Program urges isle churches to welcome LGBT people

Church of the Crossroads is holding a three-part program in October to encourage churches of all denominations to openly welcome members of the LGBTQ community into their fold.

Speakers from the United Church of Christ, the Lutheran denomination, and Christ Church Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians will take part in free panel discussions Oct. 7, 9 and 14, all at Crossroads.

Program coordinator Ellen Godbey Carson, a retired Honolulu attorney, said, “The UCC has a tradition of firsts in equality and justice” among mainline Christian denominations, from protesting segregation laws to ordaining women and openly gay ministers. Legal equality for LGBTQ people has improved, but most churches are still not welcoming them, Carson said. (LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and those who are questioning their sexual orientation.)

Of the 130 UCC churches in Hawaii, five (including Crossroads) are part of the national congregation’s Open and Affirming Coalition, which publicly welcomes LGBTQ people.

“Perhaps it’s time for all Christians to pause and remember, with humility, the lessons we’ve learned from the centuries when our biblical texts were used to justify slavery, discrimination, segregation and oppression of people of color and women,” Carson said. “Most of us now reject those interpretations as misguided and contrary to God’s love.”

“A few Bible passages are too often used to ‘clobber’ persons who are LGBTQ,” disregarding the historical and cultural context of these scriptures, Carson said. She noted that Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 are frequently cited for their prohibition on men having sex with other men, calling such an act an “abomination” worthy of death, as well as the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis.

“This prohibition (against homosexuality) is part of the Holiness Code, one of over 600 purity rules in the Old Testament that ancient Jews used, not because the acts were themselves sinful, but to set their culture visibly apart as a special people of God,” Carson said. “Those purity rules prohibited many so-called abominations, such as eating pork, shrimp and lobster; wearing cloth made of mixed fibers; and touching the skin of a dead pig (which a football is made of). But Jesus repeatedly rejected those purity rules and so have we, as Christians.

“Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say anything about homosexuality, much less condemn it. … He said he came to abolish the old law (purity rules) and that there were really only two commandments: to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor as ourself,” said Carson, who will speak at the first meeting.

Some faith groups may not want to publicly announce their acceptance of LGBTQ people because they are worried some of their members might leave or that it will cause conflict, she said. But the Open and Affirming Coalition (ONA) reports that inclusive churches are on average 34 percent larger than non-ONA churches, and that one-third of millennials leave due to homophobia in their churches, she added.

Besides Crossroads, other ONA congregations include Kana‘ana Hou-Siloama Church (Kalaupapa), Iao UCC (Wailuku), Hanapepe UCC (Kauai) and Ka Hana O Ke Akua (Waianae), she said.

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FREE DISCUSSIONS

Church of the Crossroads at 1212 University Ave. will host its three-part program on welcoming members of the LGBTQ community:

>> Oct. 7, 10 a.m. to noon: “Biblical Self-Defense,” an analysis of the Bible’s “clobber passages” in their historical/cultural context, and finding inclusive messages of love and hospitality. Speakers include Ellen Godbey Carson and pastor Jeff Lilley (Lutheran Church of Honolulu).

>> Oct. 9, 7 to 9 p.m.: “Becoming an LGBTQ Welcoming Church,” why and how to welcome LGBTQ people, strategies for creating consensus and addressing conflict, and insights from welcoming churches. Speakers: Eldon Wegner (Crossroads), David Twigg (Ka Hana O Ke Akua), pastor Tim Mason (Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church) and the Rev. Liz Leavitt (Christ Church Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians).

>> Oct. 14, 10 a.m. to noon: “Growing the Mission of LGBTQ Welcoming Churches,” how welcoming churches can improve messaging, use social media, and increase advocacy and outreach. Speakers: Andy Lang (executive director of the Open and Affirming Coalition, via webcast), Lilley (Lutheran Church) and Mark Wilson (Crossroads).