Historic Houston church leaves United Methodist Church over LGBTQ stance
Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries, said she believes that the longer the denomination’s General Conference is delayed, the more churches will leave.
Bering Church in Houston. Image courtesy of Google Maps
April 29, 2021
(RNS) The Rev. Diane McGehee described Bering Church as “deeply Methodist.”
Even so, the Houston church voted earlier this month to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States.
With the denomination gridlocked over the inclusion of LGBTQ people, who make up a significant part of Bering’s congregation, McGehee said, “It’s time to stop the harm.”
Grace Fellowship Church is one of several area churches that began livestreaming their services during the pandemic.
âIn many ways, the website of a church has really become the front door,â said Grace Fellowship Church Lead Pastor Matt Murphy. âThatâs where people go first.â
Murphy said Grace Fellowship had been planning to livestream their services before COVID-19 hit, but suspending in-person worship sped up the process. Murphy said online services have actually helped church numbers rise.
âThe number of folks that weâve been able to reach through our online services is actually more than we were reaching before COVID,â said Murphy.
Apr 16, 2021
ALANSON, Mich. W. Ford Kaufman, 66, of The Shores on Crooked Lake, passed away on April 2 after a life lived gracefully with MS. Ford was born on August 5, 1954 in Gladstone, Mich. He was a 1972 graduate of Gladstone High School and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology from Western Michigan University, which led to his work as a behavioral psychologist.
Ford loved sports, from his high school track relay team and later Murph’s Fast-Pitch Baseball Team, about which he had many fond memories. While still able, he fished for walleye and salmon with brother Mike (Mio) and friends on Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. Ford was one of Mio’s Boys Basketball’s biggest fans – traveling from Kalamazoo for almost every single game when they were undefeated and State Champions in 1989.
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Ophelia Hu Kinney is a member of HopeGateWay, one of four area congregations that have voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church over its policies about sexuality and discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
When Ophelia Hu Kinney and her wife moved to Portland in 2016, they found themselves at home at HopeGateWay, a community of faith that grew from the roots of the former Chestnut Street United Methodist Church.
Hu Kinney felt HopeGateWay, which was affiliated with the United Methodist Church, had put to rest questions about queer and trans inclusion and was focusing on the larger community, social justice and spiritual formation.
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