OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
i
Earlier this month, a right-wing extremist
and anti-gay church charged into Southeast
Portland, guns a blazin’, to convert the heathen
masses of Portland to conservative Christianity.
At least that’s what one would be led to be
lieve by some o f the headlines.
The pastor for Mars Hill Portland, a new
location for the mega-church based in Seattle,
says he was blindsided by negative media cov
erage and ensuing backlash from the commu
nity months before the new church was set to
open. All the while, some LGBTQ_ leaders
underscored a need for dialogue and toler
ance— not belligerence and hysterics.
'Ihe Portland Mercury broke the story August
31 with the headline “Anti-Gay Megachurch
Moving to SE Portland.” Ihe Oregonian ran a
story online September 1 with the word “anti
gay” in the headline (though it was later re
placed with “conservative”). //«/ Out also ran a
story, using the word “anti-gay.”
“I don’t feel like that word describes us,”
says the pastor o f Mars Hill Portland, the Rev.
Tim Smith. “To me, ‘anti-gay’ crosses over to
attacking specific people and making people
not feel safe.”
Smith says the word and the media cover
age in general depicted the church as extrem
ist, like the Westboro Baptist Church, which
protests at military funerals with signs that
read “God hates fags.”
“That’s absolutely not the way we handle
ourselves at Mars Hill Church,” Smith says.
community
SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
¥
They Came
From
Mars
(Seattle, actually.)
13_JS
the LGBTQ^ community and evangelical
Christians to further discuss these issues.
“Too many times LGBT’ communities and
religious communities are satisfied with extreme
caricatures of one another,” Smith says. “The
point of this dialogue is to hear more stories and
learn what things we have in common. We want
to know what’s going on in the community.”
Some LGBTQ_ religious leaders echo this
sentiment. The Rev. Tara Wilkins, executive
director o f the nonprofit Community of Wel
coming Congregations, says she thinks pro
gressive communities should have a dialogue
with Mars Hill.
The Rev. Nathan Meckley of the L G B T Q ;
welcoming Metropolitan Community Church
of Portland says he isn’t comfortable with Mars
Hill’s message about homosexuality, but that
the church should be free to express its views.
The Rev. Chuck Currie, United Church of
Christ minister, posted an open letter August
31 to Mars Hill and Driscoll on his blog, in
which he wrote that he hopes “Mars Hill would
find Portland a welcoming community.”
But he went on to write, “If you’re coming
here to save the sinners o f Portland, don’t
bother.”
Smith seems to be in agreement with that
idea. “We’re not going to shove our message
down their throat,” he says.
Mega-church’s arrival stirs LGBTQ community
BY AARON SPENCER
To be sure, Mars Hill is con
“[Homosexuality] is not
troversial, even among conser
something that comes up in
vative Christians. Its Seattle
[ every sermon,” he says.
pastor, Mark Driscoll, has been
In the aftermath o f the me
criticized for comments he
dia blitz, Smith contacted Q_
made about male pastors be
Center spokesman Logan
having too effeminately.
Lynn, who in the Oregonian
The church also believes
story had extended an invite
homosexuality is a sin, though
to Smith to see the communi
so do several churches in Port
ty hub. Smith took Lynn up
land, even some in the Sunny-
on the offer.
side neighborhood, where the
“Logan was very kind and
new Mars Hill branch is lo
fair in his comments about
cated. Mars Hill also raised “Too many times LGBT
us,” Smith says. “That was in
eyebrows with a video posted
triguing to me.”
com m unities and
on its website about the new
Lynn explains his side: “I
religious
com
m
unities
Portland church, which shows
didn’t particularly view the
images of rainbow flags and a are satisfied with
whole thing as the fight I
strip club while Smith says,
know some people in the
extreme caricatures of
“[Portland] values sexual free
queer community did.”
one
another.”
dom as an end in itself with a
Lynn gave Smith a tour of
thriving sex industry that goes -REV. TIM SMITH, MARS HILL Q_ Center and told Smith
back for more than a century.”
about concerns in the LGBTQ_
But Smith says his priority is not to fight community, including recent incidents of vio-
homosexuality. He says his goal is to help lence against LGBTQ_people. They decided to Mars H ill Portland plans to start regular services
people learn about Jesus.
in the future gather a group o f individuals from in January at 3210 SE Taylor Street.
t
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