wfn.org | UCC church leaders shocked at treatment of local pastor by Oklahoma legislators

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

UCC church leaders shocked at treatment of local pastor by Oklahoma legislators

> Written by Gregg Brekke

United Church of Christ leaders on Thursday (Feb. 12) expressed 
outrage at the perceived discriminatory treatment of a local UCC 
pastor by the Oklahoma State House of Representatives.

In what legislators are calling a first, one-fifth of the Oklahoma 
House voted Feb. 11 to strike from the record a prayer offered on the 
chamber floor by the Rev. Scott H. Jones, pastor of Cathedral of Hope 
UCC-Oklahoma City. Jones had been invited to deliver the prayer and 
serve as chaplain for the day by Rep. Al McAffrey, D-Oklahoma City.

Following the prayer, McAffrey asked that the session vote to include 
Jones' prayer in the House journal, the official daily record of the 
chamber. An objection was raised by Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow, 
who called for a vote on the prayer's inclusion.

"It was a pretty chaotic moment," said Jones of the procedural points 
of order that ensued following Wright's objection. "My understanding 
was that [an objection to a prayer] never happens."

The vote took place once order had been established, with 64 
representatives voting to include the prayer, 20 opposing it and 17 
abstentions.

Jones is a constituent of McAffrey's Oklahoma City district. Both 
believe the objection was raised because of their sexuality. Jones 
leads the largest predominantly LGBT congregation in Oklahoma City 
and is himself gay. McAffrey is Oklahoma's only openly gay legislator.

"As the leader of Rev. Jones' denomination, I am deeply offended by 
the treatment he received from the legislature and dismayed by the 
message of intolerance it sends to the citizens of Oklahoma and 
beyond," said the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President 
of the UCC. "It is comforting, however, to remember that our prayers 
are judged at the throne of grace and not in the halls of petty 
principalities."

"The Oklahoman" newspaper quoted McAffrey on Wednesday, saying that 
"because most of Scott's congregation are gay people and Scott is gay 
himself, I'm sure that's the reason why there were negative votes on it."

But Wright sees it differently. In the same Oklahoman article, he 
stated his objection was procedural - that prayers were only entered 
into the official record on Thursdays - but later said his "actions 
were motivated by the faith."

Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, was among those who voted to strike 
the prayer from the record. Kern is on record as calling 
homosexuality "the biggest threat facing the United States."

The Rev. Gordon R. Epps, conference ministry coordinator for the 
UCC's Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, delivered a letter to Speaker of 
the House Rep. Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, on Thursday (Feb. 12). Epps 
commended Benge "for the democratic way you led the house when an 
unusual challenge was made to vote on whether or not to enter into 
the record the opening prayer given by the Rev. Scott Jones."

Responding in support of Jones, the UCC's Executive for Health and 
Wholeness Advocacy, the Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer, said, "Once again, 
bigotry infects the Oklahoma statehouse by the vote of 20 legislators 
to reject the prayer offered by the Rev. Scott Jones. In this 
mean-spirited vote, they have demonstrated profound disrespect to a 
gifted pastor and a congregation dedicated to faithfully serving its 
community through a robust and vibrant ministry."

Schuenemeyer sees the proceedings as a clear indication of 
discrimination. "The action of these legislators has dishonored the 
core American values of freedom of religion and freedom of 
expression," he said. "The citizens of Oklahoma and this nation 
deserve better and ought not to tolerate such behavior from their 
fellow citizens, much less their elected officials."

The United Church of Christ is a denomination of 1.2 million members 
in 5,600 autonomous local churches that are joined together in 
Christian mission through local associations, regional conferences 
and the biennial all-church General Synod.

At their 2005 General Synod in Atlanta, UCC delegates voted 
overwhelmingly in support of a resolution calling for marriage rights 
to be extended to same-gender couples. The resolution, In Support of 
Equal Marriage Rights for All, "affirms equal marriage rights for 
couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should 
not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry 
and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and 
commitment of legally recognized marriage."

Cathedral of Hope UCC-Oklahoma City began in 2000 as a church plant 
of Cathedral of Hope UCC in Dallas. In January 2007, they became a 
fully autonomous congregation within the United Church of Christ.