Same-sex couple sent as missionaries

A same-sex couple in a registered partnership will be sent as missionaries to Cambodia by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM), Kotimaa reports 29.5.13. They will be blessed for their task in June, and one of them will also be ordained.
According to the article, this is probably the first time in history that a same-sex couple is sent as missionaries anywhere.
Very few details are available about the presumptive missionaries, not even their gender, but I suppose more will be forthcoming.

There is some controversy about the appropriateness of publishing news of this kind, i.e. stressing someone's ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or the like. From the point of view of journalistic ethics, there might be a problem, but it's an interesting item, all the same.

Gay marriage law celebrated with rainbow coloured communion bread

Minnesota's legalization of gay marriage has one church feeling pretty happy, the New York Daily News reports.
Revolution Church in Minneapolis served congregants rainbow-colored communion bread during its inaugural service last Sunday. Head pastor Rev. Jay Bakker thought the bread - and the state's embrace of gay rights - tasted "kind of sweet."
"So many people have been hurt by the church and by Christianity," Bakker told the News. "But this was a beautiful moment."
The colorful nod to gay rights was baked up early Sunday morning by photojournalist Courtney Perry. She thought of the idea after Minnesota's House approved a same-sex marriage bill on May 9. State leaders expected the bill to pass the Senate as well and Perry was ecstatic.

Bakker said he's received plenty of backlash from conservative social media users after news about his rainbow communion bread spread online.
"They've missed out on the higher message of the Bible and who Jesus is and what he did," Bakker said in response to those negative comments. "They've become victims of tradition."
Bakker admits that his church is "pretty liberal" when it comes to social issues. The New York branch of his Revolution Church meets at Pete's Candy Store, a bar in Brooklyn. In Minneapolis, his church launched its meetings at Bryant Lake Bowl, a theater space with a bowling alley and a restaurant.
"A bar is neutral ground," Bakker said.
He wasn't expecting the colorful communion bread to strike a chord with so many people. Bakker guesses that the bread will likely be a regular guest at his church.
"I think Christ's table is very inclusive," Bakker said.

Hmm. While I'm happy that the state of Minnesota has approved gay marriage, I'm not sure about this way to celebrate it... Seems a bit over the top...

Prisbelönt gradu om kyrkors inställning till homosexualitet

Nina Järviös pro gradu -avhandling i ämnet religionsvetenskap ”Pervo kirkko? Queer-teologia Suomen ja Ruotsin evankelis-luterilaisten kirkkojen homoseksuaalisuutta käsittelevissä lausunnoissa vuosina 1951–2010” (ungefär "En pervers kyrka? Queer-teologin i Finlands och Sveriges evangelisk-lutherska kyrkors utlåtanden om homosexualitet åren 1951-2010") har fått gradupriset för könsforskning 2013, berättar Helsingfors universitets hemsida.
Studien visar att utvecklingen inom Svenska kyrkan och Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland har löpt parallellt. I de nyaste publikationerna som kyrkorna har gett ut hittar man queer-teologiska funderingar.

Priset delades nu ut för nionde gången.


Veckans anekdot: Dassu my!

Vi har myrinvasion hemma.
Vilket påminner om samma sak för nio år sedan, när J var två. Myrornas huvudstråk gick i hans rum, och när han märkte en migration, ropade han "Dassu my!" och vi kom och dammsög myror.
Vi slutade med det när han ropade "Dassu my!" bara för att det var så roligt att se mamma och pappa springa med dammsugaren i högsta hugg, den älskade lilla busen! ♥