Politics / Religion
By Kat Bryant |
“I want people of faith to be able to come and worship and be part of a community wholeheartedly. In worship, we are all equal as guests of God. So the idea that we are all welcome at God’s table – it is not our table, it is not our place to condemn anyone. We are all equally embraced by God’s love. And that is really the core of my belief.”
-Rev Angela Renecker
Galilean Lutheran Church
Ocean Shores
“It’s my firm belief that people coming to our congregation would be treated equally and welcomed warmly, no matter what their own identity is.”
-Rev Amanda Sullivan-Kersey
South Beach United Presbyterian Church, Westport
Many of us were raised with the idea that Christianity and the LGBTQ+ community just don’t mix. But a number of churches here on the Harbor are proving that belief false.
Most of the “open and affirming” (O&A) congregations here are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, or ELCA. O&A faiths have issued national statements officially welcoming those from the LGBTQ+ community as members and extending marriage rites to them.
Others are part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), or PCUSA, which is officially open and affirming – as opposed to the Presbyterian Church in America, which refuses to perform same-sex weddings.
One local congregation represents the Episcopal Church, also an O&A denomination.
And one represents the national United Methodist Church, which is not officially O&A, though many of its pastors choose to celebrate same-sex weddings despite restrictions. Kathryn Garnett, retired pastor of Hoquiam Methodist Church, is among them.
Although she’s retired, Garnett still preaches there once a month. She says Hoquiam Methodist became what’s called a “reconciling congregation” about 15 years ago. This means the members of the congregation voted to publicly welcome people of all genders and sexual orientations without restriction.
That includes performing same-sex weddings. When it was made legal in Washington, Garnett sought the backing of the church to allow it; and they voted to say yes.
“We are strong supporters of everyone in our society with no exception, which is our call as Christians,” she says.
Most of the Harbor’s O&A pastors agree with that sentiment.
Rev. Michelle de Beauchamp, ordained by the ELCA, is pastor of Saron Lutheran-First Presbyterian Church in Hoquiam. When gay marriage became legal nationwide, the first same-sex wedding she performed was between her uncles.
“To me, that was really living out my faith as a Christian to be able to honor my uncles, who now have been together for 30-plus years,” she says. “My faith has taught me to preach love and kindness and care and grace, and that’s what the grace of God is about.”
Rev. Angela Renecker points to a plaque above the front door of Galilean Lutheran Church in Ocean Shores: “At my table, all are welcome.”
“I want people of faith to be able to come and worship and be part of a community wholeheartedly,” she says. “… In worship, we are all equal as guests of God. So the idea that we are all welcome at God’s table – it is not our table, it is not our place to condemn anyone. We are all equally embraced by God’s love. And that is really the core of my belief.”
For the Rev. Dr. Amanda Sullivan-Kersey, co-pastor of South Beach United Presbyterian Church in Westport and Twin Harbors Lutheran Church in Grayland, the issue of gay marriage hits especially close to home: She is a married gay woman herself.
She was raised Southern Baptist and later was ordained in the United Church of Christ, which was one of the first to ordain members of the LGBTQ+ community. UCC has ecumenical standing with ELCA and the Presbyterian Church (USA), which allows her to preach at those churches. Neither of her congregations has adopted a fully “open and affirming” (O&A) stance, but she says both are open.
“Think of a time where you have had to ask yourself: Is it safe for me to be here? And not because of other people, but because of who you are,” says Sullivan-Kersey. “There are those of us – including myself as a gay pastor – who have to look at those things. I do look for the flag. I do look for the sign. I do look for the O&A because I want to know that when I enter into this space, I can be fully me – or do I have to be careful who I disclose this to? … These things are important.”
In the rural South Beach area of Grays Harbor, congregations are aging. Getting them to understand the need to project that aura of safety is a challenge, she says.
“You can’t swing a cat around here without hitting someone with a gay kid or a gay grandkid. So actual acceptance is not that hard,” she says. “It’s more about the visualization of it” – for example, the hanging of a rainbow flag, which a vocal few of her parishioners feel is unnecessary. Still, she says, the welcoming atmosphere is definitely there.
“I have relatives who won’t darken the door of a church because of the rejection they’ve received,” says Sullivan-Kersey. “It’s my firm belief that people coming to our congregation would be treated equally and welcomed warmly, no matter what their own identity is.”
Rev. Boneta Campbell has served for 14 years as the priest of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Montesano, an O&A congregation.
“I’ve done two [weddings] that are same-sex – one was for a priest colleague and her wife, and the other was for two parishioners,” she says. “What I’ve seen is marriages between same-sex people are pretty much the same as heterosexual relationships as far as how they treat one another and how they raise children. I don’t see a huge difference in how they relate to one another. And I won’t marry a couple if I don’t feel like they’re fully consenting, and I don’t see a fully loving and supporting relationship between the two people. ... So, I don’t have to treat those relationships any differently than any others.”
The Harbor’s O&A pastors also agree that Scripture is largely silent on the issue of gay marriage – despite many public opinions to the contrary.
From a cultural and historical standpoint, many of the biblical passages cited by those against gay marriage are simply being read out of context, says de Beauchamp. A lot of the passages often used against the LGBT+ community, she says, are actually against sexual abuse of young boys by those in authority – not against consenting love between two individuals.
