Black churches preach acceptance for gays

Washington Blade - July 10, 2006
By JOSHUA LYNSEN
http://www.nyblade.com/2006/7-10/news/national/preach.cfm

"We all need affirmation, and as black people of all backgrounds, if we can't find that through religion and faith, where else should we turn?" he said. "It's time to heal, and love, and truly seek justice for all."

More than 100 churches, most with predominantly black congregations, stood up last month for gays and gay rights as part of a nationwide event to bring gay worshippers into the fold.

Faithful Call to Justice, held in churches and synagogues across the nation June 24 and 25, was supported by a wide variety of denominations, including Baptist, Catholic and the United Church of Christ. The event was organized by the National Black Justice Coalition.

Organizers said the event's theme - that gays have "God-given rights to life, love, liberty, and equal justice under the law" - reached more than 100,000 people.

Rev. Michael Eric Dyson, chair of the coalition's religious advisory board, said sermons given at the 102 participating churches reflected God's love for all.

"Too often, our pulpits and places of worship can transform into soapboxes for bigotry," he said. "I try to speak out against venomous characterizations of LGBT folk, especially those of color, and help them speak truth to power."

Dyson said churches, especially those located in black communities, must continue to welcome and affirm gay members and visitors.

"We all need affirmation, and as black people of all backgrounds, if we can't find that through religion and faith, where else should we turn?" he said. "It's time to heal, and love, and truly seek justice for all."

Supporting gay rights

Churches that participated in Faithful Call signed a statement supporting gays and gay rights.

"As faith leaders, we acknowledge the spiritual worth of our gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and same-gender loving brothers and sisters," the statement says. "We welcome their fellowship in worship, and we affirm their God-given rights to life, love, liberty, and equal justice under the law."

Churches from New York to Los Angeles were asked to demonstrate their support by delivering a sermon, or offering other messages, that affirmed gay rights.

Faithful Call organizers said many of the sermons were extemporaneous, and were unable to provide any transcripts.

But Rev. Ricc Rollins, pastor of Breath of Life Fellowship Community Church in Tampa, Fla., said he challenged his predominantly gay congregation to be true to themselves and their neighbors.

"The mainstream church community is so quick to talk about the homosexual lifestyle," he said. "It is so important that we let people know that this is not a preference, nor a lifestyle. It is who we are."

Rollins also asked his congregation to seek and welcome straight worshippers, just as predominantly straight congregations should seek and welcome gay worshippers.

"It's the Lord's house," he said. "No one should feel uncomfortable in the Lord's house."

Mandy Carter, a coalition board member who attended a Faithful Call worship service in Charlotte, N.C., said she had "an absolutely amazing time."

"On my drive back home to Durham," she said, "I remember feeling that my heart and spirit were full."

Event follows pulpit attacks

The affirming messages of Faithful Call followed instances in which pastors elsewhere delivered sermons attacking gays.

Bishop Alfred A. Owens Jr., pastor of Greater Mount Calvary Church in Washington, D.C., used the terms "faggot" and "sissy" to describe gays in an April 9 sermon.

"It takes a real man to confess Jesus as Lord and savior," he said. "I'm not talking about no faggot or no sissy."

In a letter to the Washington Post, Owens later said he didn't intend to "wound anyone or discriminate against any group."

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams said he was "shocked, saddened and disappointed" by the remarks, but did not remove Owens from the District's Interfaith Advisory Council.

Owens comments came less than a year after Rev. Willie Wilson, another prominent D.C. pastor, delivered a sermon denouncing both lesbians and gay men.

Sylvia Rue, religious affairs director for the NBJC, said planning for Faithful Call started before Owens delivered his sermon. She said Faithful Call, which organizers hope will become an annual event, was designed to be proactive rather than reactive.

"LGBT people have been, I think, a gift to the church, the synagogue, the mosque, the temple," she said. "We presented it as a celebration, and over 100 churches were with us that particular weekend."

Some churches opposed event

But while many black churches joined in Faithful Call, others declined to participate. Rue said the NBJC invited hundreds of churches to participate. Many pastors didn't respond. Others expressed outright opposition.

She said one coalition ally advocated a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay parishioners and was against them openly identifying themselves.

Among the churches that participated, Rue said Faithful Call was well received.

She said there were no indications that attendance or offerings were down at participating churches during Faithful Call weekend.

"It really excited a lot of people," Rue said. "It got a lot of interest. There really was a buzz out there about it."