The big secret is out of the closet thanks to the top-notch reporting of Focus on the Family: the United Church of Christ supports same sex marriage. In a release sent out today - July 9, 2007 - Focus on the Family bemoans the shocking news...
The general council of the United Church of Christ (UCC) last week voted in favor of a resolution that affirms "equal rights for couples regardless of gender," BBC News reported.
The nonbinding resolution does not require pastors to marry same-sex couples.
The Rev. John Thomas, president and general minister of the UCC, said "On this July 4, the United Church of Christ has courageously acted to develop freedom, affirming the civil rights of gay… couples to have their relationships recognized as marriages by the state," he said, "and encourages our local churches celebrate those marriages."
Caleb Price, research analyst for Focus on the Family, said while UCC declared 20 years ago that it accepted homosexual members, this recent general synod resolution provides more evidence of just how far from biblical truth the denomination's leadership has strayed.
"While the UCC is a denomination that claims to be Christian, clearly it is a group that has conformed to culture," he said, "rather than heeding the biblical call to come out of the surrounding culture and conform to God and his precepts."
Only problem with this fast breaking story: it is two years old. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ voted in 2005 to support gay marriage - not last week. Actually, I'm pretty sure Focus on the Family issued a statement bemoaning the news back then as well. Why the repeat? Perhaps the news was so stunning to our conservative brothers and sisters that they're having PTSD-inspired flash blacks or maybe the air is too thin at their Colorado mountain secret lair. There could be any number of reasons.
But here is the really great part: when the UCC did endorse same sex marriage in 2005 groups like Focus on the Family practically said it was the end of the Christian church as we know it.
It turns out, however, support for gays and lesbian in the church hasn't hurt anything at all. The church still stands. Two years later Focus on the Family has already forgotten it happened in the first place.
