# Shriners are gay-friendly! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 5, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137 "2004-12-05T01:03:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/1 "2004-12-05T01:03:22Z")
I am a Shriner (a Freemason who belongs to an organization called the Shrine), and so I got an email from my Valley (local group), which said in part: “The Valley […] will hold its annual Holiday Party for Brethren and their Ladies or _Significant Others_…” (italics mine). The “Significant Others” part struck me. I had no idea Shriners could be so gay-friendly. (I can’t say “lesbian-friendly” because only Freemasons can become Shriners, and only men can become Freemasons.) Anyway, more totally useless and mindless information. WRS/Thû ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/2 "2004-12-05T01:17:12Z")
That’s cool. Hey, can I hijack this just for a second to thank you? My son had a spinal surgery this summer at Shriner’s Children’s Hospital here in Chicago. Our insurance considered his severe scoliosis a “pre-existing” condition so they wouldn’t pay and we certainly didn’t have the money to pay for it ourselves. As you probably know, the Shriner’s Hospitals provide care for free, using money from donations from Shriners and others. And they let me stay with him the whole time. I stayed in his room, but they even have free rooms for out-of-town parents. And free junk food we enjoyed gorging on the night before his surgery. And wonderful, wonderful staff. They literally saved his life and our pocketbook. So I must personally thank every Shriner I find. Well, that and I sent a whole box of videos and DVD’s to the hospital - they really needed some better choices! So thank you. And it is very cool that an old, distinguished and rather conservative organization is being nice and inclusive on their invites! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/3 "2004-12-05T01:18:18Z")
“She’s no lady, she’s my significant other.” I was playing music with my recorder consort at the Lutheran service of the church of one of the recorder players… boy, that’s complex. I play in a recorder group. One of our players is Lutheran. We played Sunday services one day. Much better. Anyway. This was on Gay Pride day or something like that. At the end of the service, an associate minister got up and made some announcements, one of which was, “For those of you not walking in the parade today, if you’re interested, speak with Sally about being at the information table at the festival starting at 1:00.” At which point the Catholic member of our consort turned to the Lutheran member and said, “The Lutheran church sure has changed…” ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/4 "2004-12-05T01:55:37Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Anyway. This was on Gay Pride day or something like that. At the end of the service, an associate minister got up and made some announcements, one of which was, “For those of you not walking in the parade today, if you’re interested, speak with Sally about being at the information table at the festival starting at 1:00.” ELCA, right? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/5 "2004-12-05T02:14:19Z")
I would guess so! 😃 I grew up Missouri-Synod, and women aren’t even officially voting members of their congregations. And as for the Wisconsin Synod, when I was still LC-MS there was a joke that the WS was for those displeased about how liberal the LC-MS was. I went from Missouri-Synod to ELCA(Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and gasp! I am now an Episcopalian. And you know how they are! Tee-hee. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/6 "2004-12-05T03:14:21Z")
I had to go look at their website to figure out what the heck you’re talking about, but yes, it’s an ELCA church. That’s good, right? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/7 "2004-12-05T03:46:35Z")
Yep. The ELCA regards women as (gasp!)equal in status to men in the church. They can vote on congregational matters, be ordained, hold church offices, and so on. On the other hand you have the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which I was raised in but left. My mother, who is 72, has never been to a Voter’s Meeting at church, because that’s a male perogative. Women can’t be ordained or hold church office, or even, in the really conservative congregations(like where I was raised) read Scripture in church. I can’t take Communion there any more, even though I was baptized and confirmed there, because I’m not LCMS. BAck when I was getting married my father in law to be(a Presbyterian minister) wouldn’t have been allowed to participate in the wedding ceremony, because he wasn’t LCMS. (Some more laid back LCMS churches will bend that rule though) Pant, pant. Sorry for the hijack ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/8 "2004-12-05T03:56:13Z")
There was an ecumenical prayer services shortly after 9/11. The Lutheran pastor was Missouri Synod and [suspended](http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/129/31.0.html) for praying with those of other faiths. They’re a little out there. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/9 "2004-12-05T04:18:58Z")
There’s a Missouri-Synod church near me-they’re one of those ones with the super cheesy billboard sayings. Is that typical of LCMS? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/10 "2004-12-05T04:31:49Z")
I don’t think any of the LCMS congregations in this town(there are six of them)! go in for those “cheesy” sayings. All I’ve ever seen in front of them are 1)Name of Church 2)times of services, 3)name of pastor, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shriners-are-gay-friendly/278137/11 "2004-12-05T10:17:13Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > BAck when I was getting married my father in law to be(a Presbyterian minister) wouldn’t have been allowed to participate in the wedding ceremony, because he wasn’t LCMS. (Some more laid back LCMS churches will bend that rule though) In contrast to the ELCA, where any Christian is allowed to take communion, and, in my experience, be a godparent (I say “in my experience” because when I was baptized in an ELCA church, my godparents were Catholics). And heck, I think they’ll let pretty much anybody participate in a wedding ceremony.