URGENT announcement: This concerns my future as a member of Grace Baptist

Grace Baptist Church, Granite City, IL.

I really, really, really do NOT want to be typing about this issue regarding my future membership at my church, Grace Baptist Church... and I have no choice but to do so. The concern is that my church is proposing a Statement on Marriage and Sexuality that will be voted on in the 06.12.2013 business meeting, designed primarily to silence and/or eject me and any other Democrats/LGBTQ rights/pro-reproductive choicers out of the church. As I personally believe that abortion, cohabitation, same-sex marriage, and homosexuality are not sins, this looks like the end of Grace Baptist membership for me, mostly due to the power grab proposal by the GBC higher ups. The proposal will make me end my volunteering opportunities at GBC.

I started attending back in 2000 when my Grandma switched membership from Suburban Baptist Church.
Not long after my Grandma couldn't drive anymore, I relied on the strong and robust bus ministry to take me to and from there. If it weren't for them, I would likely be long from Grace. Also, I gained (and lost) friends during my 12.5 years at Grace Baptist. With that being said, there were bumps in the road along the way, such as attacks on my Christianity and liberalism in later years (primarily from Ron Martin), especially for endorsing President Obama and supporting abortion rights and same-sex marriage.


How I became pro-choice and pro-marriage equality, which ties into this a lot: I'd say sometime between the election of Obama in 2008 and being in Ms. Ames' economics class and the passage of the Hate Crimes Law in 2009 for the latter. For the former, it was around the time that Dr. Tiller got killed that changed my views on abortion from leaning personally pro-life but not for restrictive abortion laws to pro-choice and even moreso recently. However, I am still opposed to assisted suicide.

There were lots of changes during that period, including:

• Bro. Steve Trask became music director in 2001. 
• realignment of the children's classes back in 2002 to coincide with the then-realignment of K-5 Elementary, 6-8 MS, 9-12 HS at GCSD9. (now changed to K-4 Elementary, 5-6 Intermediate, 7-8 Middle/Junior High, 9-12 HS at GCSD9)
• Bro. John Oswald named associate pastor in 2004. 
• the move to a new auditorium (from the old sanctuary, which is the current youth/multipurpose room) in 2005.
• Bro. Ben Towell named youth director in 2005.
• the abolishment of choir robes somewhere shortly after the new auditorium was completed.
• In 2006, the youth department moved to the old sanctuary.
• In October 2008, the church went to 2 Sunday services/2 Sunday Schools (9:15 and 10:45AM).
• October 2009 was the big Awakening event.
• former pastor Bro. John Gamblin resigned during the middle of the St. Louis Cardinals World Series run in October 2011.
• Thom and Rosie Wells quit the bus ministry on a regular basis in February 2012. They both still sub on Sunday Mornings and at VBS when warranted. 
• Weekly bus breakfasts were abolished in April 2012.
• associate pastor Bro. John Oswald left in August 2012. 
• The reversion back to the single Sunday morning worship service (10:45)/Sunday School (9:15) at the start of 2013.
• Bro. Daniel Wilson voted in on May 5th, 2013 and officially will take over on June 30th, 2013. 

What the odious anti-religious and anti-LGBTQ rights bill really does:

The statement that says "...It is imperative that all persons employed by the Church in ANY capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage and Sexuality conduct themselves accordingly" is the biggest reason why I am considering leaving Grace Baptist Church. It means that if the proposal passes, bye-bye VBS volunteering like I did the past two years, as I do NOT intend to follow the new M&S statement.



Why I will decide to leave Grace Baptist?

• The theological and political differences are already distant as it is between me and other members and are too great to overcome.
• I have nearly came close to being forced out of there due to Ronald Martin's blatant lies about me and his theology. 
• The church's lobbying efforts (albeit not very intense) to defeat and/or stall marriage equality in Illinois and at the Supreme Court. 
• Attacks on abortion rights, most infamously during the Super Bowl 2013 sermon by Interim Pastor Charley Westbrook. 

What to do after my likely leave from Grace? I will be headed to a new church that is at least somewhat more in line with my theological and political viewpoints, and it will be St. John UCC in Granite City. And that may start after my vacation on the last weekend of June.



If this proposal takes effect immediately, then the last Sunday I'll be at Grace as a regular attender will be either on 06.16 or 06.23 (when Pastor Daniel Wilson will preach). This is NOT a joke at all. That also means the end of posting announcements on the group's facebook page. In addition, my fantasy football career with the church is in great peril.
UPDATE: I am sticking with Grace until at least August or until expulsion.


I urge all the congregants to vote NAY on Wednesday night, 06.12.2013, and plan on showing up to vote NO on this idea, although the idea will pass by a big margin sadly. Even if I get expelled for voting NAY on this idea, it is worth the price.