Renecker echoes that interpretation.
“I was raised in a fairly fundamentalist church and became Lutheran in college. So I’m aware of the prejudice that is out there,” she says. “But I don’t think that prejudice is warranted by the Scriptures. The verses that are often used to beat people over the head are definitely a distortion of those Scriptures. St. Paul is often quoted – but in the passage where he talks about it, he’s not talking about homosexuality at all. He’s talking about sexual abuse – pederasty, child abuse, that sort of thing.
“The word ‘homosexuality’ wasn’t even used in English translations of the Bible until 1947 or thereabouts, and definitely the passages are few and far between,” Renecker adds. “Jesus doesn’t say anything at all about the subject. But the passages from Leviticus, for example, are more about kosher law than anything else. Kosher was more than just food.”
Sullivan-Kersey concurs. “There are some things that Scripture is silent on. There are some things that people want to say – Ruth and Naomi, Jonathan and David, blah blah blah – and I don’t know that I necessarily read that into it. … But I 100 percent believe that when you have love between two consenting adult persons, God can be glorified in that.”
“Jesus doesn’t say anything about it, so I don’t see that Jesus said it was wrong,” adds Campbell. “From my viewpoint, it’s more about a relationship being consensual and nonviolent – that the people are in a loving and supportive relationship.”
It’s also important to remember biblical context, notes de Beauchamp: The words were written by oppressed minorities in massive empires. “Think what it would be like to be constantly oppressed. To me, as a pastor and a Christian, the LGBT community in our country is facing a lot of scary oppression. And I think it would be un-Christian to interpret [the Bible] in a hateful way when they are the ones that Jesus would show love and care and compassion to if he came back today.”
In addition, she says, the Bible simply did not address many of today’s societal issues. One could interpret some passages as an argument for slavery or abolitionism, for example. But it’s a living text that must be interpreted with a modern view – and “with a lens of love and compassion,” she says.
The pastors all expressed hope for greater acceptance in the future.
“The church is changing, and we have got to get on board with that,” said Sullivan-Kersey. “And I don’t mean we let go of those beliefs and those ideals and everything. But we have to recognize that maybe those things that we were holding on to weren’t actually rooted in God or any kind of scriptural foundation – maybe only in interpretation.”
“I’ve been a pastor for almost 28 years,” says Renecker. “I’ve seen our society as a whole come a long way on this issue even in my lifetime, and I think we have farther to go. But I see reasons for hope.”
De Beauchamp says it’s up to those who believe to make it happen through their actions, not just their words.
“As a pastor and a Christian, my heart breaks when I see people preaching and teaching so much hate when my faith is so rooted in love and acceptance,” she says. “That’s not my Christianity. That’s not my Jesus.
“We need to not just say it. We need to show up more for people needing the support.”
Churches Featured in this Article
Galilean Lutheran Church
Angela Renecker, Pastor
824 Ocean Shores Blvd NW, Ocean Shores, WA 98569
https://www.galileanlutheranchurch.com
South Beach United Presbyterian Church
Amanda Sullivan-Kersey, Co-Pastor
3707 WA-105, Westport, WA 98595
360-268-9773
438 Dolphin Avenue NE
Twin Harbors Lutheran Church
Amanda Sullivan-Kersey, Co-Pastor
2424 WA-105, Grayland, WA 98547
360-267-3124
Saron Lutheran/First Presbyterian Church
Michelle de Beauchamp, Pastor
708 8th St., Hoquiam, WA 98550
360-532-4611
https://sarongraysharbor.org
Hoquiam Methodist Church
Kathryn Garnett, Pastor (retired)
520 5th St, Hoquiam, WA 98550
360-533-1101
http://hoquiamumc.org
St Mark’s Episcopal Church
Bonnie Campbell, Pastor
124 N Sylvia St. Montesano, WA 98563
360-249-3281
https://www.stmarksmonte.com
Who will and (probably) won't...
A growing number of organized religious groups in the United States have issued statements officially welcoming LGBTQ people as members and extending marriage rites to them. If you are looking to have a religious wedding ceremony, below are denominations that have embraced marriage for loving same-sex couples:
• Alliance of Baptists
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) [CL]
• Episcopal Church [CL] [R]
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [CL]
• Metropolitan Community Churches
• Old Catholics/Independent Catholics
• Presbyterian Church (USA) [CL]
• Unitarian Universalist Association
• United Church of Christ•
CL=Clergy may refuse at their discretion
R=Clergy who refuse must refer the couple to another church or clergy member
For the denominations below, it’s less clear. For example, while the United Methodist Church officially does not sanction same-sex marriages, some individual UMC churches do perform them.
• African Methodist Episcopal Church
• American Baptist Church USA
• Church of God in Christ
• Church of the Nazarene
• Eastern Orthodox Church
• National Baptist Convention USA Inc.
• Pentecostals
• Presbyterian Church in America
• Roman Catholic Church
• Southern Baptist Convention
• United Methodist Church
Information pulled from the Human Rights Coalition’s comprehensive list. For more details, visit https://www.hrc.org/resources/positions-of-faith-on-same-sex-marriage.
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