Lesbians Can't Hold Hands or Sing in Church

Bad Religion is the name of a 1980s punk band. It's also a phrase that might deserve to be uttered today, since this has been a particularly brutal week when it comes to the subject of LGBT rights and religion.

First a Catholic school in Massachusetts banned an eight-year-old boy from enrolling, because he has two moms. According to the local parish priest, the moms aren't living in accordance with "God's laws," and thus, their child should find a different place to be educated.

Then the Pope made a special appearance in Portugal, a country on the precipice of enacting same-sex marriage. Despite the many plagues and problems facing our world, the Pope decided to spend a bit of time condemning gay marriage, calling it an "insidious and dangerous" problem that could tear down societies.

Oh, but an Anglican Church in England might have topped both of these. Why? St Nicholas Anglican Church in Corfe Mullen has told a lesbian couple, parishioners at their church, that they can no longer hold hands or stare at each other during worship services, because it might freak out the other churchgoers.

Sure, the person these folks worship used to give foot rubs to his same-sex followers, but whatever. That was only 2,000 years ago, and apparently same-sex touching has changed.

The couple, Kersten Pegden and Nina Lawrence, said the Vicar of St Nicholas got all hot and bothered by the fact that they held hands during the worship ceremony.

"She said members of the congregation said that during hymns we were dishonoring God because we were singing the hymns to each other, and that we were overtly sexual with each other," Pegden said. "I said all we do is hold hands. I pointed out there is an elderly couple who hold hands. It's no more sexual than if a straight couple did it."

So we've got a God this week who doesn't want to educate eight-year-olds, who thinks people who love each other are dangerous and insidious, and who thinks that two women holding hands in Church is an abomination. Sorry, but isn't there supposed to be some measure of love and compassion in religion?

Meanwhile, three cheers for this lesbian English couple. They had some choice words for the people who were bothered by their hand-holding.

"These people who are watching us (holding hands), instead of worshipping, are the ones dishonoring God," said Pegden.

Now that deserves a loud, thunderous Amen. I'm pretty sure Jesus would agree.

Michael A. Jones