With the removal of sexual orientation as a bar to ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), pending approval of a majority of presbyteries, and the Episcopal Church’s 2009 General Convention calling for the development of theological and liturgical resources for same-sex blessings, sexual orientation—especially with regard to marriage—is a central issue. Secularly, too, the topic is front-page news with the recent California same-gender marriage ruling and subsequent Proposition 8 vote and the update of the Massachusetts same-gender marriage law.

This book sets forth the case for religious institutions’ blessing of same-gender marriage, positing that same-gender marriage does not detract from the sacredness of heterosexual marriage, but rather enhances and nourishes the institution.

Chapters include: 

• "Claiming the Blessing"
• "Deeper Than Scripture"
• "Traditional Family Values"
• "The Sacred Source of Marriage"
• "Sex and the body of Christ"
• "Marriage As a Spiritual Discipline"