John, my apologies – self-deprecating humor sounds like advanced homophobia when you don’t realize who’s doing it! :o
Barb and I twice attended St. John’s MCC here, once formally as representatives of our church exploring a “safe space/welcoming congregation” status and looking to make contacts for speakers, etc., and once attending a concert/service put on by their (award-winning) gospel choir. It was truly an eye-opener for us. Revealing a (hopefully now exorcized) touch of stereotyping, let me say that we expected to meet a group of gay peple who were Christian, and instead met a group of Christians who were gay. The sincerity and devoutness of people who had refused to let the alienation of Christians alienate them from Christ, and had formed a community of believers where they could feel at home, comfortable, welcomed, a part of the church family, hit me extraordinarily hard.
The Charlkotte MCC regularly runs ads in Q Notes, the Charlotte gay biweekly paper, and this time around wraps location and contact info. with the slogans You Are Invited! and A Place Where God Does Not Discriminate.
Indeed.
BTW, if anyone wants the location and contact info. I’ll be glad to send it; a minor nitpick with the 365Gay story cited in the OP is that the pastor is the Rev. Mick Hinson (not Mike). There are also a number of other MCC locations in the Carolinas and nationwide.
I thought I was going to be first with that abbreviation guess!
And speaking of “4evers” what ever happened to ** His4ever**? I tried doing a search, thinking they would be along here, but all it said was that isn’t a valid username.
Since this is from the Old Testament (AKA Hebrew Scriptures), it predates Christianity and is indicative of how anyone claiming to serve the God of the Bible should act.
;j
Svt, since you bothered commenting here in the first place, it would seem reasonable to ask you to expand on what you’re saying here. These are members of a Christian church comprised largely of gay and Lesbian people, who met a protest against them by estending hospitality to the protesters.
Can gay people sin? Sure. Can gay people show the spirit of Christ? Sure. But I get an underlying message of “but they’re not really Christians, since they haven’t repented of being gay” from your post – and I may be reading something into that from years of prior similar onboard conversations. So explain yourself. What was your post supposed to mean?
(Oh, and by the way, of what board are you a moderator? I noticed you made reference to that in another thread. Just curious.)
At the risk of being lumped in with her/him, I’m going to try to decode Svt4Him’s post.
ahem
This does not mean I agree, I just think my decoder ring works…
A typo messed up her point. Should have read, “I’d also like to add that not all ‘gay christians’ are like that.”
And when saying, “If I’m on the way to rob a bank, and I help someone who’s fallen, am I being Christlike? Sure, but does it imply that my life is a reflection of Christs? I think not.” I think she means that “even people of the nations* do that,” implying that Christianity and homosexuality are at odds with each other. That some * individual acts* of certain persons may equal what one might regularly do if one was Christlike.
If I got it wrong, Svt, then make your point more clear.
And to everyone else, you should know by now how I feel about homosexuality. I’m neither pro nor anti. It simply is, like being Black or White. (imho)
Supra-ventricular tachycardia, is my take on it. So excited that one’s heart really goes pitty-pat very, very fast with the risk that it may develop into a fatal arrhythmia.
While the interpretations of “Svt” have been humorous, can we avoid a pile-on? It’s possible to construe what he/she tried to say in a way that is not condemnatory, and I’d like to give the Svt a chance to explain the meaning of what he/she posted.
I’m not going to tell you my feelings about “gay Christians,” although I did hear a former homosexual give a presentation in Sunday School. (very heartwarming, it was)
Aside from the sexuality of the people referred to in the OP, it is indeed a very nice story. Not quite heartwarming IMO, but eh… very nice.
(and it’s a good thing I don’t know how “Bringing in the Sheaves” goes, else I’d be laughing in my usual hysterical manner)
