Sojouner FALSE – progressive Christian organization not so progressive after all

This story’s been out a couple days. Sojourners, an organization that brands itself as the nation’s premier progressive Christian voice, has rejected an extremely benign ad welcoming a family of two mothers and their son to church. It’s as sad as it is disgraceful. What a terrible message to send, and exactly the message the not-progressive churches want to hear: that even a forward-thinking Christian organization can’t see past the end of its frightened nose. Sojourners explained its decision by saying it “did not take sides.” To welcome someone, anyone, to church is not a “side,” it is a requirement of anyone who takes Jesus seriously as something other than a political tool. From rd Magazine:

It can be argued that Mother’s Day is the most popular secular holiday in our churches. Attendance increases, special music is featured, pastors pay particular attention to crafting messages that affirm the place of motherhood in keeping families and communities faithfully knit together. So it seemed fitting that Believe Out Loud, a trans-denominational effort to promote LGBT equality in mainline Protestant congregations, focused on Mother’s Day to launch its new campaign to invite one million believers to “sign up” for full LGBT equality in our churches and society-at-large. [SNIP] Taking sides? What are the sides here? That young children who have same-gender parents are not welcome in our churches? That “welcome, everyone” (the only two words spoken in the ad) is a controversial greeting from our pulpits? That the stares the young boy and his moms get while walking down the aisle are justified? I can’t imagine Sojourners turning down an ad that called for welcome of poor children into our churches. So why is this boy different? I called the folks at Sojourners and asked what the problem was, what the “sides” in question might be. The first response was that Sojourners has not taken a stance on gay marriage (the ad is not about gay marriage); or on ordination of homosexuals (the ad is about welcome, not ordination); that the decision, made by “the folks in executive” (why such a high level decision?) was made quickly because of the Mother’s Day deadline. The rationale kept shifting. The reasoning made no sense. By the way, if you want to see what a true progressive Christian looks like, see my interview with Rev. Pat Bumgardner of MCC New York.]]>