Some Black Ministers Starting To Accept Gays

When the Rev. Dennis Meredith of Tabernacle Baptist Church here began preaching acceptance of gay men and lesbians a few years ago, he attracted some gay people who were on the brink of suicide and some who had left the Baptist faith of their childhoods but wanted badly to return.

At the same time, Tabernacle Baptist, an African-American congregation, lost many of its most loyal, generous parishioners, who could not accept a message that contradicted what they saw as the Bible’s condemnation of same-sex relations. Over the last three years, Tabernacle’s Sunday attendance shrank to 800, from 1,100.

The State Of . . . African American Churches. Are they coming around? Not even five years ago this story would have seemed far fetched, especially in the South. I (rich) have just joined a new church in the south suburbs of Chicago. It belongs to the United Church of Christ denomination that is mentioned in the article. It is an open and accepting church in that they accept homosexuals. Although I knew they supported unions and other liberal causes, I didn’t know that. However, unlike Tabernacle Baptist, my church is the fastest growing church in the denomination in the state of Illinois. I guess that means things-are-a-changin’.