From the Post-Gazette:

The First Presbyterian Church of Beaver has been allowed to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) and take its property into the more theologically conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

An agreement between the 700-member church and Beaver-Butler Presbytery was reached Tuesday. The congregation made a parting gift to the presbytery of $133,700 from its reserve funds, and the presbytery signed over the deed to the property. The settlement was reached through a process that the presbytery approved in 2009, when it became apparent that several congregations wanted to leave over issues including gay ordination and biblical authority.

At least this was resolved amicably, but how very sad that entire congregations are so rooted in bigotry against the LGBTQ community that the church must change hands. Even more sad that the "theologically conservative" denominations are preying on these same fears to swell their ranks. 

This brought to mind the Washington Post blog of Reverend Janet Edwards, a Pittsburgh based minister in the Presbyterian Church. She writes that the call of pastoral ministry is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

But if a pastor is struggling with a conflict between his or her faithful knowledge of Scripture and the traditional assumptions of the congregation -- even when congregants hold to them tightly as defining beliefs -- then welcome to ministry. There is no getting around the fact that afflicting the comfortable is an aspect of our calling.

While it is comfortable to see the lack of acrimony among the church and the presbytery play out across the front pages, I can't help but wonder if genteel agreements about the distribution of property are the way to go.  Is the further entrenchment of the gay-friendly and the gay-phobic faith community consistent with the obligations of the pastors, the bishops -- the calling? 

Pittsburgh's own Reverend Janet Edwards examines the decision of former Pittsburgher, now D.C.'s Archbishop Donad Wuerl to eliminate family benefits (including health care) for Catholic Charities.  This came in response to the legalization of marriage equality in D.C.  As we wrote last month, Reverend Edwards is now a regular contributor to the Washington Post blog, on Faith.

Jesus' example has inspired Christians through the ages to reach out to the hungry and needy, the orphan and the widow, including the long mission of Catholic Charities in the Washington Archdiocese. This service has been life-giving and a witness to the love of Christ for all.

And so it grieves me to see Archbishop Wuerl and the Catholic Charities choose to deny help to those in need because they have judged certain parents unworthy of adoption, and certain employees' spouses unworthy of health care and other benefits.

As Christians who strive to follow Jesus' example, we are called to minister to the weak and to rejoice when the longsuffering find relief -- including the stalwart LGBT couples who have waited so long to get married. We all know Jesus loved a good wedding feast.

I hadn't really thought about the Catholic Church being called to minister to LGBTQ families and individuals as part of their long history of social service outreach.  Typically, when one thinks of ministering to the LGBTQ community, one thinks of "pray away the gay" or the very dedicated LGBTQ community of faith.  I have struggled to understand why otherwise sane gay people remain wedded to their Catholic culture.  Perhaps Janet is right and the ministers on the front lines grasp this in a way that Archbishop Wuerl has chosen to reject?

I suggest you keep up with Reverend Edwards' column as she continues to frame LGBTQ issues within the American cultures of faith.