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."