Unfinished Lives

Buckeye United Methodists Embrace Gays and Lesbians, Buck Homophobic Church Practices

Central's Bold Electronic Billboard (photo courtesy of the Toledo Blade)

Toledo, Ohio – “…We Believe Being Gay is a Gift From God.”  So reads the electronic billboard posted by Central United Methodist Church of Toledo.  According to Box Turtle Bulletin, Central lit up the massive billboard on April 25, and hopes to collect enough money to keep it displaying its message of inclusion to the city for next month, as well.  The sign is stirring up a range of responses throughout Toledo, from delight to outright hostility.  Ohioans have expressed concern that the billboard will be vandalized by anti-gay partisans who disapprove of a Christian church proclaiming that LGBTQ people are fully loved and accepted by God and the church.  Central UMC, a member of the United Methodist Reconciling Ministries Network, is not about to back down on something they see as fundamental to the faith of Christians.  The campaign is, in the words of the church’s web site, “a prophetic call to the Church to get out of the business of marginalizing gay and lesbian persons from the Church, and to welcome them as full members.”  Being Gay is a Gift From God, they say, is a simple declaration “intended to be a gift to those who have experienced hurt and discrimination because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.  The Church seeks nothing less than the healing of the world, and Central UMC wants to offer words and acts of healing to those hurt and marginalized.”  Illuminating the sign at the corner of two busy metropolitan streets, Sylvania Avenue and Monroe Street, was the official launch of Central’s effort to change the conversation concerning gays and lesbians in faith communities.  In addition to the electronic sign, the church has developed a whole line of  products to support their campaign, available for purchased online, such as bumper stickers, campaign buttons, ball caps, coffee mugs, and full color posters.  A speakers bureau is listed on the web site, with encouragement to contact the church to secure speakers for events and interest groups. For the next month,classes are planned on the so-called “clobber passages,” texts from the Bible adversaries have used to marginalize and browbeat LGBTQ people. The congregation, pastored currently by the Rev. Bill Barnard, a 20-year resident of Toledo, was founded in 1896, and has been a champion for LGBTQ human rights since the late 1970s.  Central is a racially-diverse, multi-orientational church with a significant outreach on the issue of economic justice.  Worship space and offices of the congregation are housed in the facilities of Collingwood Presbyterian Church in a newly remodeled and updated building. Their mission statement reads, in part, “We seek to reflect the diversity of God’s creation, which means that we invite all persons – regardless of their age, race, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation – to participate fully in the spiritual journey of Christ’s faith community.”  What a refreshingly odd thing it is when a Christian church actually emulates Jesus Christ!  The Unfinished Lives Project Team congratulates Central UMC.

May 7, 2011 - Posted by unfinishedlives | African Americans, Anglo Americans, Being Gay is a Gift From God Campaign, Bisexual persons, Central United Methodist Church Toledo, gay men, gay teens, gender identity/expression, Gender Variant Youth, GLBTQ, Heterosexism and homophobia, Homosexuality and the Bible, Latino and Latina Americans, Lesbian women, LGBTQ, Ohio, Public Theology, Queer, Reconciling Ministries Network, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons, United Methodist Church | African Americans, Anglo Americans, Being Gay is a Gift From God Campaign, Bisexual persons, Central United Methodist Church Toledo, gay men, gay teens, GLBT, GLBTQ, Heterosexism and homophobia, Homosexuality and the Bible, Latino / Latina Americans, Lesbians, LGBT, LGBTQ, Ohio, Reconciling Ministries Network, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons, United Methodist Church