Black Gay and Lesbian Pastors Merge Churches to Promote 'Radically Inclusive' Theology
http://www.christianpost.com/news/black-gay-and-lesbian-pastors-merge-churches-to-promote-radically-inclusive-theology-75643/
By Stoyan Zaimov ,
Christian Post Reporter
May 28, 2012|10:52 am
Two predominantly black congregations in Harlem, NY., where the respective pastors are gay and lesbian, have merged to fight for homosexuality to be accepted by the Church, giving their congregation the message, "He (Jesus) got up so I can come out. He got up for you can come out!" However, their promotion that God created people gay has been firmly rejected by mainstream Churches, who maintain that the Bible clearly identifies homosexuality as a sin.
"Aren't you glad Jesus got up?" Twanna Gause, Pastor Brown's partner, was quoted as asking the congregation at a sermon.
"He got up so I can come out," she continued to the shouts of "Amen" and "Hallelujah." "He got up so you can come out."
The Rivers at Rehoboth combines two similar philosophies upheld by the two previous churches – a message of being "Radically Inclusive," which preaches that Jesus Christ accepted all people no matter their circumstance; and "Gay by God," which is based on the notion that God created all people in his image, gays and lesbians included.
However, the doctrine of "Radically Inclusive" has been condemned by some who rebuke the idea that Jesus accepts all people regardless of whether people have repented of their sins. The promotion that God "created" people gay has also been rejected by mainstream Christianity.
However, the "Radically Inclusive" church has chosen to ignore the criticism. Brown, who will lead the new church, has said, "God doesn't make any junk. He made us knowing who we were going to be before we were it."
"We want people to know that they are loved, there's a safe space for them in the house of God, where they can truly worship the Lord and be their authentic selves," Brown remarked.
Tolton, who is now the Associate Pastor, said that for over 20 years, he believed his sexual orientation was a spiritual demon from which he needed to be saved, and asked clergy to pray for him.
"It broke my heart," he shared of an experience where he left his church after a friend of his told him he could not be the best man at his wedding because of his sexual orientation.
Pastor Brown has revealed she married a man who was gay to help protect his image in the church, but divorced him after growing tired of living a lie.
"I was ruining my own self," she said. "I wasn't happy."
The church boasts that it attracts 200 people each Sunday for service by promoting itself as a safe haven for gay and lesbian people who feel excluded in other churches that support traditional views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
"It's the safest place to go without being condemned at the end of service," said Julie Chisolm-May, who attends the church with her wife and six adult children.
Rivers at Rehoboth church insists in its articles of faith that it not only accepts gay and lesbian people; it celebrates all who are marginalized by society for their "uniqueness."
The Eighth Article on the "Radically Inclusive" guidelines states: "The radically inclusive ministry of Jesus does not encourage people to hide their 'unacceptable' realities (based upon the dominant culture' point of view or faith) in order to be embraced. True community comes when marginalized people take back the right to fully "be." People must celebrate not in spite of who they are, but because of who their Creator has made them. In order for marginalized people to have community they must develop community "naked" with their "marginality" in full view while often celebrating the very thing that separates them from the dominant culture."
The issue of black churches and homosexual affirmation has long been a controversial one, though most black pastors and congregations in America stand behind the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.
Recently, Dr. Alveda C. King, the niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., expressed her disappointment that the Africa-American civil rights organization NAACP backed President Barack Obama in his endorsement of same-sex marriage.
"In the 21st Century, the anti-traditional marriage community is in league with the anti-life community, and together with the NAACP and other sympathizers, they are seeking a world where homosexual marriage and abortion will supposedly set the captives free," King expressed.
In his argument that most African-American pastors believe that homosexual behavior is sinful, CP contributor and Nebraska pastor Dan Delzell expressed, "President Obama is leading the way on gay marriage for what he hopes will be a large following of black pastors and their congregations. Many black pastors are not following his lead. The vast majority of pastors in the black community do not want the children in their church being taught that homosexual behavior is no longer sinful."
