8/28/2009 11:58:00 AM Pastor to set up 'gay-friendly' church
Views: Pastor Hayward-Harris says it is unChristian to shun people for sexual preferences. *Photo supplied
Inclusive Vision Church is exploding in popularity across the United States
Pastor O.C. Allen III, affectionately called "Pastor Clay" by his congregation, is the founder and Senior Pastor of The Vision Church of Atlanta.
He is CEO of The Vision Community Foundation Inc., which provides accessible social services for "under-served populations".
He is a speaker, lecturer, singer, writer and human rights advocate known for his "uncensored" and "down to earth" preaching style.
In 2003, after more than 20 years of preaching and urban ministry, he felt a call from God to create a place of refuge and empowerment for ALL people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class or background, so he formed the The Vision Church.
It has been called "one of the South's fastest growing inclusive Churches" and "Atlanta's new progressive Pentecostal movement".
It has become a multi-racial, welcoming and affirming non-denominational Church experiencing explosive growth since its inception. In less than four years, The Vision Church has grown from a congregation of just 12 people to more than 1200 and more than 50 active ministries. The Vision Church provides on-site HIV testing and counselling on a monthly basis.
It was heralded in a BET documentary in February 2006 as "Atlanta's new alternative to homophobia and identity oppression in the Black Church".
A Bermudian minister is opening a homosexual-friendly church.
Pastor Sylvia Hayward-Harris insists shunning gay people is not Christian and those who preach it is wrong are "hypocritical".
She is in the process of opening The Vision Church of Bermuda (TVC), a radically inclusive Pentecostal church, and invites people of every sexual preference, race, age and occupation to join her in worship.
Pastor Hayward-Harris said: "Many traditional churches are very judgmental and often hypocritical.
Truth
"Often people who are authority at the church demand more of their flock than they do of themselves.
"I would like to have a place where people feel free to be themselves - to live in their truth, whatever that truth may be.
"It's very strange to me that in order to be a part of a traditional church you have to live a lie if you are gay or lesbian. That is not Christian to me.
"Excluding gay people has always been a problem on this island.
"I know one young man who won't come back because he was attacked by a gang of guys with helmets.
"To be fully Christian, we must fully welcome all of God's children to the table of the Lord - women, children, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, those with special needs, those of every race... all have full acceptance into the complete life of our fellowship."
Pastor Hayward-Harris is not gay herself but has "many friends" who are.
The 57-year-old has been living in Atlanta since 2006.
Up until then she had been "out of an organized church for 40 years".
She added: "When I first moved to Atlanta my son was a member of TVC and he kept saying, 'You have to come to my church.'
"My family and I went and I was so impressed by their openness.
"It really fit my idea of what a church should be."
The Vision Church of Atlanta falls under the leadership of Pastor O. C. Allen III - known as Pastor Clay - who has visited Bermuda on several occasions.
He gave Pastor Hayward-Harris her mission to start TVC in Bermuda.
She said: "At TVC we celebrate the image of God in every person. We believe the message of love and compassion, justice and peace is at the core of the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ and the Gospel message.
"Our desire for Bermuda is to actualise God's power to transform our often divisive and unhealthy cultures of hate, self-hate and violence into a community of healing and reconciliation."
Launching the church has been "going slowly" because Pastor Hayward-Harris is having difficulty finding a venue. She said: "Every spare space in Bermuda is being used.
"I am going to move into a little two-bedroom place and keep one room as office space for counselling and turn the living room into a meeting place."
Pastor Hayward-Harris was ordained in Atlanta at the end of June and had to undergo a rigorous exam, interview and thesis process, which has taken a couple of years.
She started studying due to a desire "to understand the Bible better" and describes herself as "a teacher, not a preacher".
Adultery
She has an MA in adult education and an MA in addictions counselling. She has worked at numerous organisations on the island, including Focus, Fairhaven and Camp Spirit.
Pastor Hayward-Harris said: "I really would like to see Bermuda move away from its judgmental separatist present incarnation.
"We are very much stuck on seeing the splinter in the other's eye but can't see the beam in our own.
"One of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shall not commit adultery" but no one is looking at that one closely. People will often quote Leviticus, which says that homosexuality is an "abomination" - but they don't recognise that that term is very specific to things that relate to pagan worship practices, which used temple prostitutes - both male and female - in their various rituals.
"The Jews were in the process of setting themselves apart from pagans, so condemned their religious practices."
Pastor Hayward-Harris is considering hosting a workshop on what the Bible "does and does not say" about homosexuality.
She said: "Our church is not about homosexuals, it is about humankind.
