Security concerns mount for Methodist 'gay' event!

By Jon Ostendorff
STAFF WRITER
published: August 26, 2005 6:00 am

LAKE JUNALUSKA — A volatile mix of gay Christians, anti-gay Christians and white supremacists has law enforcement officials in Haywood County concerned about public safety on Labor Day weekend.

Haywood County Sheriff Tom Alexander on Thursday met with Lake Junaluska Assembly’s security chief and state and federal officers to come up with a plan to keep the peace during Chicago-based Reconciling Ministries Network conference Sept. 2-5. The organization advocates opening the United Methodist Church to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender Christians.

The security plan calls on deputies, most of the Assembly’s 13-officer force, the State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and the N.C. Highway Patrol. Officers from Waynesville, Canton, Clyde and Maggie Valley could also be called in to help, the sheriff said. Assembly officials say the plan could change next week.

This issues are just getting more heated. The Methodist's should have stopped this at the beginning, just as the ELCA Lutherans should have.


Security concerns mount as Junaluska event nears

Pastor canned for denying membership to 'gay'

TESTING THE FAITH
Pastor denies membership
to homosexual, gets canned
Methodist cleric suspended from pulpit
for 1 year for 'living out his conscience'
Posted: July 30, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern


A pastor who denied church membership to a homosexual has been banished from the pulpit and denied his salary for one year by the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, despite the admission he acted on his conscience and his action could be defended "in theory" from the Methodist Book of Discipline.

And can you believe that a pastor would actually hold the Bible to some kind of higher knowledge?

"I was trying to show him the church was open to receiving [the member]," Layman said. "He, in turn, relied on his interpretation of the scriptures."

I just can not believe that this is actually an issue, give in a little and they want the world. The Bible declares it a sin, you must repent of these sins and yet they want the Church to condone them.

"I feel Rev. Johnson was holding to biblical principle in denying membership to that individual," Creamer told VaNCNews. "I feel extremely sad and grieved. I feel a terrible injustice was done."

Creamer said the homosexual man at the center of the dispute had been attending the church for some time and sang in the choir.

"This person was never discouraged from coming to church. That would be un-Christian. However, actual membership would be another story," he said.

"The church is not upholding the biblical principles outlined in Leviticus, 2 Timothy and Corinthians about homosexuality and the sins thereof," he added.

And to sum it all up, I think this comment actually says it all,

"I cannot see how you can take Holy Communion and openly practice that lifestyle. The Bible says homosexuality is a sin. Now everybody sins, but we like to think that everybody who is a member of the United Methodist Church is attempting to repent of their sins. Openly practicing homosexuality is not an attempt to repent of sins, in my opinion."

Methodist cleric suspended from pulpit

Although I think violence is not the answer, I also do not think one should ask to Church to change to accommodate their refusal to recognize they are sining.

[edit on 28-8-2005 by edsinger]

At your next church meeting, will you be calling to revoke the memberships of all the overweight people in the congregation? - You know, Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, so "fat" people are obviously "sinning" -

What's good for the 'gay' is good for the 'glutton', so:

"I cannot see how you can take Holy Communion and openly practice that lifestyle. The Bible says gluttony is a sin. Now everybody sins, but we like to think that everybody who is a member of the United Methodist Church is attempting to repent of their sins. Openly practicing gluttony is not an attempt to repent of sins, in my opinion."


This was not meant to offend anyone (I'm plump myself) - but meant to show how obsurd it sounds when looked at from a different angle. Maybe gluttony is not as sinful as homosexuality (I thought a sin was a sin and all carried equal weight), but there are those out there just as disgusted with fat people as some are with homosexuality - now do you really think the pastor would deny anyone membership because their body-fat percentage was too high?

I guess it's all in your "interpretation" of the scriptures. "In My Opinion"





[edit on 8/30/05 by paulthefourth]

Good point.. you'd also have to excommunicate all those who groomed themselves in front of a mirror before they went to church [vanity] to make themselves look better than other members of the congregation [envy], all those who didn't stand in front of a mirror [sloth], anyone who expressed hatred towards homosexuals [anger] and anyone who thinks they've got a right to say that the only deadly sin that should be judged is lust [pride].

If only 'sinless' people were aloud in churches.. they'd all be empty.

Originally posted by riley

If only 'sinless' people were aloud in churches.. they'd all be empty.

AMEN BROTHER!!!!!!! Can I get a Hallelujah?!?!?!?!