Dear Cr-Abby from Rev. M.N.R. in New York

DEAR CR-ABBY:

In this day and age, especially with jobs so scarce, a lot of young couples are finding that by becoming legally married they disqualify themselves from things like prenatal care, health care for their children and government assistance programs. In order to survive, many couples now opt to have the ceremony without the paperwork.
Another idea gaining in popularity is that unless everyone in this country has equal rights for marriage, no one should be getting married. Several couples I know have married without the paperwork because they regard the alternative the same as sitting at a segregated lunch counter, and they are unwilling to support segregation.
Many people feel there is a blatant disregard for separation of church and state and that "legal" marriages are not at all legal, but an example of government recognizing those with faith while disregarding those who have a different point of view on what family is.
-- REV. M.N.R. IN NEW YORK

Dear Right Reverend Wishy Washy,

You sir or maam as the case maybe are a leader of your church. While people can and will argue about right and wrong, you are the person to assert the view of the church (or the church's view of God's intent). Playing the crowd as the chief fence sitter may help you minimize attrition of the flock which is a financial goal, it does nothing to help those lost and confuse as it relates to a moral compass.
Unless of course you wish to open a new church, "The Divine Center of the I'm Okay, You're Okay and it's All Good".

I do strongly agree that the state should legally recognize unions (all unions) and insure equal rights accorded all citizens. That doesn't mean the church follows suit.

Church's can search their own tenets and establish ceremony's based on those tenets. There will be sufficient church differences to accomodate anyone in need of a certain "RITE".



Let the State handle the RIGHTS and the Church handle the RITES, but don't surrender a moral position simply based on popular marketability.
Grow some balls, even if you are a chick preacher!



Cr-Abby