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NC
Baptist Churches Leave
Over
Convention's Anti-Gay Stand
by
365Gay.com February 5, 2007
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Charlotte, North Carolina --
For the second time in a week a Charlotte Baptist church has voted to leave the
Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
In November delegates to the annual meeting of the state Baptist Convention
voted to expel any church that welcomes gays and lesbians.
Members of St. John's Baptist Church voted overwhelmingly by a show of hands on
Sunday to leave the convention contingent on a determination of what the
decision will mean to its tax exempt status.
The statement put to the congregation accused the Baptist State Convention of
choosing "to narrow its membership to exclude churches and institutions that do
not adhere to its exclusive and discriminatory view of who is welcome in its
fellowship."
Last week Park Road Baptist decided to quit the convention and some 18 other
state Baptist churches are reportedly considering similar action.
All 20 churches are self-described "welcoming churches" for LGBT parishioners.
"The November vote (by the convention) was the last straw for us," the Rev. Russ
Dean, of Park Road, told the Charlotte Observer.
A third church under investigation for its inclusion of gay parishioners --
Myers Park Baptist -- rather than taking a preemptive approach and quitting has
publicly invited leaders of the state convention to visit the church before
ousting it.
"We will not allow our conscience to be coerced by [the convention's]
exclusionary conditions of membership," the church said in a statement.
The North Carolina Baptist Convention has 1.2 million members and 4,080 churches
making it the second largest association of Baptist churches in the country.
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