Another reason is the LDS Church and other conservative Christian factions.

As a a woman of colour who is formerly LDS, I find this report to be disturbing on so many levels. Blacks were subjugated to slavery and horrors of Jim Crow laws and mysegyny and Mormons were tarred, feathered, raped, murdered, chased from state to state and finally came to Utah after an extermination order was issued against the entire religion in the 1800's by Governor Boggs - the governor of Missouri. Can you imagine such a thing in our lifetime? What is even more amazing is that the LDS Church is visiting hate and oppression on another group - have they forgotten their history?

I spoke recently with someone who told me of a story that happened at one of California's well-known newspapers. It seems that an employee's picture was defaced when another employee wrote the word: "Lesbo" on her picture. This employee was shell-shocked - her usually upbeat and bubbly personality stunted by such a vicious act. My friend went to HR to report the incident and then went again to make out an official complaint.

I repeat my thought from earlier in the week - "when one person is marginalized, we are all marginalized"- there are not enough gays in the country to "threaten" traditional marriage - and on another note - if traditional marriage is so good, why is the divorce rate so high?

41 years ago, my previous marriage to my Caucasian husband would have been illegal - thanks to Loving vs. Virginia, the supreme court decision that outlawed such nonsense, we were able to marry, have 4 amazing children and enjoy a good life for 15 years. Allowing gays to marry would not make my marriage any less valid as a result.

I wish that people would stay out of the private affairs of others - if we all minded our business like watches, like my mum says - life would be much easier.