This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Local Priest and Parishioners to Lobby for Marriage Equality

A group from St. George's Episcopal Church in Maplewood will be traveling to Trenton December 7 to support legislation legalizing marriage for same-sex couples.

Gay and straight parishioners from St. George's Episcopal Church are headed to Trenton tomorrow morning to support pending legislation that would provide equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in New Jersey.

The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector of St. George's on Ridgewood Road, said from the pulpit today, "We have many gay and lesbian couples in this parish for whom this is particularly important--and some of us who still have our hope chests packed."

Poppe, who will accompany the St. George's contingent tomorrow, noted that the Episcopal Church has been dealing with gay and lesbian rights on a national basis. Just this weekend, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles chose a woman in a long-term, same-sex relationship as the second gay person, and first lesbian, to be elected a bishop.

Find out what's happening in Maplewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Right Rev. Mark M. Beckwith, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, which includes St. George's, will be testifying in favor of marriage equality before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing tomorrow afternoon.

"The divisions in the church and state over this issue are as perplexing as they are heart-breaking," Poppe said in his sermon Sunday. "Equality is not a gift one group bestows upon another. It is a right that all share and should not be bartered, ignored or blocked."

Find out what's happening in Maplewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Petersen is a parishioner and vestry member at St. George's. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?