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This shift in the law of the land was no doubt part of the impetus for Wilshire’s study, Mason says. Until the Supreme Court decision, churches couldn’t perform same-gender weddings because it was illegal to do so. Once they became legal, churches had to make their case upon religious convictions rather than the law.

And at that point, Mason had to come to terms with his own convictions.

In his office, months after the vote that splintered Wilshire, Mason reflects on how long it took him to change his mind on LGBT inclusion. It’s an issue he grappled with for the entirety of his ministry.

“For many years, I went back and forth struggling with how hard a line to hold, how much grace to grant to people who were struggling with same-sex orientation,” he says.

Though Mason didn’t believe that gays and lesbians could control their affections, for decades he urged those he counseled to control whether they acted upon those affections. He told them that pleasing God and being fully accepted in the church meant bearing the cross of celibacy for their entire lives.

“That means they would never be able to have intimate relationships of love with another person the way the rest of 95 percent of the Christian world could,” Mason says.

“I realized how little hope that really gave, how little good news the church was offering to them, and I watched them live too often in futility, having to bear shame and often leaving the church. Increasingly, I believed something was wrong with that.”

Mason describes himself as a person who needs to be sure of something before he changes his mind. Over many years, he came to believe that biblical passages about homosexuality addressed people acting in sexually irresponsible and perverse ways, rather than in loving and caring relationships. That wasn’t enough, however, for him to build a case for gay marriage.

“But finally,” he says, “the weight of other biblical passages overcame my need for certainty.”

Mason references New Testament passages that talk about how Christians should not grieve the Holy Spirit, who is at work in people’s lives; that Christians should not prevent people from becoming a full part of the church because they hadn’t been circumcised, hadn’t eaten the right foods or had become eunuchs.

“All these things that were part of scriptural prohibitions, the early church discerned that the Spirit was at work in these people anyway, and they should accept them,” Mason says.

“Finally, I came to the conclusion that the authority of the Bible is not only in what it tells us to do or not to do; it is in how it helps the church to discern the will of God for today. The Bible shows us how the people of God made decisions in their day. The authority of the Bible calls on us to do as they did, not necessarily what they did.

“That became a new way of me being able to see the presence of Christ in my gay brothers and sisters and want to see them flourish within the body of Christ.”

Wilshire congregants who believed differently than Mason, who were upset with him for changing his mind, felt that he was judging them for not being enlightened enough. But it wasn’t an overnight process for him; it had taken a lifetime. To look down upon these congregants “would be intemperate on my part,” Mason says.

Some people criticized the church for acting too swiftly. Wilshire’s members would have come around within a few years, they believe, and the church could have avoided what felt like a bad divorce if the church had just waited until more people were ready.

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This reality, combined with external factors such as the Supreme Court decision, necessitated a conversation that the church had been putting off for years, Mason says. Once that discussion began, “there are thousands of people for whom if we said ‘we’re not ready’ would be more deeply hurt than if we never took it up at all,” he says.

Another factor, Mason says, is that he’s no longer a spring chicken. At 61, he isn’t sure how much longer he will be at the helm of Wilshire. If “ready” meant waiting until after his retirement, “then we would be leaving the most contentious issue in the church’s history to a new pastor,” he says. “It seems to me that this is one I had to take, so to me, delay meant deny.”

“I feel for the people who have left because I believe that they loved their church and they trusted their pastor and the leadership over many years to lead with integrity, and many of them feel betrayed,” Mason says.

“I regret that. I wish it weren’t so. But this is not a matter that we could continue to sweep under the carpet. Lives were at stake here. The witness of the gospel as we understand it was at stake.”

They are coming hesitantly, cautiously

Despite all of its losses over the past year, Wilshire is seeing glimmers of hope.

The church has welcomed 100 new members since last November, “which is a pretty high number for us,” Wingfield says. “All of those new members — to a person — know about our decision and have intentionally come to us either because of the decision or in light of the decision.”

The church hasn’t yet tracked the age of all newcomers, but typically they are younger than 60, which means that “all of a sudden, we have become a much younger church,” Wingfield says. “And yet, we still are a highly intergenerational church.” He recently presided over a funeral for an 89-year-old woman “who was one of the most vocal proponents of our inclusion efforts you could imagine.”

