Morgan Hill
’s religious community joined a hotly contested debate Sunday as
the Interfaith Clergy Association Forum on Controversial Topics
took on the issue of gay marriage.
Morgan Hill’s religious community joined a hotly contested debate Sunday as the Interfaith Clergy Association Forum on Controversial Topics took on the issue of gay marriage.
In recent months, the country has been polarized by the issue, most notably because of San Francisco’s decision to legalize gay marriage despite a state law to the contrary.
While same sex marriages have been halted in San Francisco, the debate still rages. A Constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage currently is being debated in the U.S. Senate.
With those issues as a backdrop, the five pastors and one rabbi met to voice their opinions and to open a dialogue. No representative from the gay community was on the panel.
Opinions ranged from the acceptance of gay marriage to calling homosexuality a threat to society.
Between 20 and 30 people from the community were on hand to watch the forum at the Community and Cultural Center. Those on hand took part in discussion about the meaning of a passage from 1 Samuel in the Bible. The discussion focused on what they knew of the text and how could people use it one way or another.
IT’S WRONG
“We don’t stand in opposition to same sex people,” said Pastor Mike Burchfield of West Hills Community Church, “but we do stand in opposition to same sex marriage.”
Burchfield went on to cite a study from Scandinavia, where same sex marriages are legal, claiming the country’s moral fiber has been in decline in the 10 years since the law went into effect.
Burchfield also feared if gay marriage were legalized, his freedoms would be taken away and expose him to hate crime laws by forbidding speech implying homosexuality is wrong.
“I’m afraid that same sex laws will deprive me of my freedom of speech and my freedom of religion,” Burchfield said.
Father Gene O’Donnell, the pastor from St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, didn’t go as far as Burchfield in his opposition, but said by the church’s definition, homosexual people cannot get married.
“Same sex unions are unable to be a marriage because they cannot procreate,” O’Donnell said.
But despite his opposition, he made clear that he was not putting down gays and lesbians.
“It is not the intent of the church to infringe on the civil rights of anyone,” O’Donnell said. “But we intend to protect the sanctity of marriage for future generations.”
Perhaps the most adamant opposition to gay marriage came from Pastor Drake Fenn of the Family Worship Center in San Martin who said he would never recognize what the state or nation said on the issue, only what the Bible says.
“We should be centered on the Bible, not what society or the Supreme Court says,” Fenn said. “We ask what the Bible says, not what the mayor of San Francisco, or of San Jose or of any other institution says.”
INCLUSION
While most churches have not come right out to embrace gay marriage, some pastors are opening their minds to the possibility.
Father Phil Cooke from St. John the Divine Episcopal Church said the struggle by gays is no different than the strugglesby African-Americans and women who both fought against the society of the day to achieve equality.
“Were these issues accepted overnight or were there long debates before they were accepted as law?” Cooke asked. “I will work for the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church. (They) still come to worship; I don’t want them to go away.”
Pastor Ted Pecot of the Morgan Hill United Methodist Church said gays and lesbians have just as much of a right to get married as anyone else. He told a story of being on a plane with several honeymooning couples, some of whom were in same sex marriages.
“They were celebrating not only getting married, but a right denied to them for a millennia,” Pecot said.
Pecot added the world is complex, but the church and the bible portray it as if gay marriage was a simple issue.
“The world is not black and white, but the views of the church and the Bible was written as if it were,” Pecot said.
Rabbi Yitzhak Miller from Congregation Emeth, and the only Jewish representative on the panel, was on the fence but conceded that further thought on the subject was necessary.
“In the course of one generation, the absolute truth about what position to lay a baby has flipped flopped,” said Miller, implying positions on gay marriage may change as well. “The statements of my learned colleges logically make sense to me, they emotionally make sense to me. But I just don’t know.”
CIVIL UNIONS/RIGHTS
Those opposed to same sex marriage have said they are in favor of a civil union, which is only legal in Vermont.
For some, a civil union is not enough and it is a civil right.
Civil rights was a touchy subject for the panel, but while some can’t accept same sex couples married, they were quick to say they wanted to accept them as humans.
“Marriage goes beyond the issue of civil rights,” Fenn said. “God established that marriage is to populate the world. It’s not an issue of civil rights; it falls into a different category.”
While tempers never flared, the pastors voiced their disagreements. Pecot said marriage for procreation went against other practices in the church.
“Sex compatibility is troublesome,” Pecot said. “We have allowed, and encouraged, people who can’t have children to adopt.”
While the church wants to love everyone, opponents to same sex marriage, and homosexuality in general, say it is a sin before God and should not be encouraged.
“While we love practicing homosexuals, I must equivocally state that it is a sin,” Fenn said. “Homosexuality is in the same category as adultery, bestiality and other sexual immoralities.”
Pecot tried not to be as harsh as Fenn, but asked people not be the judges in this issue.
“We are all loved by God,” Pecot said. “They live destructive lives, but we all do.”
IS MARRIAGE SAFE?
Opponents of gay marriage call it a threat to marriage as an institution. Burchfield said legal same sex marriage won’t have an immediate impact, but would hurt in the long run.
“If the Supreme Court says two men or two women can marry, it will not have an impact on my marriage,” Burchfield said. “We should look at the impact of future society.”
St. Catherine’s O’Donnell disagreed with the assessment, claiming divorce and premarital sex pose the greatest risk.
“The greatest threat to marriage is divorce and greater numbers of couples living together out of marriage,” O’Donnell said. “That is a greater threat to marriage than a same sex marriage.”
PUBLIC RESPONSE
At the conclusion of the forum, people were left discussing the same issues among themselves. Most thought the debate was a good way to open a conversation.
“I am thankful that the word of God was presented on this issue,” said a San Martin resident who asked not to be identified. “(I’m thankful) that his word does speak clearly concerning homosexuality and his love for us.”
Audience members, even though they thought the debate met its goal, thought the debate was too short.
“I wish it was longer,” said San Jose resident Robert Sawatzky who attends church in Morgan Hill. “I was hoping more questions would be answered.”
The interfaith association will have another public forum, also at the Community and Cultural Center Sunday, Oct. 17, though a time has not been set. The exact topic has not been chosen, but it will deal with politics and religion.
