First Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop Gives Invocation at Kickoff Event for Inauguration

It was considered a peace offering to the gays to have Bishop Gene Robinson to give the Invocation at a concert yesterday. After inviting Rick Warren to speak at the innauguration the LGBT community was outraged. This then seemed like a step towards balancing things out.

But then on the televised even Bishop Robinson was nowhere to be seen. The immediate reaction was to say that HBO put Robinson in the closet. However AfterElton.com is reporting that HBO is blaming the inaugural team.

Contacted Sunday night by AfterElton.com concerning the exclusion of Robinson's prayer, HBO said via email, "The Producer of the concert has said that the Presidential Inaugural Committee made the decision to keep the invocation as part of the pre-show." Uncertain as to whether or not that meant that HBO was contractually prevented from airing the pre-show, we followed up, but none of the spokespeople available Sunday night could answer that question with absolute certainly. However, it does seem that the network's postition is that they had nothing to do with the decision.

Well I gotta say as prayers go I thought Bishop Robinson's was right up there with the best. I think it deserves to be seen. We all know Obama needs all the prayers he can get to clean up the mess he has been given.

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

Updated
Statement  from the Presidential Inauguration Committee

We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson's invocation to be included in the televised portion of yesterday's program. We regret the error in executing this plan - but are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event.

Video of the Invocation

Introducing the New Lezzymom Podcast

I am very proud to announce the first podcast episode of "Thoughts From A Lezzymom" is now available on iTunes. You can subscribe and listen to it here. Please use the tell your friends link in iTunes and spread the word about the show.

In the premier podcast, I cover recent developments in California’s Prop 8.  We interviewed a special guest Annie Loyd from the Fusion Foundation, fusionfoundation.org. Annie discusses how to get involved and her story about being a community organizer. We wrapped things up with a final thought about Pepsi and their donations to LGBT causes.

The show will always feature a song from an unknown artist This episode the song comes from the Pod Safe Music Network and is by artist Carly Patterson called Temporary Life - Ordinary Girl.
More info about the show found on lezzymom.blogspot.com. Email your comments and show ideas to lezzymom@gmail.com .

Here is a little inforamation on our guest Annie Loyd.

Annie Loyd, she is simply, a "social architect." One that sees things that aren't quite right and tries to find solutions. She works to bring people together and empower them.

This year Annie has run for the U.S. Congress, started Get Out The Vote here in Arizona for the LGBT community, and was one of the founding members of the group H.E.R.O. (Human Equal Rights Organizers). By doing all of this Annie was given the title Woman of the Year by Echo Magazine, Arizona's largest LGBT publication.

Anni runs The Fusion Foundation and One Planet magazine. The Fusion offers a venue for people to unite for a common cause. One Planet magazine was created to offer solutions within the 12 segments of society without casting blame or criticizing others. It is an inclusive media product empowering all to be leaders.

Assuming leadership, on a grass roots basis, is what has defined Annie for 25 years. She has taken the lead in multiple organizations with diverse interests; she has lectured on leadership for years. As a social architect, Annie has been a tireless leader. Born in South Dakota, Annie witnessed a host of challenges regarding the Native American and mental health communities, business owners, farmers and ranchers. She was educated at St. Martins Academy and through her parents, learned about the importance of leadership and giving back to her community. She moved to LA in her 20s, where she managed an 82-bed residential youth facility. Following the Rodney King incident, she organized and led the facility to a peaceful resolution during ensuing riots. With family roots dating back 50 years in the Valley, Annie settled in Phoenix in her late 20s and began playing a support role to many politicians, community organizations and business owners-- while she owned and managed a construction business.

Poll Results