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More liberal Christians are much less likely to interpret the Bible literally. Many of them, for instance, interpret the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as less an indictment of homosexuality than a criticism of inhospitality. These Christians also point out Biblical edicts, such as ones favoring slavery, that are inconsistent with modern life.
Several Charlotte-area churches are more closely linked to this camp. Among them are mainline churches such as Holy Covenant and Wedgewood. In addition, two affiliates of the United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches serve mostly gay congregations, while Unity Fellowship Church Charlotte ministers to a predominantly black, gay audience.
The United Church of Christ in 1972 became the first mainline denomination to ordain an openly gay minister. The church drew attention in the past year after its TV advertisement that proclaimed "God is Still Speaking" was rejected by ABC, CBS and NBC.
Though that attention still brings about 10 percent of the church's visitors, Holy Covenant attracted a significant number of gays and lesbians before, Allison said. The decision about five years ago to become, in church parlance, "open and affirming," cost the church a few members. Wedgewood Baptist, too, lost congregants after it opened its doors to gays.
Still, Williams and Edwards, who attend Holy Covenant, say its members have received gay and lesbian members well.
Just as preachers who condemn homosexuality say faith drives them, gay-friendly churches say they're guided by spiritual concerns.
Ayers grew up believing homosexuality was wrong but began to change his mind in college. There, he said, he was impressed by the ardent faith of a fellow student, a gay Lutheran who lived across the hall.
"That's what changes people," Ayers said. "We're not going to go get in a room and argue about it and people are going to be changed. People aren't going to be changed through Biblical arguments. What's going to change people is seeing the courage of people who are gay and lesbian Christians coming out and seeing their lives and hearing their stories."
Referring to some Wedgewood members leaving after the church became what Ayres calls "welcoming and affirming," he said, "This is nothing that I asked for. If you'd told me 25 to 30 years ago that I'd be who I am today, I would have told you you're crazy. . . .When you're confronted with the faith of these gay and lesbian Christians, you have to do something."
One denomination was formed more than 30 years ago to do exactly "something." Founded in 1968, the predominantly gay and lesbian United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches has 43,000 members and 250 congregations, according to spokesman Jim Birkett. Ten congregations, including MCC Charlotte and New Life MCC, are in the Carolinas. MCC became a member of the North Carolina Council of Churches, a statewide group that represents more than 1.5 million members of 15 Christian denominations.
The Rev. Tim Koch of New Life Metropolitan Community Church said the church was created to meet needs of gays and lesbians that weren't being met by other denominations. As mainline churches grow more accepting, he said, the church that began as a church of gay refugees still fills an important niche. "We actually reflect upon the life experiences of gay men and lesbians," Koch said.
Koch said he has detected a "subtle but important shift" in the way gays and lesbians are regarded. "There's a very important recognition that gays are neighbors and part of the landscape," he said. "There's not much of a blind spot."
On a recent Sunday, Koch led about 30 men and women through a service that, along with a sermon and hymns, included a request that members pray for a lesbian and her partner who were absent to attend a gathering family of members who still had hopes she might turn straight.
During communion, Koch advised the congregation that they need not be members of any church to participate in the service: "All that we ask is that you come as you are, believing as you do, with a heart open to love; for that is how God loves us — just as we are."
Not infrequently, the theological schisms that have developed behind church doors spill out into the public square. Charlotte, like many cities, has had its share of gay-themed disputes, including the arts-funding debacle concerning a production of Angels in America and recent debates over Mecklenburg County's nondiscrimination policy. County commissioners recently voted 6-3 to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in its personnel decisions, but not before Republican commissioner Bill James noted in protest that, "A man's rear end is not for another man's private parts."