St. Luke’s Church in downtown East Greenwich. (Photo courtesy of EG Patch)
An Episcopal church in East Greenwich told a local Cub Scout group it can’t use its facilities to meet because it doesn’t agree with the Boy Scouts of America decision to discriminate against gay people, according to East Greenwich Patch.
Tim Rich, the priest at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, told EG Patch that the decision to not let local Cub Scouts to use its facilities to meet was a “unanimous conclusion.”
He said, “From the lens of faith, which is how I view things, it rejects that certain of God’s children are unworthy to be included. It’s quite the modern-day representation of everything I think Jesus fought against. So, from a faith standpoint I just really reject their decision.”
Rich is new to the church in June. The congregation is somewhat liberal, but has many conservative members as well. It will be interesting to see how the “unanimous” decision will play with parishioners and with East Greenwich residents, who aren’t known for their commitment to social justice.
The Episcopal Church is the largest denomination in the United States to sanction same sex relationships, though it has a tiered system not unlike Rhode Island’s marriage for heterosexual couples and civil unions for same sex couples. In the Episcopal Church same sex marriages are called: “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant,” according to NPR and the AP.
St. Luke’s Church should serve as a model for other facilities, especially all Rhode Island public school facilities that have allowed the Boy Scouts to use facilities while the Scouts promote their discriminatory policies, often after additionally waiving any usual fee for using these facilities.
A discriminatory organization should be condemned and no tax money should support them.
Perhaps it is time for the Boy Scout to have a reformation where those in the Scouts who support it’s positives but decry discrimination break away and form a new organization where all are welcome regardless of sexual orientation.