July 6, 2005
Ft. Wayne [Indiana] Journal Gazette

Pastors celebrate gay-union ruling But UCC leaders cautious of effects
By Rosa Salter Rodriguez, The Journal Gazette

One Fort Wayne congregation is greeting with open arms the passage of a resolution supporting same-sex marriage by the governing body of the United Church of Christ.

But another United Church of Christ pastor says she expects difficult times ahead for other area UCC congregations - even though she voted for the measure.

“I put my prayers in for all our conference ministers, because they will be the first people that people who are concerned about this decision will go to. And they will face hard questions for sure,” said the Rev. Julia Goodall, pastor of Grace-St. John’s United Church of Christ in Fort Wayne and a delegate to the general synod meeting in Atlanta.

But leaders of Plymouth Congregational Church-United Church of Christ say the declaration is going to change little in that congregation, which, like nearly 600 others, has declared itself to be “open and affirming of gays and lesbians.”

“As a pastor of a congregation that is open and affirming, I am thrilled that the general synod of the United Church of Christ has embraced the cause of equal marriage rights for all, regardless of gender,” the Rev. John Gardner said in a written statement Tuesday.

“As a clergy member who expects the church to defend civil liberties, promote justice and advance human rights, the general synod’s pronouncement did not disappoint. God’s extravagant welcome was clearly affirmed yet again,” Gardner said.

The resolution asks congregations of the denomination to consider marriage policies “that do not discriminate against couples based on gender.”

It also asks churches to consider working against laws that ban same-sex marriage and support those that advance the cause.

Because of the structure of the United Church of Christ, which grants individual congregations considerable autonomy, Goodall says, the resolution is not binding for individual churches.

“I have a very loving and accepting congregation, and I think they will be very accepting of this,” she says. But she adds that her congregation is just in the early stages of considering the same-sex issues.

But Ruth Phillips, associate pastor at Plymouth Congregational Church, 501 W. Berry St., says members have been openly discussing the church’s role and response to sexuality issues including homosexuality and gender identity for the past decade.

The church is helping sponsor a city showing of the “Love Makes a Family” photo exhibit, which is sympathetic to gay and lesbian families, at the Fort Wayne Pride Festival on July 30.

And, although Phillips has never been asked to officiate at a blessing or commitment ceremony of a same-sex couple, she says Gardner has served in that role at least once.

Phillips adds that she would be “happy” to do so, if the couple demonstrated the same sincerity, thoughtfulness and dedication to a long-term and monogamous union as would be expected of an opposite-sex couple.

“We do not do cold-call marriages,” she says. “People need to come and have a relationship with the church, and we need to know who they are before we consent to officiate at a ceremony.

“We expect the same thing from same-sex or heterosexual couples.”

Phillips says she hopes the resolution will encourage church members to become politically active in support of same-sex marriage.

Indiana’s House and Senate have passed a constitutional amendment banning it. But it must be passed again by both houses in 2007 or 2008 before the measure would go to the state’s voters in the 2008 general election.

Indiana law defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Of the 170 churches of the church’s Indiana-Kentucky conference, five consider themselves “open and affirming,” Phillips says.

There are six UCC churches in Fort Wayne, including a mission congregation focused on the Hispanic community. Plymouth has about 700 members, Phillips said.

Statewide, the Protestant denomination has about 48,000 members, or about 1 percent of the state’s population, according to survey results published at www.adherents.com , a religious demographics Web site. Nationally, the denomination claims 1.3 million members.

In the early 1970s, the UCC denomination became the first to ordain an openly gay minister and establish a gay caucus.

Phillips says she believes the new resolution won’t create divisiveness in the church “because the division on the issue already exists.”

She expects little dissent or loss of members in her congregation. “I would not expect that at this point,” she says. “But within every congregation there is the aspect of individual freedom.”

Phillips says the Rev. Stephen Gray, conference minister for the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, has been invited to speak Sunday at the church, and she expects him to touch on the issue.

And Goodall says she plans to report on the conference and take questions during Sunday worship at Grace-St. John’s at 4120 S. Webster St.

“Our church has faced contentious issues before, and the way we got through them was to keep the dialogue going,” she said, adding that what she found “really touching” was a prayer offered by the Rev. John Thomas, UCC president, that reached out to the opponents of the measure.

“He said rather than use our hands for applause, we should use them to wipe away tears,” she said, “because there are going to be people who are going to be hurt by this.”