Sunday, June 28th 11 am as part of our "Dare to be Different" sermon series, Washington Plaza Baptist Church will celebrate Gay Acceptance Sunday.
If there ever was a doubt that we were a different kind of church, this Sunday tops the cake! It is a day to celebrate the gay community that is within our church family and thank God for all people in our community no matter who they choose to partner with.
But, really the service, won't be that much different than normal worship at Washington Plaza, so no need to be worried. We'll probably sing more hymns about God's acceptance and love. And, as we do every week, we'll hear the scriptures read and proclaimed about God's love and desire for all of us to be in relationship with our Creator. We'll all share a meal together afterwards in the Plaza room where table fellowship creates bonds of community.
I am happy to continue the tradition of this service because their are so few churches like ours that will be so welcoming in this way. I consider it this day an opportunity to proclaim God's justice- that all are welcome in the kingdom, even those this group of folks have been traditionally shunned by the church at large. It is our chance to express God's love through the welcome of open hands.
Yet, I know that there are some outside our community of faith that are still struggling with acceptance of this. So part of the week of Gay Acceptance Day, we will be showing the documentary film: "For the Bible Tells Me So" at two church members' homes on Friday, June 26th. It will be an opportunity for an open dialogue about faith, sexuality, and God's love.
This is how the film describes itself: "Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, it is a great thought provoking film."
If you would like more information about Gay Acceptance Day or the Church-wide movie night, feel free to email me. We'd love to welcome you during this important weekend in the life of our church.