A Rare Haven for Gay Men and Lesbians in Harlem
By GERREN KEITH GAYNOR
Published: May 27, 2012
In a church nestled among a row of residential brownstones, parishioners clapped and danced as a woman began to testify.“Aren’t you glad Jesus got up?” the woman, Twanna Gause, asked the predominantly black congregation, which responded with enthusiastic shouts of “Amen” and “Hallelujah.”
“He got up so I can come
out,” Ms. Gause said, as worshipers hopped out of their seats and cheered in
agreement. “He got up so you can come out.”
For black Christians who are
gay and lesbian, church can be a daunting experience, where on any given Sunday
they are taught that homosexuality is not only a sin, but a one-way ticket to
hell. That alienation has been a benefit for the Rivers at Rehoboth
congregation, in Harlem, which has made
ministry to gay men and lesbians, combined with the worship traditions of black
churches, its mission.
The congregation was formed
by the merger of two churches, Rivers
of Living Faith and Rehoboth Temple.
The pastor of Rivers, Vanessa M. Brown, 41, is a lesbian, and the pastor of
Rehoboth, Joseph Tolton, 45, is gay, and both were born and raised in Harlem. Their merged congregation rents space out of
Grace Congregational Church on West
139th Street, where Mr. Tolton’s former church
worshiped for four years.
Ms. Brown, the church’s
senior pastor and Ms. Gause’s partner, preaches what she calls a “radically
inclusive” message, while Mr. Tolton, the associate pastor, offers as a mantra
the phrase “Gay by God.”
“God doesn’t make any junk,”
Ms. Brown said. “He made us knowing who we were going to be before we were it.”
Only “small segments” of
black church leaders openly welcome gay men and lesbians in their
congregations, according to Lawrence
H. Mamiya, a professor of religion at Vassar College
who has researched black churches.
“There’s also a large majority that doesn’t,” Mr. Mamiya said.
As evidence, he said that
many black churches supported a ballot measure barring same-sex
marriage in California.
“That gives you some
indication of how strong the opposition is,” he said.
But there have been some
signs of change. This month, the
board of the N.A.A.C.P. voted to express its support for same-sex marriage.
Rivers at Rehoboth is attended by an average of 200 members each Sunday. On Easter, ushers had to place folding chairs next to pews to accommodate visitors, some of whom had traveled from as far as Italy and Australia.
Both pastors speak openly
about their own experiences struggling with sexuality as black Christians.
Mr. Tolton said that for over 20 years, he believed his sexual orientation
was a spiritual demon from which he needed to be saved. As a young man, he asked
clergy to pray for him to be straight. Mr. Tolton said he left his church after a friend told him he could not be the best man at his wedding because he is gay.
“It broke my heart,” Mr.
Tolton said.
Ms. Brown said she, too,
struggled with the church’s stance on homosexuality.
She said she married a man
who was gay, to help him cover up his sexuality and protect his image in the
church. But Ms. Brown divorced him after growing tired of living a lie, she
said.
“I was ruining my own
self,” she said. “I wasn’t happy.”
Many members of the Rivers
at Rehoboth have their own stories.
Derrick Smith, 26, who
found out that he had contracted H.I.V. shortly before joining Mr. Tolton’s
church in 2007, said he had been asked to step down as the organist at his
former church in the Bronx when he told people
of his sexuality. He said he learned about Mr. Tolton’s church on a promotional
postcard at a support clinic for gay black men in East
Harlem. After a couple of visits, Mr. Smith joined the church and
has been an active member since. He now serves as the church’s sound technician.
“I believe it helped save my life,” Mr. Smith said.
Julie Chisolm-May, who
attends the church with her wife, Stacey, said before joining Rivers at
Rehoboth, they attended separate churches for about eight years because of the
glares they would get from people when they were together. Ms. Chisolm-May said
if she and her wife had not found Rivers at Rehoboth, they would probably be
worshiping from their bedroom, watching ministers preach on television.
“It’s the safest place to go
without being condemned at the end of service,” she said.
Now, she said, her entire
family attends the church, including her six adult children, and her
74-year-old mother, who changed her views on homosexuality when she joined the
congregation.
The pastors say they are
now looking for a larger space in which to expand.
“We want people to know that they are
loved, there’s a safe space for them in the house of God,” Ms. Brown said,
“where they can truly worship the Lord and be their authentic selves.”
