RICHMOND — The Richmond Baptist Association will consider a recommendation March 19 to retain ties to one of its churches which ordained an openly gay man to the ministry last year.
The proposal from an RBA study committee, to be presented at a special called meeting of the association, recommends that its affiliated congregations “continue to embrace Ginter Park Baptist Church as a sister church.”
Ginter Park’s ordination of Brandon Scott McGuire, a member of the church who says he feels called to minister to persons with disabilities and special needs and to their families, led the Baptist General Association of Virginia to end its nearly century-old ties to the church late last year.
But that action didn’t affect Ginter Park’s affiliation with the RBA, a network of 69 congregations in Richmond and three suburban counties organized in 1951 — coincidentally in the sanctuary of Ginter Park church, which is one of its founding members.
At its fall meeting in October, the RBA authorized an 11-member committee to consider whether the association should retain ties to Ginter Park and to bring a recommendation this spring. The proposal will be considered March 19, in a meeting called especially for that purpose at 7 p.m. at Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond.
The association’s regular spring meeting is scheduled for April 25.
Ginter Park Baptist Church was organized in 1916 on Richmond’s Northside. In December the church called as pastor Mandy England Cole, who began serving there Jan. 27.
The full text of the RBA study committee’s recommendation:
- We affirm the historic Baptist principles of soul competency, congregational autonomy and voluntary cooperation.
- We affirm the mission of the Richmond Baptist Association as put forth in its constitution and bylaws (Article 1, Sec. 2: “The mission of the Richmond Baptist Association is to serve member churches in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ by encouraging and facilitating congregational witness, fellowship and cooperation with others.”)
- We recognize that many RBA congregations would not choose to ordain a person who is homosexual and might wish to discontinue fellowship with Ginter Park Baptist Church. However, we as an association can continue to work together in the RBA’s common calling to cooperative missions.
- We recommend that the Richmond Baptist Association continue to embrace Ginter Park Baptist Church as a sister church.
Robert Dilday (rdilday@religiousherald.org) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.