wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Issue of homosexuality threatens to split American

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8920 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05501
Sept. 22, 2005

Issue of homosexuality threatens
to split American Baptist denomination
      
by Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
	 
WASHINGTON - A California-based group of churches has announced plans to
begin withdrawing from American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA), pushing the
denomination closer to a split over homosexuality.
	 
	The divide between American Baptists and local church bodies appears
to be widening with the action taken on Sept. 8 by the American Baptist
Churches of the Pacific Southwest. National church leaders said the decision
left them "profoundly saddened."
	 
	Two days later, executives of the West Virginia Baptist Convention
appointed a special task force to consider "facts and options" concerning its
relationship with the denomination, which is headquartered in Valley Forge,
PA.

	Several other church bodies are expected to take actions related to
the denomination's stance on homosexuality during meetings later in the year.

	During its biennial meeting this summer in Denver, the ABC-USA's
general secretary, the Rev. A. Roy Medley, said differences over
homosexuality could lead to separation or "shared ministry and mission" in a
denomination that includes conservatives opposed to inclusion of practicing
homosexuals and liberals who officially welcome gays and lesbians.
	 
	"The issue of homosexuality has brought us as a denomination to a
crossroad in our life together," Medley said during a July 1 sermon.
	 
	The ABC-USA, which claims 1.5 million members, is considered more
liberal than the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's
largest Protestant denomination.
	 
	The resolution approved by the Pacific Southwest board states that "a
process to withdraw" should begin because of "deep differences" that board
members believe are "irreconcilable."
	 
	The regional group's directors charge that the denomination has not
enforced a resolution stating that "the practice of homosexuality is
incompatible with Christian teaching." In a letter to pastors and
congregations in the region, Board President Brian Scrivens said the decision
to begin the process of withdrawal came after meetings with the top leaders
of the denomination.
	 
	The regional group includes about 300 churches in Southern
California, southern Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.
	 
	The denomination's General Board Executive Committee responded to the
regional group's action during its Sept. 16-17 meeting in Atlanta.
	 
	"We grieve and are profoundly saddened by the decision ... 'to
initiate the process to withdraw from the Covenant of Relationships,'" it
said. "This decision will separate the region from the American Baptist
family and our mission, if the region completes its action."
	 
	The executive committee noted that while the ABC-USA has issued
statements and resolutions affirming heterosexual marriage and the
"importance of Biblical authority," it cannot control local congregations.
	 
	"The General Board ... does not set policy for local congregations on
theological or other issues," it said. "We are not hierarchical or Episcopal,
because we are a denominational family related by a series of voluntary
covenantal relationships among autonomous congregations."
	 
	The committee said individual churches in the Western region will
remain affiliated with the denomination unless they vote individually to
leave.
	 
	The Rev. Ken Pennings, executive director of the Wisconsin-based
Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, also expressed disappointment in the
Pacific Southwest region' move.
	 
	"I regret that our sisters and brothers have chosen to make the issue
of sexual orientation a reason to break fellowship with a denomination that
has a long and proud history of mission and ministry in the world," he said.

	 Meanwhile, church leaders in West Virginia began a more exploratory
process.
	 
	On Sept. 10, the leaders of the West Virginia Baptist Convention
appointed a working group to explore the convention's legal relationship with
the ABC-USA and "possible arrangements for continuing relationships with
like-minded regions of the ABC-USA, and with missionaries."
	 
	The Rev. John Simmons, minister of mission support for the 467
churches in the West Virginia group, said some churches have signed
resolutions saying "they want something to change," or they will consider
dropping financial support or affiliation with the denomination.
	 
	Although his regional group could be a year away from making a
decision, Simmons said, actions by Baptists in the Pacific Southwest and his
region mean that changes lie ahead for the denomination.
	 
	"The status quo is dead," he said. "The future of the ABC is in the
process of being determined. Only God knows what it will look like in the
future."

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