RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia Baptist association’s March vote not to oust a church for ordaining a gay minister has prompted a number of members to leave or consider doing so, renewing suggestions that the congregation at the center of the controversy should voluntarily withdraw for the good of the whole.
About a quarter of Richmond Baptist Association’s (RBA) churches have either ended ties (69) or threatened to leave (11) in the seven weeks since messengers narrowly voted to retain the membership of Ginter Park Baptist Church.
Last September, Ginter Park Baptist ordained Brandon Scott McGuire, a gay church member who feels called to minister to persons with disabilities and special needs and to their families.
The Baptist General Association of Virginia severed ties with the nearly century-old church in November 2012. But at a called meeting March 19, after more than an hour of discussion, the local association voted 176–158 to endorse a committee’s recommendation to “embrace Ginter Park Baptist Church as a sister church” without endorsing its views on homosexuality.
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