An African-American pastor is about to lose his church to foreclosure thanks in large part to his seven-year long support of same-sex marriage. Rev. Oliver White who heads the Grace Community United Church of Christ in St. Paul, Minnesota, took a stand in 2005, and voted for same-sex marriage at the United Church of Christ’s national synod — and subsequently lost three-quarters of his parishioners. The church has also been the target of death threats, and a drive-by shooting during which the shooters yelled, “die, faggots.”
The church needs about $200,000 to survive.
Rev. White writes:
It may be that we won’t win this battle in terms of the outlook we are striving for. However, if I lose my church standing up for equality, and one person’s mind was changed, then my lost will not be in vain.
I sincerely thank President Obama too, for coming forward in support of this cause. In 2005, he came to the UCC’s General Synod, held in Atlanta, Georgia. I was fortunate enough to be a delegate, and seated on the front row as he spoke. With my camera nearby, I snapped dozens of photographs. Of course, his hair was not quite as gray. It was during that General Synod that I voted in support of same-sex marriages. The fact that he has affirmed same-sex marriages means he’s also taken a great risk. The message I received is sometimes you have to be willing to lose everything in order to free those who are still oppressed in our country.
I thank you, President Obama, for being the role model I need at a most crucial time in my life. If it means I have to lose everything to change one person’s opinion, then my work has not been in vain.
An article in the Pioneer Press recently added:
Web show host John Ong lives in Kansas City, Mo., but his audio program recently took a detour into St. Paul’s East Side.
“Hello, everyone, all my Ong-line Podcast listeners. Typically you tune into Ong-line Podcast to listen to me talk about myself,” he told fans on a recent Sunday afternoon. “But I’m not going to do that this week, because there’s a bigger issue and a bigger story to tell you.”
Ong never has stepped foot in the Grace Community United Church of Christ in St. Paul, but the openly gay graphic designer felt moved to devote his weekly podcast to a 30-minute phone interview with the Rev. Oliver White. The 69-year-old East Side pastor remains in danger of losing his church after taking a stand in favor of gay rights.
Ong isn’t the only one inspired to help. Joseph Ward directs “Believe Out Loud,” an online forum based in New York and Washington, D.C., where faith leaders can express their support for gay rights and marriage equality. He has never before used it as a fundraising tool for a church or faith group, but his website has raised $7,100 for Grace Community as of Wednesday afternoon.
Nick Warshaw, who works for a start-up company in San Francisco, started yet another fundraising site for Grace Community at rally.org/gcucc. The three men hope their efforts will be enough to keep White’s St. Paul church from landing in the hands of a Seattle-area real estate manager eager to move a new tenant into 986 Forest St.
And The Wall Street Journal notes in a story from the AP:
“I haven’t allowed any of this to make me stop, because I feel that I have to continue in this journey,” White said. “But it’s also a monumental task.”
A black leader at the helm of a predominantly black church, White — who marched for racial equality during the Civil Rights era — faced pushback from his own community after he stood up for gay rights in 2005.
During a national synod of the United Church of Christ in Atlanta, he joined a majority of delegates from across the country in voting to adopt a resolution supporting gay marriage.
He returned to his congregation the following Sunday and explained his decision. Almost immediately he saw church membership plummet. Within weeks he lost two-thirds of his followers, and now a Sunday sermon draws at most about 20 people.
A black leader at the helm of a predominantly black church, White — who marched for racial equality during the Civil Rights era — faced pushback from his own community after he stood up for gay rights in 2005.
You can make a donation via Believe Out Loud.
Editor’s note: Joseph Ward, the Director of Believe Out Loud, is also a New Civil Rights Movement writer.