‘A more perfect union’

Ayear ago, the church I serve as pastor — Wilshire Baptist — took a historic vote to clarify that our bylaws provide for only one class of membership. We removed the longstanding practice of denying certain privileges of membership, such as ordination and marriage, from Christians who are same-sex oriented or transgender. (See Keri Mitchell’s story on page 36 of this edition.)

We have since used the phrase “Open to All, Closed to None” to describe our fellowship. That’s generally true, but it doesn’t mean we lack discretion. We don’t allow convicted axe murderers to work in the nursery or bank robbers to count the collection. Like most churches, we require belief in Jesus and baptism in his name as a membership threshold. Full inclusion also includes high moral standards, all of which now apply equally to all.

The decision to address the scope of engagement in congregational life of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Christians was not about welcome per se. The church welcomed LGBT persons to worship with us and even to join as members. The question was whether they would be treated as second-class citizens in their own church.

Not everyone believes that was the issue. Some who left the church after the vote, and even some who stayed, believe the point was whether we would hold fast to the Church’s historic teaching that marriage is only between one man and one woman and leadership is reserved for role models of traditional sexual mores.

The debate before the vote and the reaction after it often came down to those who quoted scriptures that seems to condemn all same-sex behavior for all time, and those who looked at gay Christians today in their church and families and said, “Surely those biblical texts cannot be addressing what we see in the lives of these people.”

Churches, like nations, are unfinished projects. We are communities of real people seeking to live out our ideals toward, what Lincoln termed, “a more perfect union.” The Christian project for some is about preserving what is good from the past, while for others it’s about leaving things better than we received them. Conservatives remind progressives that every innovation isn’t an advance; progressives remind conservatives that tradition isn’t always truth. “We see as through a glass darkly,” St. Paul said. No one has all the light yet.

Like all churches, ours is a work in progress. Whether this change is progress or not is for God and time to tell, but

Worship

Baptist

PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org

Worship & Bible Study 9:15 & 10:45 Traditional, Contemporary, Spanish Speaking / 214.860.1500

ROYAL LANE BAPTIST CHURCH / 6707 Royal Lane / 214.361.2809

Christian Education 9:45 a.m. / Worship Service 10:55 a.m.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Michael L. Gregg / www.royallane.org

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00am

Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org

Disciples Of Christ

EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel

10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

Episcopal

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH / stjd.org

Worship: Sat 5:30 pm, Sun 8 & 10:30 am / Christian Ed Sunday Morning & Weekdays, see calendar on website / 214.321.6451 / 848 Harter Rd.

Lutheran

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

A Welcoming and Affirming Church / Pastor Rich Pounds

Sunday School 9:00 am / Worship 10:30 am / CentralLutheran.org

FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane

Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule. 214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org

Methodist

GRACE UMC / Diverse, Inclusive, Missional

Sunday School for all ages, 9:30 am / Worship, 10:50 am 4105 Junius St. / 214.824.2533 / graceumcdallas.org

LAKE HIGHLANDS UMC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com

Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee Worship: 8:30 am & 11:00 am Traditional / 11:00 am Contemporary

MUNGER PLACE CHURCH Come and See mungerplace.org

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

here’s the good news as I see it: LGBT Christians can now bring their whole selves to church. We are finding “them” to be “us” — no more “us and them”! We are all of us loved by God and called to live honorable lives of service to the Lord.

St. Benedict counseled his brothers to “welcome all as Christ.” We are learning anew what “all” really means; and we are being made new ourselves because of new friends who are finding their place in the pew and in our hearts.

George Mason is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and the neighborhood businesses and churches listed here. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

LAKE POINTE CHURCH – WHITE ROCK CAMPUS Classic Service at 9:30 & Contemporary Service at 11:00 am lakepointe.org / 9150 Garland Road

Presbyterian

NORTHRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 6920 Bob-O-Link Dr. 214.827.5521 / www.northridgepc.org / Sundays 8:30 & 11:00 am Sunday School 9:35am / All Are Welcome

PRESTON HOLLOW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 9800 Preston Road

8:15 am Chapel, 9:30 & 11:00 am Sanctuary, 5:00 pm Founder’s Hall

Senior Pastor Matthew E. Ruffner / www.phpc.org / 214.368.6348

ST. ANDREW’S PRESBYTERIAN / Skillman & Monticello Rev. Rob Leischner / www.standrewsdallas.org

214.821.9989 / Sunday School 9:30 am, Worship 10:45 am

Unity

UNITY ON GREENVILLE / Your soul is welcome here! 3425 Greenville Ave. / 214.826.5683 / www.dallasunity.org

Sunday Service 11:00 am and Book Study 9:30 am ed adventure in “Goodnight Lakewood.” They decided to tell their story through the eyes of their children. “Goodnight Lakewood” takes readers around White Rock Lake, visiting with monk parakeets, a duck wedding and, of course, the local coyotes. The rhyming couplets keep the story moving and the colorful illustrations will keep children engaged.

Zip Code Conversion

Neighbors in Hollywood Santa Monica say they want to change their zip code so that they can make an argument to be included in Dallas ISD’s District 2. The HSM newsletter reads, “Our neighborhood does not have a voice in electing the DISD Trustee who represents our zoned public schools as we are in DISD Trustee District 9. Changing our zip code will help us argue that we should be in DISD District 2 when DISD Trustee boundaries are redrawn.” Those pushing for change are currently getting feedback from their neighbors and researching the process required to change the zip code.

Suing The City

The company behind the stalled development at 4217 Swiss Ave. is suing the City of Dallas in federal court for revoking its permit. Last month, a stop-work order was put on the partially constructed property after the Peak’s Addition Homeowners Association took the city and the Board of Adjustment to court and won. Peak’s Addition argued that the permit issued to build the mixed-use development violated the residential proximity slope for the historic area, meaning the building was too tall and too close to the street. Encore Enterprises is the parent company of EMF Swiss Avenue LLC, who is the plaintiff in the case. EMF argues that the permit was legally obtained, and that the judge did not require to city to stop the work. Corporate Counsel Jonathan Rector wrote in a statement to the Advocate: “The city made the irrational and unnecessary decision to issue a stop work order, making a mockery of the well-established process for obtaining approval for development in Dallas and sets a dangerous precedent if it is allowed to stand.”