Church leaders vary on approach to gay marriage issue

YAKIMA, Wash. — When it comes to supporting gay marriage in Washington, there may be one question even more divisive for Christians than the one they're likely to see on the November ballot.

What would Jesus do?

"There's churches on both sides of that in Yakima," the Rev. David Helseth of Englewood Christian Church said. "I expect there will be some congregations and leaders that are very vocal."

Helseth is one of numerous church leaders locally who won't be addressing the issue from the pulpit anytime soon. He said he knows church members who support and oppose gay marriage, and he would rather promote civil dialogue than something that could seriously divide the congregation.

"We are not going to exclude anybody," Helseth said. "Everyone has a place at Christ's table."

The Rev. Mike Scheid of Yakima's Central Lutheran Church said gay marriage hasn't been seriously addressed within his congregation yet, and that's likely because the issue is still ongoing. Scheid said he thinks the topic will become a bigger issue later in the year when a likely referendum settles the question of legalization.

The inevitable question for his church will be whether to allow a gay couple to wed in the sanctuary.

"We're going to have people coming to the congregation with marriage licenses, and that would be a different issue," Scheid said. "That would be one people want to talk about."

The Catholic bishops of Washington have already asked parishioners to oppose "the redefinition of marriage." Evangelical leaders testified against the gay marriage legislation, while members of other Protestant denominations urged lawmakers and their congregations to support the bill.

Even religious opponents of gay marriage find they must balance their position with other teachings in the Bible, such as inclusion and forgiveness.

The Rev. Brien Sturgill of Christian Life Center, who opposes gay marriage, said he espouses reconciliation over conflict. When members of his congregation told him they had a homosexual child who wanted to marry a member of the same sex and have them attend the ceremony, Sturgill told them they should go despite their opposition.

"It's commendable to take a stance on what you believe, but you support your child," he said. "It's very important to support your child."

The Rev. Bill Poores of Yakima's Rainbow Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church, which was founded in 1994 "as a congregation open to all sexual orientations," said the members support gay marriage because the question isn't a religious one.

"This is not about religion, it's about civil rights," Poores said.

He said his congregation would mobilize to fight efforts to repeal the gay marriage law.

"Civil rights should never be voted on," Poores said. "If they had been voted on in the 1960s, then African-American people would not have received civil rights."

Gov. Chris Gregoire signed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage on Monday, making Washington the seventh state to do so. Preserve Marriage Washington filed a referendum opposing the law immediately. The group must collect 120,577 valid voter signatures by June 6 to have the issue placed on the November ballot.

* Mike Faulk can be reached at 509-577-7675 or mfaulk@yakimaherald.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Mike_Faulk.