Rev. Mike Castle, a gay clergy member and the main speaker at the Coming Out Christian Service last night, likened his experience being defrocked by the Southern Baptist church to falling off a train.
You pick yourself up
dust yourself off and keep going. They thought they were shutting a door but God opened a window Castle said.
Now Castle's ordination has been reinstated by another protestant denomination, the United Church of Christ. He and several members of his Baptist congregation worked to found Cross Creek Community Church in Dayton, which focuses on acceptance of all races, backgrounds and sexual orientations.
A handful of people gathered in Galbreath Chapel to show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students struggling to balance their faith and sexuality.
The service began with the congregation singing John Lennon's Imagine
which connected with the theme of Castle's speech. Castle blamed Christian groups' intolerance of LGBT members on lack of imagination.
Southern Baptists misuse the Bible to insist that gay
lesbian
bisexual and transgender people are sick and sinful
without even knowing them and without even trying to imagine the sexual orientation that is theirs to live
he said.
The Southern Baptists' refusal to acknowledge and support LGBT members lead to the fracturing of families and firing of good faithful ministers
Castle said. He also criticized conservative Christian groups for exercising their power in the political realm to deny American LGBT citizens' marriage benefits.
Castle urged the congregation to use its imagination to understand the perspective of LGBT members. Straight community members must realize that LGBT issues are pressing and real. Churches need to find a more welcoming way to address the issue than to turn a blind eye and hate the sin
love the sinner.
Rev. Jan Griesinger, director of United Campus Ministry, began the service at OU five years ago after attending a similar ceremony at Oberlin College. She asked the LGBT group to include it in the schedule for the annual Coming Out Week.
Many denominations of Christianity are traditionally the major vocal opponents to LGBT rights, Griesinger said. The prevalence of this viewpoint makes it sound that Christianity is anti-gay, and the ceremony was meant to emphasize that someone could be both gay and a Christian.
