Marsh ministry seeks to give LGBT students a church community
Angela Stefano
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: News
The Marsh Chapel Christian community at Boston University has found a new, unlikely ally that cannot be easily defined by one word -- or gender identity.
A new lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning ministry, headed by School of Theology student Liz Douglass and backed by Marsh Chapel, held its inaugural meeting last night in the chapel's basement.
A small group of students attended, introducing themselves and discussing what they hoped the group would provide for them and in what direction they wanted to take the new ministry.
Marsh Chapel Dean Robert Hill said the LGBTQ ministry is one of five new ministries, or groups that meet to share religious insight, in what he called a "season of resurgence at Marsh Chapel."
The ministries are all led by seminarians from STH who are responsible for "gathering and providing a community for learning and growth of faith in Christ," Hill said.
Hill said there is currently a wide range of Christian opinions on homosexuality, and while many see Christianity as condemning homosexuality, "the norm is love." Marsh Chapel has "felt a need in the student body for Christian life for gay people," he said.
"We preach a combination of personal integrity and social justice, in singleness, integrity, and in partnership, fidelity," he said.
Douglass said she began working at Marsh Chapel last semester, but the ministry did not take shape until recently.
"We want to offer a welcoming, safe, comfortable space in which to explore spirituality, and to offer support in any way we can," she said.
Douglass joined forces with Tyler Sit, a College of Communication freshman, who was working with her, and together they helped begin the LGBTQ ministry.
"All of this began in service of the LGBTQ community at BU," Sit said. "We're trying to be really adaptive to what their needs are."
Emeri Burks, president of Spectrum -- BU's LGBT community student organization -- said she believes the new ministry could play an important role in the community.
A new lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning ministry, headed by School of Theology student Liz Douglass and backed by Marsh Chapel, held its inaugural meeting last night in the chapel's basement.
A small group of students attended, introducing themselves and discussing what they hoped the group would provide for them and in what direction they wanted to take the new ministry.
Marsh Chapel Dean Robert Hill said the LGBTQ ministry is one of five new ministries, or groups that meet to share religious insight, in what he called a "season of resurgence at Marsh Chapel."
The ministries are all led by seminarians from STH who are responsible for "gathering and providing a community for learning and growth of faith in Christ," Hill said.
Hill said there is currently a wide range of Christian opinions on homosexuality, and while many see Christianity as condemning homosexuality, "the norm is love." Marsh Chapel has "felt a need in the student body for Christian life for gay people," he said.
"We preach a combination of personal integrity and social justice, in singleness, integrity, and in partnership, fidelity," he said.
Douglass said she began working at Marsh Chapel last semester, but the ministry did not take shape until recently.
"We want to offer a welcoming, safe, comfortable space in which to explore spirituality, and to offer support in any way we can," she said.
Douglass joined forces with Tyler Sit, a College of Communication freshman, who was working with her, and together they helped begin the LGBTQ ministry.
"All of this began in service of the LGBTQ community at BU," Sit said. "We're trying to be really adaptive to what their needs are."
Emeri Burks, president of Spectrum -- BU's LGBT community student organization -- said she believes the new ministry could play an important role in the community.
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Edward
posted 3/28/08 @ 12:23 PM EST
This is proof that BU is indeed a diverse, dynamic university. One must look no further than Comm Ave to see the differences in position on this issue. (Continued…)
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