“We have lost some longtime leaders through this. And we lost some younger emerging leaders,” Wingfield says. But, he says, “the losses we’ve experienced have caused others to step up and take leadership roles when they hadn’t seen a need to do so before.”

No clergy or staff members walked away from the church. Mason sought their buy-in before embarking on the study, knowing that financial fallout could put their jobs at stake. They were

Members of many Protestant denominations now more accepting of homosexuality

Percentage who say homosexuality should be accepted by society aligned in their willingness to push forward, he says, and in some cases preceded him in their resolution.

The church budget did take a hit, dropping from $4.9 million in 2016 to $4.2 million in 2017. This reflects “a realistic projection of the financial shift going on,” Wingfield says. It also reflects the giving patterns of younger congregants, who aren’t as likely to tithe as regularly or as much as the Greatest Generation or even Baby Boomers.

The same is true for church attendance.

For 30 years, Wilshire’s active membership, or people who come to church at least once a year, has been relatively stable at around 1,500. It has dropped to 1,300 since last November, but because of church attendance trends, the gap appears larger than that, Wingfield says.

“A pastor friend in Richardson who has not addressed this LGBT issue in his church recently commented to me about the number of Greatest Generation members he was burying,” Wingfield says.

“And he said this: For every Greatest Generation member I lose, it takes at least two new members to make up their attendance and three new members to make up their giving. That’s just the way it is these days.”

No same-gender weddings have taken place at Wilshire since the vote last November. There have been no baby dedications for same-gender couples, no practicing gays or lesbians ordained as deacons or ministers, either.

“So there have been no precipitating steps since the vote, except that we have now what we hoped in the vote, and that is hope for LGBT persons and their families, that they can live openly as followers of Jesus among us and worship and serve freely,” Mason says.

They are coming, he says, but they are coming hesitantly, cautiously.

“Many have been visiting since November and still haven’t joined because they’re still trying to believe that it’s so and that we won’t change our minds again,” he says. Yet, “we are seeing gay the hardest stretch of Mason’s ministry, but “this was for Christians who are gay and lesbian and transgender and for their families and for the gospel’s sake. These are people who have known pain and rejection that I will never be able to match,” Mason says, adding that the temporary suffering of Wilshire’s staff and parishioners “is nothing compared to centuries of loneliness, alienation and rejection felt by LGBT Christians.

“If we can share in the sufferings of others so that we can share the joy of this, that’s where the hope is found.”

Peace be with you

When Wilshire began its voting in November 2016, the weight of both the impending national election and the local church election hung thick in the sanctuary air.

people who feel for the first time in their lives that they can trust God and the church again. I don’t know how that is not evangelism.”

It has been a painful journey, probably

“We will vote in both cases on matters that have divided us,” Mason preached in his sermon that morning. “Some would rather move to Canada than live in a future in our country under the admin- istration of the one they didn’t vote for. Some would rather move to another church than live under the conditions of a future determined by a vote they didn’t support. But by doing so, we only prove that the way the world operates is the only way open to us.”

The world draws lines in the sand and refuses to join hands with people on the other side. The church should be different, Mason says. It should be able to unite amid differences of doctrine. But by that point in Wilshire’s journey, Mason had accepted his own naïveté that Wilshire’s people could come together.

He then spoke directly to those who stood across the line from him.

“I am aware that this may be the last time many of us will worship together. If you are one of those who have already decided that you are leaving, I have something to say to you.

“Thank you,” Mason said.

“Thank you for all the years of sacrifice and service. Thank you for the gifts of time, talents and treasure that you have given to make us the church we are today. And if you wonder how you will be remembered after you leave, I will tell you: You will be recorded among the saints of this church. No one wants to be judged on the basis of one decision or snapshot of time in a life. So we will bless you and miss you.”

When the sermon ended, Wilshire congregants rose to “pass the peace,” an ancient practice of the church that allows Christians to reconcile with one another before they receive God’s forgiveness at the communion table. “Peace be with you,” Christians say to each other, with love and forgiveness flowing through handshakes and eye contact.

Mason left his pulpit and walked down the platform steps to the front pew. He sought out Wilshire deacons who no longer recognized their church, and he passed the peace of Christ to them. He knew it likely would be their final exchange.

A little over a year later, Mason is still sitting in the tension. But he is, indeed, at peace.