"I just want people to feel free to worship, to have a church family where you're not judged and condemned.
"Our church is for those who are not comfortable in their current church. "
Pastor Hayward-Harris says her biggest fear is not "what people say or think" about her church but how well she knows the Bible.
She said: "It's huge and there are folks that have been studying the Bible longer than I have been out of the church.
"Although I have a familiarity with the Bible, I cannot quote you all the passages, so I am nervous about my commission."
Sermons will focus on how to improve your life.
She said: "It's about the question, 'Is your life working?'
"How can you improve your relationships? What do you need to leave behind, what are your finances like?
Back-stabbing
"I'd like to focus on Bible study and how it relates to daily living in today's world so people are practicing Christ-like living and shedding such bad habits as back-stabbing and gossip."
Pastor Hayward-Harris has had a "small handful" of people express an interest in joining her church, most of whom are not gay.
She has no plans to perform same-sex commitment ceremonies.
But, referring to the
up-coming marriage of Bermudian lesbians Marshallene Trott and Alesha de la Chevotiere, she said: "I wish them every success and joy in their relationship. Come and join our church!"
Posted: Monday, September 07, 2009
Comment by:
unity foundations of truth
There is already a church that is all inclusive and gay friendly in Bermuda that has been around for over 20 years. Although they do not see the need to advertise as such, they do and have shown love and respect for all. Unity is a positive approach to Christianity that honors the universal truths in all religions and respects all people.
Posted: Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Comment by:
PaulM
Josseline: The following is from an article in the Huffing Post, Jan. 6th 2009. These only only a handful of examples of attacks happening on a daily basis. I wonder if these victims would distinguish between 'superficial social' and 'human' rights.
"Crimes against gay, lesbian, and transgendered people are significantly underreported, but from FBI statistics we know them to be on the rise, at least 24% since 2005, and yet they are the only hate crimes excluded from federal and many state statues, making proper investigation and prosecution difficult, if not impossible.
The past two months have seen a surge in brutal attacks against gay, lesbian and transgendered people, or those just perceived to be so. Moses "Teish" Cannon was shot and killed in Syracuse, NY, for being gay and identifying as female in November. In December, Ecuadoran immigrant Jose Sucuzhanay was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Brooklyn by three men yelling anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs. A 28-year-old woman in San Francisco was assaulted and gang-raped by four men for being a lesbian."
Posted: Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Comment by:
Anthony Venn-Brown
Its wonderful to see so many churches opening up their doors to welcome all God's people.
The same thing is happening here in Australia in some Pentecostal Churches.
Anthony Venn-Brown
Professional Coach, Speaker and Author of 'A Life of Unlearning - A Journey to Find the Truth'
Convenor of Freedom 2 b[e]
Honoured to be on the inaugural list of the 25 Most Influential Gay & Lesbian Australians
Posted: Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Comment by:
Josseline Philip
Some churches in the United States with declining numbers of members rent their Halls to homosexuals to organize their own services before or after the church’s service: they “help but do not mix”. What kind of help is that? The same here, if you open your doors to homosexuals for finance because you are newly settled in Bermuda or because your church listings are very consequent, if you use a fact of life and its omnipresence in the press to attract followers, what is Christian in your behavior? If you want to fight for people, you would not want to isolate them in “wide open arms” only. You would want them to go to any church with everybody else. I think it is wrong to use people who feel rejected to pretend you are more Christian than all the Christians on the Island. If you are such a wonderful Christian, you should meet all the other pastors and organize seminars to make them accept who you say they reject. You should fight to get anyone accepted at any church. I do not think that any pastor, in Bermuda stands in front of the door at the beginning of every service and turn down such or such people after asking them about what they did the previous night and with whom! What destroys a “cause” is the exaggeration around it and people wanting to exploit it. It is not right to insult the whole of Bermuda and the Bermudian society probably for a few isolated cases? There are problem in Bermuda but do not make it sound as a vile place with ignorant uncultured people. With you, people have no right to take a position. Have there been lynching yet? This is rule by terror. When homosexuality is spoken about, people confuse rights and beliefs. What is courageous about picking up a case in an occidental country? Have you thought of the courageous women in all the dictatorial States, in the countries ruled by terror, have you thought of the courage of the innocent women raped and tortured in some State prisons around the world? Have you thought of the men who get flogged and torture every day until they die? Have you thought of the children who have no access to drinkable water, who cannot have food? Have you thought of the father or the mother in Darfur who can’t even sit up to see his children kidnapped to serve as slaves? Have you thought of the men women and children in India brutally crippled for the cause of mendacity to make their “owner-tormentors” rich? Have you thought of the Albinos in African countries who are hunted down and cut pieces by pieces-one day a finger, one day an arm, one day an ear, what day a foot, to the cause of superstition. Have you thought of the trauma of their family members who must be so very creative to try and protect their lives, but who fail to the brutality of the hunters? Have you thought of those family members who are forced observers of those tortures imposed to their relatives because they are Albinos? To me homosexuals in Bermuda fight for some superficial social rights, not human rights. In a society of men, we cannot all agree. Not accepting “love boats” does not inflict physical or mental trauma on people.
