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This is a multi-part series exploring the issue of
same-sex marriage from a variety of community perspectives. Today, we
speak with Reverend Murray Lincoln of Northview Pentecostal Church in
Peterborough. He says there are Christians who condemn in letters to the editor, politicians who threaten and gay community members that push for change at a furious pace. And this is why he would be willing to open up a dialogue with members of the gay community to find out if there is any common ground to work from. “The fact is, everyone has a choice,” says Reverend Lincoln, senior pastor for Northview Pentecostal Church in Peterborough. “The choices people make are their own. We have to be accepting of who they are. It is how we live with their choice that is important.” Rev. Lincoln wonders how things might be in the community if people were to frame the discussion differently. “If neither group had a political stance, what would we be like if we lived side by side with each other? That’s a powerful question,” he states. This doesn’t change the fact that Rev. Lincoln, a pastor for more than 30 years, will not be marrying any gay couples. It is simply against where his church and his personal beliefs are anchored. But he points out that gays and lesbians have been in attendance before. “They are never ostracized in this church,” he says. When asked if he feels threatened by the legislation affecting his right to marry whomever he wishes, Rev. Lincoln said he was not worried at all about this. “Are we afraid? No. We have been guaranteed (under law) this won’t affect churches,” and therefore no one’s rights are diminished, he notes, pointing out he has the right to refrain from marrying heterosexual couples, as well, if he doesn’t believe the union has a chance of being a success. What concerns Rev. Lincoln is that right now love and acceptance seems to be more characteristic of the gay community than the Christian community. “The very stance of love and acceptance – what Christianity used to be about (to the general public), is in the homosexual community now.” “But why would anyone be attracted to Christianity, given what is presented in newspapers?” he asks, referring to letters to the editor that condemn the gay lifestyle. “I haven’t seen any condemning yet” that has been productive, he adds. Rev. Lincoln says there is a great deal of suspicion on both sides right now. “Personally, I’m open to working with anyone. It’s finding the common ground” that is important, he notes. He says he doesn’t know if he has the power to change things in the community, but he is concerned that something has to happen soon. “I want to build a dialogue with people of all sorts. If we sat together in a neutral place – like a library or something – let’s meet.” |
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‘If neither group had a political stance, what would we be like
if we lived side by side with each other? That’s
a powerful question.’ |
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