Churches quit feeding homeless

O

Orleander

OH JOY!!!!
Valued Senior Member
Am I understanding this correctly??

3 local churches are pulling out of a group of churches that come together to feed and minister to the poor/homeless because the other churches will not take a stand against homosexuality?

Now I understand a bit more why Kalamazoo ended up being 6th meanest city in the nation when it comes to the homeless


Churches to leave homeless ministry over sexuality conflict

KALAMAZOO — Theological disagreements over homosexuality are causing a divide within a downtown ministry that serves the poor, homeless and lonely.

Martha’s Table, through which eight churches have provided Sunday afternoon worship and meals for the needy at First Congregational Church, is losing three of the churches because of the issue of homosexuality, even though the ecumenical ministry takes no position on it, said the Rev. Matt Laney, pastor of First Congregational.

Agape Christian Church and Word for Life Church of God plan to withdraw from Martha’s Table at the end of the year, and Centerpoint Church (formerly Third Reformed Church) has already done so, Laney said.

“The founding principle of Martha’s Table was that churches would come together and put aside their differences in light of what unites us, which is our common commitment to serve Christ and others,” Laney said. “But now this difference has risen above our common commitment to serving Christ.”

Laney said representatives of all three churches have been “very clear” that they don’t want to be “guilty by association” with First Congregational and its inclusiveness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said Laney, who publicly supported an ordinance passed by Kalamazoo voters in November that protects GLBT people from discrimination in housing, jobs and accommodations.....
 
now do you see why i would rather things like this be govermental responcability than relie on church gratitude?

Even Mother Terasa was known to turn away people for "moral reasons" (gays, prositutes, people with AIDs ect)
 
Asguard said:
now do you see why i would rather things like this be govermental responcability than relie on church gratitude?

Even Mother Terasa was known to turn away people for "moral reasons" (gays, prositutes, people with AIDs ect)
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The thing is that people need help through no fault of their own should be considered first. I try to give handouts to beggars on the street even though i know they did that to themselves by using drugs and they didnt have to turn out that way. This is very small like a dollar or two and i am low on funds myself but some are very bad off so i give it to them knowing that they did it to themselves and a family or even a single person who has fallen on hard times through no fault of their own is more deserving of being helped though.
 
so because someone is gay povety is there fault? because someone suffers AIDs as a result of being raped or whatever its there fault? You are a joke
 
Asguard said:
so because someone is gay povety is there fault? because someone suffers AIDs as a result of being raped or whatever its there fault? You are a joke
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You are creating scenarios here, that is disingenuous and deceptive. Did i say anything that a gay person should be treated differently?

What is it with the ad homs?
 
I'm sure there are secular institutions that address these needs that the church cannot. Aren't there?
 
Are these churches still doing their own ministries towards feeding the homeless? If so, I see nothing insane with this.

I wouldn't want to join a pseudo-organization that consists of a bunch of Atheists feeding the homeless, when the majority of the organization is...I dunno. Heavily communist, Anarchistic, whatever. While it's not talked about, I don't want to be associated with things I heavily disagree with (not saying I'm anti-commie or anti-anarchist, I'm just making examples). I can still set up my own feeding station.

Is it as efficient to have multiple feeding joints? No. But how many Atheists and Christians and Pagans actually get over themselves and band together to feed the homeless?
 
What is it about homosexuality? This is just as stupid as the liberal groups that vilify the boyscouts for not allowing homosexual males to be scout leaders. You shouldn't have to agree on every issue to get together and do something you all agree is good.
 
It's a hot topic. I mean, do these churches reject other churches that have deacons that have been divorced?

It is ridiculous, but such is the nature of humans.
 
SAM said:
I'm sure there are secular institutions that address these needs that the church cannot. Aren't there?
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In my area, sure - many government programs, most effectively, and lots of local food shelves etc.

They have been having trouble lately, with the political rise of the Christian right - budgets cut, tax status called into question, grants not renewed, corporate support waning.
 
There should enough combined IQ for the secularists to get past that, no doubt. There can't be so many homeless homosexuals to feed?

I'm assuming that the churches have simply disconnected from the program not from feeding the homeless.
 
SAM said:
I'm assuming that the churches have simply disconnected from the program not from feeding the homeless.
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No. The issue was never feeding the homosexuals - they'd been doing that all along. The issue was cooperating in common charity with other people who did not share their disapproval of homosexuality, and said so.

They couldn't see their way to doing that.

And in my area, they have used their political power to prevent such cooperation among others. It conflicts with what their clerics tell them their Bible tells them their God told the Bible writers.
 
iceaura said:
No. The issue was never feeding the homosexuals - they'd been doing that all along. The issue was cooperating in common charity with other people who did not share their disapproval of homosexuality, and said so.

They couldn't see their way to doing that.

And in my area, they have used their political power to prevent such cooperation among others. It conflicts with what their clerics tell them their Bible tells them their God told the Bible writers.
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Many they could have a national referendum on whether they want to see homosexuals in their community.
 
SAM said:
Many they could have a national referendum on whether they want to see homosexuals in their community.
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The secularists have forestalled that, by writing a Constitution.

They'd had a lot of experience with fundies. And so have we.

That's why we don't rely on them to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc, either.
 
iceaura said:
The secularists have forestalled that, by writing a Constitution.

They'd had a lot of experience with fundies. And so have we.

That's why we don't rely on them to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc, either.
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Then there is no problem, is there? If they don't want to be associated with a church that includes LGBT, thats their prerogative; if that is what their parish/congregation/constituency agrees with, they should have the freedom of religion to say so. Much like excluding a creationist from a biology department. If you don't qualify, you don't qualify. Its not like they are issuing sexual identity passes and turning them away at the checkpoint
 
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I wonder if they would feed an openly gay homeless person. For some reason, its not about helping people for them, its about how they don't want to have anythign to do with churches that accept all of God's children.

I wonder how they feel about divorced people. I wonder if they are allowed in those churches.
 
It makes sense. If you believe that some omnipotent life form is going to torture you for eternity because you support non-straight sexuality then of course you are going to stop supporting that.

An excellent example of why religion that invokes fantasy-as-truth is harmful.
 
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