Episcopalians set to be first big US church to bless gay marriage

INDIANAPOLIS -- The US Episcopal Church is poised to become the first major religious denomination in the United States to approve a rite for blessing gay marriages after its bishops overwhelmingly approved such a liturgy on Monday.

The proposed blessing was agreed by the church's Chamber of Bishops at a meeting in Indianapolis and is expected to receive final approval from its House of Deputies later this week, Ruth Meyers, a chair of the Episcopalians' Subcommittee on Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music, told Reuters.

The decision would go into effect in December and make the Episcopal Church, an independent US-based institution affiliated with global Anglicanism, the biggest US church to allow a liturgy for same-sex marriages.

The Episcopal Church is the 14th-largest denomination in the United States with nearly 2 million adherents, according to the National Council of Churches.

The United Church of Christ, a mainstream Protestant denomination with about a million members, has gone further so far than any other US church, voting in 2005 to support same sex marriage.

The new Episcopal same-sex liturgy, called "the Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant," would be a standard rite for same-sex marriage.

For the past three years, bishops have been able approve requests for the blessing of same-sex marriages and Jeffrey Lee, the Bishop of Chicago, said he had authorized such ceremonies using an earlier version of the liturgy.

Resistance to similar measures in the past has been strongest among bishops, but Monday's vote was 111 in favor to 41 opposed with three abstentions.

The convention also approved inclusion of transgender people among those who should not be discriminated against, either for ordination or as lay leaders.

"Today the Episcopal Church affirmed the human dignity of a deeply stigmatized population that is far too often victim to discrimination, bullying and abuse," the Reverend Lowell Grisham, a leader of the Chicago Consultation, a group that supports equality, said in a statement.

The Episcopal Church allowed gay priests 16 years ago and approved its first openly gay bishop nine years ago.

The decision by the bishops is the latest in a string of victories for gay-rights advocates in the United States. Gay marriage is legal in six states and the District of Columbia.

The legislatures of three states -- New Jersey, Maryland and Washington -- approved gay marriage this year, although New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed it. Governors in the other two states signed the legislation but there are efforts to block it by referendum.

President Barack Obama endorsed gay marriage in May.

On Friday, the Presbyterian Church, the 10th-ranked US denomination, narrowly rejected a proposal to redefine marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The global Anglican Communion groups independent national churches, which develop their own rules for ordination and other matters pertaining to membership and conduct.

source: interaksyon.com

Indy 500: Record Heat Tests Drivers, Challenges Fans

INDIANAPOLIS — How hot was it at Sunday's Indianapolis 500? Depends on whom you ask.

Track officials announced just before 2:30 p.m. that the temperature had hit 93 degrees, which would set a record as the hottest 500 in history. The previous record was 92 degrees in 1937.

But the National Weather Service in Indianapolis listed the official temperature at 90, and The Weather Channel had the mercury at a balmy 89 degrees.

Official highs and lows for Indianapolis are recorded at Indianapolis International Airport. Weather Service meteorologist Marc Dahmer (Day'-mer) says the temperature at the speedway likely was higher because of the amount of pavement, the heat generated by the cars and the number of people gathered in such a small area.

article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/27/indy-500-record-heat-test_n_1548866.html

Madonna dazzles with slick Super Bowl halftime show

Pop superstar Madonna dazzled football fans and more than 100 million television viewers on Sunday when she performed during a glittery, spectacular Super Bowl halftime show.



Madonna, the first female Super Bowl halftime headliner since the notorious Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" of 2004, was carried, Cleopatra-style, into Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium by a cadre of muscled gladiators.

Wearing Egyptian regalia, complete with headdress, and spiked black boots, the pop superstar launched into her seminal hit "Vogue," with lighting and other visual effects contributed by the Canadian performing troupe Cirque du Soleil.

Next came "Music," which included LMFAO, followed by a cheerleader-themed "Give Me All Your Luvin'," from Madonna's latest CD. Madonna was joined by Nicky Minaj and M.I.A., with the latter preferring a fleeting obscene one-fingered gesture on-camera.

In a nod to the sport whose fans she was entertaining, the Material Girl performed much of her act on, or in front of, bleachers, with high school marching bands and drumlines augmenting the show, which lasted about 10 minutes.

After a mini-medley of her hits "Open Your Heart" and "Express Yourself," Madonna closed her act decked out in a Gospel-goth black gown, performing "Like a Prayer" with Cee Lo Green before dropping out of sight in a puff of smoke.

Madonna was not the only pop superstar to grace the high-profile Super Bowl on Sunday, one of U.S. television's most-watched programs: Kelly Clarkson performed the national anthem.

Last year's Super Bowl attracted 111 million U.S. viewers, the largest for a single TV broadcast in the United States.

The halftime show has increasingly featured high-profile pop acts, a far cry from the first Super Bowl in 1967 when college marching bands entertained the crowd.

Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, U2, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, The Black Eyed Peas and Janet Jackson have been among recent performers.

Jackson's 2004 appearance made headlines worldwide with her infamous "wardrobe malfunction," during which fellow performer Justin Timberlake tugged at her costume, exposing her nipple to millions of TV viewers.

Madonna had promised that all efforts were being made to ensure her show would not be marked by a similar episode.

"Great attention to detail has been paid to my wardrobe. There will be no wardrobe malfunction - I promise," she said.

Madonna, who was born in Bay City, Michigan, told reporters last week her appearance was "a Midwesterner girl's dream, to be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show."

"In over 25 years of performing that I've done, I have never worked so hard or been so scrupulous or detail-oriented or freaked out as much as I have."

source: interaksyon.com