  Spiritual
This week: Winds of Change Edited by: Shannon  
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On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States of America, in a 5-4 vote, handed down a ruling that has since ignited a firestorm across the country. Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "The court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry."
There are few topics that polarize like same-sex marriage does, especially in the religious community. How can the Central Conference for American Rabbis (CCAR) be for same-sex marriage, while the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said it was "profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage"?
Everyone's talking about it, and people are downright adamant in their opinions. I listen to the debates, but rarely participate in them. Like the old saying goes, "Never talk about politics or religion," and the topic of same-sex marriage comprises both.
On a whim, I typed "marriage" into dictionary.com's search window, and this is the first definition that popped up:
noun
1. (broadly) any of the diverse forms of interpersonal union established in various parts of the world to form a familial bond that is recognized legally, religiously, or socially, granting the participating partners mutual conjugal rights and responsibilities and including, for example, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, plural marriage, and arranged marriage:
Anthropologists say that some type of marriage has been found in every known human society since ancient times.
Interesting, I thought. I wondered if the definition was recently changed subsequent to the Supreme Court's decision, or if that's always been dictionary.com's definition. I continued on to definitions 2-11:
2. a. Also called opposite-sex marriage. The form of this institution under which a man and a woman have established their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc. See also traditional marriage (def 2).
b. This institution expanded to include two partners of the same gender, as in same-sex marriage; gay marriage.
3. The state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock: They have a happy marriage.
Synonyms: matrimony.
Antonyms: single life, bachelorhood, spinsterhood, singleness.
4. The legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of two people to live as a married couple, including the accompanying social festivities: to officiate at a marriage.
Synonyms: nuptials, marriage ceremony, wedding.
Antonyms: divorce, annulment.
5. A relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction: trial marriage.
6. Any close or intimate association or union: The marriage of words and music in a hit song.
Synonyms: blend, merger, unity, oneness; alliance, confederation.
Antonyms: separation, division, disunion, schism.
7. A formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger.
8. A blending or matching of different elements or components: The new lipstick is a beautiful marriage of fragrance and texture.
9. Cards. A meld of the king and queen of a suit, as in pinochle.
Compare royal marriage.
10. A piece of antique furniture assembled from components of two or more authentic pieces.
11. Obsolete. the formal declaration or contract by which act a man and a woman join in wedlock.
OBSOLETE. That word struck me like a lightning bolt. Obsolete. It hadn't occurred to me until that moment that our archaic definition of marriage is now extinct. Future generations will never know what it was like to grow up in a time where it was against the law for two men or two women to marry each other. They will look at us, incredulous, as we looked at our ancestors when they told us blacks weren't allowed to drink from the same water fountains.
Regardless of which side of the rainbow fence you're on, it's a monumental moment in our nation's history, and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.
What does your religion teach about marriage? What does your religion teach about same-sex marriage? Are you for it? Against it? Ambivalent? Are you someone who is now able to legally marry your same-sex partner, and how does the Supreme Court decision make you feel? How long have you waited for this day? Respond to this newsletter with your thoughts, feelings, and comments (please, keep your words respectful and G-rated), and I will include them in next month's newsletter.
Thank you for reading.
Source: "marriage." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 05 Jul. 2015.
<Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/marriage>.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. Please do the authors the courtesy of reviewing the ones you read. Thank you, and have a great week!
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The following is in response to "Scenes from a Restaurant" :
paeggan writes, "I once paid for the breakfast of a woman in front of me at a hospital cafeteria because she found herself without a check in her checkbook. I knew she was probably in a dire situation, perhaps with a relative dying in a hospital room. It didn't cost much to make a significant difference in the life of someone who was obviously going through a lot in life. I've also let people with just a couple groceries go before me in the grocery line - it didn't cost a thing to make a difference for them." Yay! That's what I'm talking about! 
Quick-Quill  writes, "I love your story. I have been in the drive up getting coffee only to find the person in front of me, now gone, had paid my coffee. I was so surprised and pleased I have begun to do this. McD's has a cheap breakfast and I'll ask how much the person behind me has ordered. If it's within my budget I pay. Sometimes it's a beater car with some kids, then the budget is out the window. I was just thinking, what if you paid it forward and unknowingly allowed that person to chose an action less thoughtful? There are a lot of 'what if's' in writing. This could be a great prompt." Ooh, I love this! And the writing prompt idea: fantastic! 
Elfin Dragon-finally published  writes, "Sometimes it's the little things which make people feel good. This past week my boss had trouble getting ready for her South Africa trip. So we set her a date she would leave and I told her I'd drive her to Phoenix. (I'm in Tucson, AZ; she still wasn't ready) So, I helped her finish packing, we got everything in my car and off we drove. And today a young lady working for Church's Chicken was smiling when I gave her my please and thank you's and told her I loved the biscuits. As I said, sometimes it's the little things people miss and like the most." Another great example of how our most wonderful WDC community makes the world a better place, one good deed at a time. I appreciate you! 
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Spiritual: July 08, 2015 Issue [#7083]
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