CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) — The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America applauded a recent order by President Obama permitting gays to visit their domestic partners in the hospital with a statement commemorating the 15th anniversary of a controversial move that put the peace-and-justice organization on record as supporting the full inclusion of homosexuals.
The BPFNA's board of directors unanimously adopted a Statement on Justice and Sexual Orientation during their board meeting on May 20, 1995, in New York. It openly welcomed gay and lesbian members into the organization, which was formed in 1984 to mobilize Baptists on issues related to peace and justice.
In a media release April 23, leaders of the Charlotte, N.C.,-based peace group joined Obama in hoping that his April 15 memorandum requiring hospitals to "respect the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient's immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient" would be "affirmed by most Americans."
Noting that the 1995 BPFNA statement included a pledge "to work with our brothers and sisters to secure full civil and human rights within the larger culture" for those excluded because of sexual orientation, the leaders added," We are pleased that our work in this area is already constructive and influential."
The 1995 statement replaced an earlier "Statement on Gay and Lesbian Justice" adopted by the BPFNA board in February of that year. The earlier statement included a commitment to "take an active role at denominational meetings" to oppose "homophobic resolutions."
That language prompted National Ministries of the American Baptist Churches USA to cut off funding for the BPFNA until its "stated aims, goals and resolutions are consistent with American Baptist policies." National Ministries' executive director Aidsand Wright-Riggins said the Peace Fellowship statement was a "partisan position" that tended to divide instead of reconciling Christians with different views on homosexuality.
The subsequent BPFNA statement clarified that in welcoming gay and lesbian people "we do not intend to break relationship with those who disagree with our position, but rather seek to deepen dialogue."
After the second statement was passed, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship also cut off funding for the Peace Fellowship. Cecil Sherman, the CBF coordinator at the time, said by broadening its agenda to include human sexuality the group had moved beyond "any normal understanding of peace."
The controversy prompted CBF leaders to adopt a policy against "the expenditure of funds for organizations or causes that condone, advocate or affirm homosexual practice."
One thing that hasn't changed in 15 years, the April 23 BPFNA release noted, is that "the issues surrounding sexual orientation are still complex and emotionally laden."
In addition to a BPFNA resource titled Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Resource for Congregations in Dialogue on Sexual Orientation, which has been widely used in churches, the group is now working with the Alliance of Baptists and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists to survey the Baptist landscape and plan new ways to work together to make churches more welcoming places for homosexuals.
"Those who went before us 15 years ago on the board of the BPFNA rightly determined that justice for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons cannot be excluded from our compassion or attention," said BPFNA board president Stephen Jones. "We applaud that earlier effort, and our own table continues to be a table of shalom for everyone."
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.