How Would Jesus Advertise?
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo notes that the United Church of Christ (UCC) is planning an advertising campaign this December to promote the church. (While I'm not much of a church-goer, the UCC plays a rather important part of my life. My wife is a member and current moderator of her UCC/Disciples of Christ church, where we were recently married.) Here's a description of the ad campaign from the UCC press release:

In stark contrast to prevailing rhetoric about moral values, the United Church of Christ's message offers an edgy allegory in a campaign targeted to Americans who feel alienated from church.

The debut 30-second commercial features two muscle-bound "bouncers" standing guard outside a fabled, picturesque church and selecting which persons are permitted to attend Sunday services. Written text interrupts the scene, announcing, "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." A narrator then proclaims the United Church of Christ's commitment to Jesus' extravagant welcome: "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."

You can see the ad here, and it is indeed pretty darn radical... if you're talking about the radical inclusiveness of the teaching of Jesus. Which is a little too radical for the fundamentalist, morality-soaked Evangelical Christians of today. Thus, the UCC is having trouble getting ad time from some of the major networks:

The CBS and NBC television networks are refusing to run a 30-second television ad from the United Church of Christ because its all-inclusive welcome has been deemed "too controversial."

According to a written explanation from CBS, the United Church of Christ is being denied network access because its ad implies acceptance of gay and lesbian couples -- among other minority constituencies -- and is, therefore, too "controversial."

"Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," reads an explanation from CBS, "and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks."

Similarly, a rejection by NBC declared the spot "too controversial."

"It's ironic that after a political season awash in commercials based on fear and deception by both parties seen on all the major networks, an ad with a message of welcome and inclusion would be deemed too controversial," says the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president. "What's going on here?"

Luckily, we seem to be cesored... whoops, I mean protected from this divisive radicalism by the liberal media... wait, I forgot, they're an enemy of the people. Oh, I'm so confused.

In other news regarding gender and religion, the United Methodist Church is, again, trying to defrock a gay minister who has come out and acknowledged a partner:

The latest clash in the struggle among mainline Protestant denominations over gay clergy hits a critical point today with the church trial of a United Methodist Church minister who declared in a sermon last year that she is a lesbian living with her partner.

The Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud of Philadelphia could be defrocked if she loses at the trial, which is expected to run two or three days.

It's the third test of the church's 1984 law barring "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from the ministry. The policy was reaffirmed by a 72 percent vote at the Methodists' General Conference in May.

Given that language, conviction might seem automatic. But last March, a church court acquitted the Rev. Karen Dammann, a pastor in Washington state who also lives openly with a same-sex partner, and the Methodists' national supreme court decided it had no power to review the verdict.

And this from the Washington Post:

The Rev. Fred Day, who has been Stroud's senior pastor since she entered the ministry five years ago, said that if she is removed, it will send "a message of discrimination, and one of real incongruity" with the United Methodist Church's logo: "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors."

And while we're on the subject of inclusiveness, David Neiwert has a great post about the change in the civil rights climate (i.e., it's getting chillier). Here's a bit from the linked LATimes article:

Federal enforcement of civil rights laws has dropped sharply since 1999 even though the level of complaints received by the Justice Department has remained relatively constant, according a study released Sunday.

Criminal charges alleging civil rights violations were brought last year against 84 defendants, down from 159 in 1999, according to Justice Department data analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, at Syracuse University.

And here's Neiwert's comment:

As the report's conclusion suggests, this trend represents the first real reversal of the government's commitment to defending the civil rights of the nation's minorities.

This not only sends a signal, it's fully consonant with the political and cultural climate the GOP is creating for the 21st century: intolerant, pinched, with an undercurrent of malice. As in the larger cultural war, the conservative approach to civil rights is to reverse the gains made forty years ago.

[...]

And as the lines begin to blur, and the intolerance and revisionism spreads, and we forget what the struggles of the 1950s and '60s were about, we move closer to the unspeakable itself.

If you've got some time on your hands, I highly recommend Mr. Neiwert's series on The Rise of Pseudo Fascism, the seven installments of which are collected at this link.