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Kalamazoo Churches Pull Out Of Charity Over One Church’s Support For LGBT Rights
12/18/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.”- St. Francis of Assissi.
Three churches in Kalamazoo, MI have chosen to leave Martha’s Table, a charity which provides services and meals for those in need. The reason why they are leaving is simple- the church, First Congregational, that houses the charity is inclusive of the LGBT Community, and the three churches who either have or will quit are unwilling to associate with First Congregational over that issue. They talk about “guilt by association. “The founding principle of Martha’s Table was that churches would come together and put aside their differences in light of what unites us, which is our common commitment to serve Christ and others. But now this difference has risen above our common commitment to serving Christ,” Pastor Matt Laney has said. Representatives from Agape Christian Church and Word for Life Church of God will withdraw from the charity at the end of the year, and Centerpoint Church already has.
The Congregational Church, as a whole, has been fairly supportive of LGBT rights, and First Congregational is no exception. First Congregational supported a recent anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the city in a referendum. While these three churches have chosen to leave this charity, several others who take a conservative view on homosexuality are not. Ken Baker of Third Christian Reform stated “I feel very sad about the decision of three partner churches to pull out,” Baker said. “Everything about the ministry of Martha’s Table reflects the heart of Jesus, who came to preach good news to the poor. Surely, all our churches would agree that mercy and compassion were at the heart of the ministry of Jesus… But I fail to see how our integrity is violated by participating in Martha’s Table.”
The man who helped found and provided the bulk of the meals for Martha’s Table, Pastor Jeff McNalley, did not want to explain why he was pulling out. He own the McNalley Restaurant. However, Pastor Ron Vestrand of Agape Christian Church had this to say “As time went on, Pastor McNally was becoming concerned with Pastor Matt Laney’s stand on homosexuality. I believe it was causing some disunity. … I think the primary issue was that we felt that Matt’s stance on homosexuality as a valid Christian lifestyle violated our biblical worldview…ecumenical ministries are a great challenge because sometimes there can be issues that can rise up. We probably were a bit remiss in not talking more extensively about some of the possibilities.”
The Catholic Church in Washington, DC threatened to do something similar should marriage equality go through in the city; however, they ultimately blinked. The remaining churches within the charity, St. Luke’s Episcopal, First Presbyterian and First Methodist in addition to Third Christian Reform and First Congregational, will continue their charitable work and the church which is giving the sermon that week will provide the meals. They are trying to recruit more churches to join Martha’s Table. The charity provides Sunday meals and services to an average of eighty to ninety needy individuals per week.
St. Francis of Assissi said, “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”
Churches to leave homeless ministry over sexuality conflict
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17 Responses to Kalamazoo Churches Pull Out Of Charity Over One Church’s Support For LGBT Rights
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Samantha
December 26, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Hi. I found this post while Googling something else. I just wanted to say that–most Christians, even ones who believe that homosexuality is a sin, don’t hate you. Some might, sure. So might some atheists, or some Muslims, or some pagans. There are hateful people in every group.
I can’t say for sure why these churches decided to pull out of the charity (which is sad, IMO), but I believe they might have done so because in the New Testament, Paul warns Christians to separate themselves from other Christians who sin unrepentantly–not non-Christians who sin unrepentantly, but Christians who do. That may be the reasoning behind the churches leaving.
Anyway, I just felt like pointing out that most Christians do NOT hate gay people. It is our desire that every person–man or woman, gay, straight, bisexual or transgendered–find redemption through Christ. One of the most basic tenets of Christianity is that Christ sacrificed himself for *everyone*. I’m sorry if other Christians have made you feel that this isn’t the case.
Sei
December 26, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Samantha,
The supposed sin of homosexuality is hard to pin down in all the rewrites of the Bible. What can be said with certainty is that Jesus Christ never said anything about homosexuality even though some of those who third handedly commented about it may have. Saul of Tarses did not even go to Jerusalem to learn from the men who learned from Christ directly until long after he began his ministry. So, I wouldn’t take what Saul wrote at anything worth repeating or using or basing my belief in Christianity on.
As for who does and doesn’t hate homosexuals, I do a lot of posts about nice churches who are open and friendly to the LGBT community.
Nathan
December 21, 2009 at 10:19 am
You forgot one church that is a member of Martha’s Table that is not withdrawing over the ordinance – First Baptist Church of Kalamazoo.
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James
December 18, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Ah, what a wonderful world we live in, no?
WHAT THE F**K!? How the hell do they think this is what there “god” would have wanted. Doesn’t there “god” love everyone? I think the people of these churches should open there eyes and see that there not hurting the LGBT community, there hurting the people who rely on these charities! Its like pulling a blood-drive because there is something wrong with the floor! Maybe the LGBT community should step up and take the place of these churches!
–Lastpaw
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Melanie Nathan
December 18, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Yes, and bringing this back to immigration reform they think that we will get UAFA passed through – faith based support of reform. Need I say more…look at these churches and how they hate us.
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