One Son's Choice: Love or Country?

Over at Newsweek, they have a great column called "My Turn," where readers can send in their own stories and maybe get them published. The 5 Feb 07 issue has a great one from a mom who has lost her son to Canada because he can marry the love of his life and live with all the rights and privileges that heterosexual marriage provides. Just can't do it in this country. As one Toronto immigration lawyer says, "Your loss, our gain." Here's a teaser...

My son Cameron is a model American citizen. He is a hardworking, tax-paying, law-abiding young man. An honor student, a National Merit Scholar, a dean's list mainstay. He is liked by his teachers, co-workers and bosses; he's kind to cats, dogs and little old ladies. He is an environmental engineer because he believes we need to save our planet. He is wildly in love with the first and only person he ever dated and their monogamous relationship is an example of what it means to be soulmates. Except for a brief interlude with hideous pink hair, he has led an exemplary life. My son will be an asset to his employer, his community and his country, but unfortunately for us, his country will not be the United States.

Cameron is moving to Canada. As soon as he graduates from school, he says, he is packing his bags and leaving.

Why is my son compelled to leave the only country he has ever known? Cameron is leaving because he is gay and because he wants what heterosexual American citizens take for granted. He wants to marry the one person in the world who makes him happier than anyone else. He wants to be able to go to the hospital when his partner, Aaron, is sick and have the same decision-making rights that heterosexual couples have as soon as they say "I do." He wants to be able to take advantage of family health-insurance rates that Aaron's company offers to all its heterosexual married couples but not to domestic partnership couples. He wants the tax breaks that heterosexual married couples get and the ability to inherit shared assets without paying taxes. He simply wants what he cannot have in this country.

Read the whole thing here.

Lord's Supper Party Premieres New Space for Holy Spirit

Here we are at the Lord's Supper Party celebrating in the Holy Spirit way the first time at the Comfort Cafe on Hyperion. We had almost 30 people there and everything about the evening went well. It appears now, after getting some very generous pledges from some of our regulars as well as some of the first-timers, that we're going to be able to afford to move our regular worship there! It was fun to be in the space and see people walking by on the sidewalk, seeing the "Holy Spirit" sign on the window and look in, wondering who were were and what we were doing. We'll see how that goes, but for now it seems like exactly what we've been looking for.