Bigotry in churches is keeping young people from the pews.

Some are staying away because they don't want to participate in institutions that offer hate in place of God's love.  Others are literally being ejected from their churches because of their sexuality. 

Bobbie Pierce is an example. His congregation, Ambassador's Bible Chapel in Newberry Township, has removed him from membership and refused him communion because he's gay. Their leadership says this is an act of love meant to force Mr. Pierce to change his sinful ways but homosexuality is not a sin: bigotry is.

It is vital that progressive communities of faith continue to preach God's message of radical love for all to counter act those that preach hate. This debate has implications not just for who attends church but how gays and lesbians are treated in the public square. Anti-gay hate laws continue to be justified, in a form of theological malpractice, with Christian teachings.  We know better.  God calls us to be a just society filled with grace and not judgement.  Bobbie Pierce and others like him need to know he is welcome in God's house.

There Are No Strangers In God's House: A Homily on Matthew 25:31-46 by Rev. Chuck Currie from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Arizona's SB1062, a law which would allow religious people to discriminate against LGBT people, is a legal decedent of Jim Crow. This is not about religious freedom but about bigotry. A generation ago people used the Christian faith to justify discrimination against African-Americans and interracial couples. That was a misuse of the faith and only possible because white supremacists superimposed their beliefs over those taught by Jesus. Using faith today to justify discrimination against gays and lesbians is just as twisted. This law is sin and the GOP legislators who voted for the law - no Democrat supported SB1062 - have made themselves the political heirs of George Wallace. Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) can still veto the bill but has voiced her personal belief that businesses and individuals should have the freedom to discriminate against anyone they wish. I applaud faith leaders in Arizona, like The Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, conference minister of the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ, who have spoken out against this moral travesty. Love your neighbor, taught Jesus. Discrimination is not love nor is it a hallmark religious freedom. Reach out to friends and family in Arizona and tell them that as a person of faith you oppose discriminate and embrace God's love - a love that extends to God's gay and lesbian children.

- Rev. Chuck Currie


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

As a parent of two children in the Portland Public Schools and a minister in this great and good city, I want to congratulate the Portland Association of Teachers and the PPS Board and Superintendent for coming to a contract resolution that avoids a strike. Faith leaders issued a statement this weekend calling on the parties to work for the common good of our children, and backing the teacher’s justifiable principles for a fair and just contract. I encourage the people of Portland to pray for our teachers, administrators and school children as we all seek reconciliation moving forward. We are deeply blessed to have so many in Portland committed to our public schools.

- Rev. Chuck Currie

Updated with additional clergy endorsers 2/16/14 | 6:43am

February 15, 2014

Open Letter From Portland Religious Leaders Concerning The Possibility Of A Portland Teacher Strike

Dear Portlanders: 

We stand in support of the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) which has voted to strike after on-going negotiations with the Portland Public Schools (PPS) have failed to achieve a fair and balanced contract that both lowers class sizes and lifts up underpaid professional teachers.

In 2003, the National Council of Churches reaffirmed their historic commitment to public education by calling on “communities of faith to bring their resources, public concern, and moral authority to support not only the public schools, but also the teachers, the administrators, and, most particularly, the children in those schools.”

Our hope is that the Portland School District and the Portland Association of Teachers are able to come to an agreement before the strike begins as scheduled for Thursday, February 20th.  We call on all sides to work together for a resolution that promotes the common good of our city.  This can best be achieved by lowering class sizes during a time the PPS maintains a budget surplus.

During this difficult time we urge all sides to conduct their private and public actions with civility so that the goal of reconciliation is made easier once this process comes to a conclusion.  It is our belief that those involved on both sides care deeply about public education and children.

We affirm the words delivered by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said in 1964: “The richest nation on Earth has never allocated enough resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers, and to surround them with the prestige our work justifies. We squander funds on highways, on the frenetic pursuit of recreation, on the overabundance of overkill armament, but we pauperize education.”  Our failure to deliver quality education is a problem that is local, state and national in scope.

If the PPS forces the PAT to move forward with the planned strike by not agreeing to the justifiable requests put forward by the teachers, we call on communities of faith to open their doors, if possible, to take in children who might not otherwise have a safe place to go once the strike begins.

Finally, while we come from different faith traditions, we concur with the sentiment expressed by the NCC when they said: “…public schools are the primary route for most children—especially the children of poverty—into full participation in our economic, political, and community life. As a consequence, all of us, Christians and non-Christians alike, have a moral responsibility to support, strengthen and reform the public schools. They have been and continue to be both an avenue of opportunity and a major cohesive force in our society—a society becoming daily more diverse racially, culturally, and religiously.”

We offer our prayers for all those working toward a just solution to this crisis that averts a strike.  Please call 503-208-6521 with any questions. Titles and organizational affiliations are listed here for identification purposes only.

 

Sincerely, 

 

Rev. Chuck Currie

Minister

Sunnyside Church and University Park Church

Portland

 

Rabbi Joseph Wolf

Havurah Shalom

Portland

 

Rev. Kate Lore

Minister of Social Justice

First Unitarian Church

Portland

 

Rev. Lynne Smouse Lopez

Pastor

Ainsworth United Church of Christ

Portland

 

Rev. W. J. Mark Knutson

Senior Pastor

Augustana Lutheran Church

Portland

 

Rev. Jennifer Garrison Brownell

Pastor

Hillsdale Community Church – UCC

Portland

 

Rev. Dr. Barbara J. Campbell

Pastor

St. Mark Presbyterian Church

Portland

 

Rev. Tara Wilkins

Minister

Bridgeport United Church of Christ

Portland

 

Rabbi Debra Kolodny

P'nai Or of Portland

 

Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod, OCC

Minister of Faith Formation and Youth Ministries

Ainsworth United Church of Christ

Portland

 

Rev. Sara Rosenau

Assistant Minister

First Congregational United Church of Christ

Portland

 

Rabbi Daniel Isaak

Congregation Neveh Shalom

Portland

 

Rev. David C. Dornack

Pastor

Rose City Park Presbyterian Church

Portland

 

Sister Mary Kay Lampert

Retired Teacher

Sisters of the Holy Names

Portland

 

Rev. Don Frueh

Pastor

Parkrose Community United Church of Christ

Portland

 

Rev. Dr. Patricia Ross

Pastor Emerita 

First Congregational United Church of Christ

Portland

 

John T. Schwiebert

United Methodist Minister, Retired

18th Ave Peace House

Portland

 

Rev. Eugene Ross

United Church of Christ Minister, Retired

Portland

Rev. David Zaworski

Waverly Heights UCC

Portland