Unorthodox priest stays true to her calling
Activism tests Episcopal canons
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff  |  June 20, 2004

CAMBRIDGE -- The Rev. I. Carter Heyward is ending her career just as it began, with a loud burst of disobedience.

Thirty years ago, in 1974, Heyward was a member of the so-called Philadelphia Eleven -- 11 women who were ''irregularly" ordained as Episcopal priests even though the Episcopal Church at the time did not ordain women.

Now, as she prepares to retire, she is taking on her church again, this time by officiating at the marriage of a lesbian couple in violation of Bishop M. Thomas Shaw's ruling that the canons and constitution of the Episcopal Church preclude Episcopal priests from officiating at same-sex marriages.


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Not coming out
for Mike
Activist urges boycott of Gracie gay pride gala
By MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU


If gay activists have their way, Mayor Bloomberg will be all alone next week at a Gracie Mansion reception honoring gay pride.

Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay and lesbian civil rights and political advocacy group, sent out a letter last week urging people to boycott the reception, the Daily News has learned.

In his letter, Capelle cited Bloomberg's recent veto of a City Council bill that requires companies doing business with the city to extend benefits to employees' domestic partners. The Council, which passed the measure 43 to 5, plans to override Bloomberg's veto later this month.

"It sends a mixed message to the mayor if the leaders of the Empire State Pride Agenda, such as you, attend this event after his veto," Capelle wrote.


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'Expression of love' sparks gay commitment ceremony
By Theresa D. Mcclellan
The Grand Rapids Press


A line of a dozen couples stood before two ministers on downtown Grand Rapids' Calder Plaza, preparing to express their vows of love.

Women to women. Men to men. They pinned white ribbons on one another as a symbol of devotion not recognized in the state.

The public commitment ceremony for same-sex couples was a first during the annual West Michigan Pride Celebration.

Saturday's event, which had no legal standing, is similar to others conducted in Michigan and across the country as the issue of same-sex marriage has gained attention recently.


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Lesbian Community Assesses Health Issues
By DAVID CRARY

SAN FRANCISCO - Accustomed to neglect from much of the medical establishment, the lesbian community is assigning itself the task of assessing _ often bluntly _ its members' distinctive array of health problems.

Even without a specific crisis as grave as the AIDS epidemic, the diagnosis is sobering: Compared to heterosexual women, lesbians appear to have higher rates of smoking, obesity and alcohol use. Often lacking health insurance or wary of unsympathetic doctors, they also may be less likely to undergo routine medical exams that could identify cancer and other problems at early stages.

Complicating all these factors, researchers say, is a glaring shortage of comprehensive data, resulting from the fact that most health surveys _ as well as death certificates _ don't account for sexual orientation.

"We don't know the mortality rates, we don't know the suicide rates," said Dr. Patricia Robertson of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. "Lesbians are invisible."