Prey for all but particularly for those who do not even find the strength to prey anymore and if you really want to fight for the deprived and the oppressed, Bermuda is not the place you should have chosen, really!
Josseline
Posted: Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Comment by:
Michelle
God Bless this woman for breathing some fresh air into the ""Christian"" community of Bermuda.
Why are people so bothered by homosexuality but don't blink an eye at adultary? hmm? Why do people which do people cherry pick which phrases from the bible they regard Gospel and ignore others which don't quite suit them?
Posted: Monday, August 31, 2009
Comment by:
PaulM
Latoya: Like Mark, you seem to pick and choose only those parts of the Bible that serve to support your bigotry. Do you believe in EVERY edict the Bible contains, or just the ones with which you are comfortable? Could you suffer the idea that the Bible was a document written at a particular time in history and that, today, some of what it proposes is outdated and outlandish? Do you really believe, for example, that in today's world a "blind man", a "lame man", a "dwarf", or a man with a "flat nose" should not offer up bread to God? Really, is that what you believe? If not, is it because we all now realise such notions are ludicrous: that to exclude someone on the grounds of their disability or appearance is an abhorrent act and contradicts all that is good in humanity.
I think Pastor Hayward-Harris, by having the intelligence and bravery to publically acknowledge that such thinking is an anathema in today’s world, is one of the bravest, most ‘Christian’ persons currently living in Bermuda. Long may she do so. I pray (in the secular sense) that she finds a home for her ministry and that those who believe as she does – every Christian, Muslim, Jew and Non-believer; every minister, priest, pastor, elder; every businessman, teacher, salesperson, doctor, nurse, politician, lawyer; every mother, father, son, daughter; every straight person and gay person – must support her in her ministry.
Then again, perhaps you’re right. Perhaps we should follow every tenet of the Good Book. Yes, let’s spurn every child born outside of marriage. Hey, don't blame me! It's in the Bible.
Posted: Sunday, August 30, 2009
Comment by:
PaulM
Mark: If you believe that, do you believe the following?
From Leviticus Chapter 21:
[16] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[17] Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. [18] For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, [19] Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
[20] Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; [21] No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. [22] He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
Do you really think the physically impaired or disfigured should be excluded from the business of the church? Or do you pick and choose the targets of your bigotry?
Posted: Saturday, August 29, 2009
Comment by:
Latoya
This is crazy, why are the newspapers allowing this foolishness to keep coming into the paper,,, for starters this pastor and i use the term lightly needs to refresh her Bible knowledge God judged same sex relations in old testament and new testament. in her whole article she speaks what she believes to be true,,, but where is the word backing this up,, as a christian myself i love all the same and my church allows all walks of life but we refuse to compromise on the word of God we love you but not the sin and that goes for any kind of sin. the purpose of the saints is to come out from among them that they may know that you are mine says the Lord... so i will continue to pray for all my Bloodwashed to stand against any and everyone who does not stand up for the word of God that His truth will set Bermuda and all false believers free.
Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009
Comment by:
Chris
I think that this lady is doing a great thing. She is going against the old style of religious indoctrinations that plague the minds of Bermudians. While Bermuda has the highest number of churches per square mile in the world, there is not much diversity in religious experience. Although I am an atheist I am glad to see someone making an effort to be inclusive for those Bermudians who are forced to hide their true selves from the religious intolerance and hatred that permeates this island. Sadly, just as with the gay friendly cruises that once attempted to come to Bermuda, I believe that this courageous woman will be be met with a huge opposition. Protesters and religious zealots will undoubtedly use their hate and intolerance to hinder any growth that this church could potentially see. Sadly this has been the pattern in Bermuda for far too long. I dont even know many gay people on this island. I don't know if that is because they are scare to be honest or they have all left. Hopefully this will be the start of a movement to be an inclusive society. By the way I am not gay I am just human
Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009
Comment by:
Mark
I agree it is wrong to exclude someone from attending or belonging to a local church because of their sin. Let's not forget the intent of GOD when it comes to homosexuals as listed in the book of Romans chapter 1.
Romans 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