“It’s entirely possible that when we all get to the end, they will have been right, and I will have been wrong,” Mason says.

“But how will we know now? And if you have to be on the side of love and grace, or on the side of caution that keeps people from experiencing the full dignity of their life in Christ in the church, which side do you want to be on?”

Our Neighborhood

By PATTI VINSON

Everyone loves a parade

Giant balloons, marching bands, festive floats, celebrities in fancy cars — now that’s a parade to celebrate the season. There’s no need to travel up north. We heart you, New York, but Dallas has its own spectacular parade downtown, enjoyed by more than 400,000 spectators who line its route. But a few neighbors have a unique perspective, walking, driving and waving their way down Main Street as a piece of the parade.

Mel McDonald is Lakewood’s resident expert. He and his antique autos have been in every holiday parade since it began in 1988, as well as other area parades. As soon as he acquired his 1909 Maxwell Roadster in 1983, he offered the use of the car to the State Fair of Texas opening day parade, plus the parade thorugh the fair each evening.

That gig led to the Cotton Bowl/New Year’s Day parade, during which he has carried the likes of Cowboys Rayfield Wright and Emmitt Smith. When the holiday parade was first planned, McDonald and his vehicles came with glowing recommendations. McDonald eventually would add to his collection a 1911 Cadillac Touring Car, a 1914 Buick Roadster and a 1915 Packard Touring Car.

“It really is fun. People are in a good mood, glad to be there. They are all joyous affairs,” he says. “The only drawback is that we don’t get to watch them, except on video.”

Decked out in his top hat, long over- coat and colorful tie, he suits his vehicles. Wife Jane is always alongside, and children Lyle and Elise have waved to the crowds since infancy. The kids are grown now, living on the East Coast, but they still make travel plans around the parade. New grandbaby Lillian will soon make her parade debut.

More often than not, McDonald and crew also carry costumed characters in the parade. Over the years, those have included Dennis the Menace, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Hello Kitty and Raggedy Ann and Andy.

“Carrying Mickey Mouse and Mrs. Claus was always a special experience,” recalls McDonald. “The kids along the route just went wild, and our kids, at young ages, were thrilled about it, too. Made for a pretty momentous show-and-tell at school on Mondays.”

McDonald also remembers a costumed character with a bit of a twist: McGruff the Crime-Fighting Dog. Most of the characters/celebrities in the parade have “handlers,” and McGruff was accompanied by a police officer. “I did notice that he was very particular about knowing all the arrangements during the parade and after we finished,” McDonald says. “He stayed close by and walked along with the car during the parade.”

McDonald was later informed that the person in the costume was an inmate from Dallas County Jail. “Not what we expected,” he grins.

Another East Dallas neighbor, Ryan Booth, is a relative newcomer to the parade but loves it just as much. A resident of University Meadows, Booth has been in several parades as part of the Ebby Halliday Realtors team. Those giant balloons that elicit oohs and ahhs from the crowd? Booth can tell you all about handling them.

The balloon handlers dress to match the balloon. “One year our balloon was Garfield, so we wore orange sweatshirts and had tails. Another year, we were Mr. Potato Head and we wore black hats with fake mustaches.”

He helps to inflate the balloons with a “huge helium tank machine.” Booth says, “It takes a team effort. Those suckers are really big. Some are three or four stories tall. While the balloon is being blown up and after it’s filled, the volunteers have to hold it with ropes — otherwise, it would take off into the sky.”

And the weather can complicate matters even more. “If it’s windy, we need at least 25 people per balloon to hold it down and keep it from hitting buildings or trees.”

But picture-perfect weather doesn’t mean the job is easy. “Even if the weather is calm, we have to steer around buildings, light poles, and trees. It’s a work out.”

The crowd sometimes works them even harder with shouts to “spin,” which prompts the handlers to run in a wide circle to twirl the character.

One other job Booth has performed in the parade is holding the banner which introduces the balloon and sponsor. “I personally like holding the banner more or just standing to the side and waving because you can see more people and really get in the energy,” says Booth.

Booth, like many families for whom this event is a tradition, looks forward to the parade, regardless of his role in it. “As long as I’m involved in putting smiles on the kids’ faces, I’ll be perfectly happy.”

The Dec. 2 event runs down Commerce Street from Houston to Harwood this year, and steps off at 10 a.m. For more details at dallasholidayparade.com