A Stitch in Haste

The United Church of Christ, mentioned previously in this post and this one, has "overwhelmingly" (their term, not mine) passed a resolution endorsing the concept of same-sex marriage:

The marriage equality resolution (1) affirms equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage; (2) affirms equal access to the basic rights, institutional protections and quality of life conferred by the recognition of marriage, (3) calls for an end to rhetoric that fuels hostility, misunderstanding, fear and hatred expressed toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, (4) asks officers of the church to communicate the resolution to local, state and national legislators, urging them to support equal marriage rights, (5) calls upon all settings of the church to engage in serious, respectful and prayerful discussion of the covenantal relationship of marriage and equal marriage rights, (6) calls upon congregations, after prayerful, biblical, theological, and historical study, to consider adopting Wedding Policies that do not discriminate against couples based on gender, and (7) urges congregations and individuals of the UCC to prayerfully consider and support local, state and national legislation to grant equal marriage rights to couples regardless of gender, and to work again legislation, including constitutional amendments, which denies rights to couples based on gender.

The first response of the Catholic Church and the evangelical Christian right will of course be to ignore, then downplay the resolution as the "attention-grabbing" ploy of a "fringe" denomination desperate for membership, or that the resolution is meaningless since it wasn't approved by individual churches.

There are approximately 1.3 million UCC laypersons. The UCC traces its history back to 1620, with the Plymouth Colony and the Massachusetts Puritans. One might say that the UCC came over on the Mayflower.

In a nation of well over 200 million "Christians," 1.3 million may not seem like a lot, but the UCC is certainly no "fringe" sect.

It's so refreshing to see Christians actually behaving like, um, Christians. To the UCC Synod and laity and all the other denominations, churches, clergy and laypersons who take their Christian principles more seriously than their politics, I say thank you.

Finally, a quick note to the "too much too soon" crowd who lament the recent anti-gay "backlash" (i.e., certain states going from not having gay marriage to, um, not having gay marriage): Would the UCC resolution have even been introduced, let alone "overwhelmingly" adopted, had it not been for Vermont and Massachusetts?

As I blogged previously:

Some argue that we have to win "hearts and minds" first. Well, you can't win hearts and minds arguing from a closet, or from a dinner table. You win them from news headlines and op-ed pages and Sunday talk shows (and now from blogs). Before there can be a debate, there has to be an issue that initiates the debate.

I think the debate just entered Round Two.

UPDATE: Add the Quakers to the list of Christians behaving Christly. I have a sudden craving for oatmeal cookies. (Hat tip to Ace Pryhill.)