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By Dustin Fitzharris
Friday, December 21, 2007
It all began with a Google search of “Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D.”
Lewis had been asked to be the worship leader at the Reformed Church of America’s annual General Synod meeting in July. Attendees of the prestigious gathering in Pella, Iowa, were understandably curious to know about the keynote speaker’s background.
Internet navigators found that since July 2005 Lewis has been the senior minister of vision, worship and the arts at Middle Collegiate Church, located at 50 E. Seventh St., in New York City.
The church is one of four Collegiate Churches in New York City, part of the Reformed Church in America.
So far, so good.
But digging deeper into Middle Church’s web site, browsers discovered that the church supported homosexuality and same-sex marriage, a contradiction on the RCA’s position, which is rooted in the Protestant tradition.
Adding fuel to the fire, this year during Easter Sunday service, a marriage equality resolution was read aloud, urging the New York State Legislature and Gov. Eliot Spitzer to enact a law providing equal access to marriage for all people. (Spitzer did introduce a marriage bill in May, which the state Assembly passed in June; the measure did not come up for a vote in the state Senate.)
Back in Iowa, motions were made to “dis-invite” Lewis to the General Synod, a high court of sorts for the church. She did speak—although some boycotted her talks on multiculturalism.
Today, six months later, Middle Church is still being watched. In October, a letter was sent from the Classis of Illiana—a number of churches located in northeastern Illinois, western Indiana, and Nashville, Tenn.—to the synod’s president and RCA’s general secretary, Wes Granberg-Michaelson, calling for Middle Church to be disciplined.
The letter stated: “Because the public stance of Dr. Lewis and Middle Collegiate Church are opposed to the Biblical view of the sanctity of marriage and the stance of the RCA, we ask what will be done to bring discipline to a pastor and a church that need to be warned and corrected?”
The Classis of New York nor the president of the General Synod has yet to make contact with Middle Church.
Dr. Brad Motta, minister for education at Middle Church, called the letter a “gift.”
“It’s pointing out something we believe in that is so bold. It reminds us we are prophetic, but that we still have work to do,” Motta said.
Scott Cocking, director of marketing at Middle Church, agreed.
“We are playing down the ‘warning letter,’” Cocking said. However, we do think that it shows that even though we are in a ‘protected’ environment here, we have to be diligent because others use their interpretation of theology as an absolute.”
Motta explained Cocking’s point by providing examples on how the Bible often gets slanted when taken out of context. He refers to the Book of Leviticus.
People often cite the passage: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Yet Motta points out that the same book also says eating shellfish is abomination. In fact, the word abomination appears 16 times.
“We must continue to work to provide the world with a theology that includes LGBTI [the “I” refers to Intersex] issues as basic human rights that form the core teachings of the Bible,” Cocking said.
After the backlash homosexuality has faced with religion, it may be puzzling that homosexuality could be called a ‘basic human right’ of the Bible.
“Every person has the right to be loved, valued and supported in a community,” Motta said.
That is Middle Church’s philosophy. Its mission is in celebrating and including cultural diversity into a growing community of faith where all people are welcomed just as they are as they come through the door.
“Middle Church is not a gay church,” Motta said. “We are an inclusive church. We respect the different cultures of one and other. We are a rainbow of people.”
Motta believes the letter calling for disciplinary action came from fear.
“People are afraid of change,” Motta said. “If a church changes its position on a doctrine or belief that has been as strongly defended as the anti-LGBTI position has been, it means they have to admit they were wrong. It means they have to say they are sorry to those who were wronged.”
In the future, could the church’s stance on the LGBTI community be just another issue Christians look back on and see the error of their ways? Motta has his doubts.
“People would rather continue hurtful attacks than to face their own prejudices,” Motta said. “There was a time when most Christian denominations supported slavery, refused to ordain women and supported segregation in churches.” They were as wrong on those issues as they are on their anti-LGBTI beliefs. Middle Church will work for equal rights and the full inclusion of LGBTI persons in places of worship.”
Middle Church isn’t the only church feeling the heat from their stance on homosexuality. The Episcopal Church has been in a very public rift over the ordination of gay bishops and interpretations about homosexuality. Several diocese have gone as far as to align with an anti-gay Anglican church in Africa.
“In most denominations a local church can decide they are no longer going to be a part of that denomination, but the building and everything in it, and the assets go to the denomination,” Motta said. “While that is not the case with the Collegiate Churches, it is a reality for most churches.”
Middle Church continues to forge ahead with programs that may be the inspiration for more letters calling for disciplinary action. In June of 2008 Lewis and Motta will lead the church’s new class, “Coming Out: The Bible and Sex. Gay, straight, bisexual: How does the Bible guide us as sexual beings?”
In addition, “The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leading Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations,” a book written by Lewis, will be released next year.
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