SAGINAW, MI — As a federal judge weighs Michigan's gay marriage ban, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan issued a statement supporting the overturn of the ban.

Bishop Todd Ousley on Thursday, March 13, stated that ending the ban, which U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman may do after hearing eight days of testimony during a trial for a Hazel Park couple's case against the state, would extend "justice and equality to all of God's children."

“My own experiences with same-sex couples and the experiences in communities and congregations across our diocese have show that there is holy goodness in the lives and love of gay and lesbian couples and their families,” Ousley stated. “Surely, extending justice and equality to all of God's children will not only serve the common good but also further the advance of God's reign marked by respect for the justice and dignity for every person.”

Ousley in 2007 became the second bishop of the diocese, which has its headquarters on North Niagara in Saginaw and has 47 churches in the diocese. He stated that marriage is a “sacred vocation” that should not be “limited to persons of opposite sex” and “encompasses all of God's creation.”

Bishop Todd Ousley

“Therefore, I believe that the faithful, loving, and lifelong union of two persons — regardless of gender identity — is capable of signifying the never failing and gracious love of God in Christ for the church and the world,” he stated. “In a diocese marked by economic despair and continuing cycles of violence, marks of love and grace are needed in abundance and without qualification and restriction.”

Ousley stated he anticipates Friedman will overturn the ban and that clergy members will be able to witness same-sex marriages.

“In the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, priests and congregations are currently authorized and encouraged to exercise their own sense of Christian vocation and to utilize the Church's published resources to offer a generous pastoral response to those persons of the same sex who desire the Church's blessing of their covenanted and faithful lives,” Ousley stated. “With the anticipated overturn of Michigan's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, clergy will continue to be permitted, but not required, to witness same-sex marriages in the State of Michigan and to officiate at the blessing of these holy unions using "I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing," the liturgical rite approved by General Convention in 2012.”

Ousley concluded the statement by stating he thanks God “for the privilege of being a bishop in a church that unapologetically provides all couples with a community of faith, love, support, and accountability.”

“I look forward with hopeful anticipation to the day when the great state of Michigan offers all couples equality,” he said. “May justice prevail.”

— Andy Hoag covers courts for MLive/The Saginaw News. Email him at ahoag@mlive.com or f

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