In
early March I contacted some members of Cedar Park to ask their response to the
resignations of the three pastors—lead pastor Lee Kosa and associate pastors Darren DeMelo and Megan Simpson—over their disagreement about the nature of the Confession of Faith,
especially as it applied to sexuality and marriage, and about the topic of
LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion. (Read the article about the resignations in Anabaptist World.)
Find
their answers below. They requested to be anonymous.
What reasons did the pastors give for their resignations?
1. “The short answer is they could not sign on to the request from the
BCMB conference that they ‘pledge unequivocal commitment to the Confession,
especially the focus on the articles about sexuality and marriage.
“The longer answer is after Artisan announced it was welcoming and
affirming of LGBTQ+ people, BCMB became extra sensitive to this issue. When prodded by
Lee for what their ‘ceiling’ was for those identifying as LGBTQ+ in the church,
they began to see our church as a new threat.
“When BCMB secretly received e-mails from a few congregants who
wanted a more traditional theology from the pulpit, they quietly began to
observe Lee—something they could easily do since during COVID-19 everything is
online.”
2. “They
did not feel safe in the BCMB Conference anymore. It was akin to an
abusive relationship between Lee and the Conference. Also, they could not
re-sign the Confession of Faith. The abusive relationship affected their
health. Two are currently under doctors’ care. One is going back to
teaching school and another has been told by his doctor to take at least six months
off. They are broken.”
What do you think of Lee?
1. “He's the brightest, most well read, most engaging speaker and most
humble and caring pastor I've ever had. I think that was his downfall. He
could not turn away from families struggling with children who were gay. He had
to learn about it. He had to reconcile the church's position with the harm that
that position created.”
2. “We can’t say enough good things
about him. He loves God, he loves Jesus, and he loves the people in his
care. He made himself vulnerable and humble. He was a great listener
even if he didn’t agree with you. His preaching abilities are
exceptional. He is widely read and articulate. He is a
wordsmith. He is not a flashy leader. He comes alive when he
preaches. We have been in church our entire lives and have never learned
so much or been encouraged to learn more under Lee’s leadership.”
3. “Lee is a gifted preacher and pastor. His sermons are always
based on Scripture. He preaches sermons that open up Scripture in new ways. Lee
is a humble leader whose life and teaching seek God’s shalom with God, others,
ourselves and creation.
“He is very community oriented and often attends city council
meetings that address housing shortages and climate change initiatives, to name
just two examples.
“He is very aware of life outside of our church and he has an
amazing ability to make connections with people from many different walks of
life. Lee is a very good listener. I have always felt safe talking with him.
When he became our pastor, he quickly realized that CPC is a unique and diverse
group and he respected the church’s history. He is a voracious reader and reads
many points of view on different topics.”
4. “When COVID broke out Lee worked hard at
creating ways to sustain community. One of the offerings was providing times of
contemplative prayer on zoom. It grew from once a week to three and sometimes four
times a week. I attended regularly with a small group.
“These prayer times have been very important for me as I
intentionally make space in my day for God’s coming. They have grounded me for
each day. I experienced first-hand how my pastors daily sought communion with
the Trinity and sincerely prayed for the Spirit’s guidance. These contemplative
prayer times continued for two years right up to the time that their employment
ended.
What is the congregation doing re. LGBTQ+?
1. “When Covid closed the building we held what were guided sessions of
discovery for small groups via Zoom. Out of this came a definite call for
clarity on inclusion, but also a definite division in the church, so we
held ‘listening sessions.’ Well over 100 people attended small sessions of five
or six people with few board members or pastors to do the listening. We were
simply to listen and avoid comment or judgement.
“At both the sessions that I attended the whole group were comfortable
with beginning an exploration of how we could be more inclusive to the LGBTQ+
community. More importantly, in both sessions a parent, in tears, described
that this was the first time they felt comfortable in a church sharing that one
of their children was gay. In January of this year, as a congregation we
reviewed the BCMB ‘Posture Shift’ materials.”
2. It seems like the pastors were
discouraged about exploring this by the BC Conference. We wanted a well-rounded
study with both sides of the issues. At the time BCMB was reeling over the
departure of the Artisan. It is possible they were operating out of fear
and still are in the same mode. It seems they believe if you begin a study
on this topic, it will lead to something like Artisan.”
3. “We had Listening Groups where everyone had the
opportunity to meet in groups of 10 or more with a couple of elders or the
pastor and elder and answer some questions about where they were at with
regards to the topic of inclusion of sexual minorities. The consensus was that
most people wanted to study the topic as a church body.”
4. “We completed four sessions of the conference supported Posture
Shift, both by zoom and in person with breakout groups. The last session was
completed in January 2022. There was a plan to study the book edited by Preston
Sprinkle called Homosexuality, The Bible and The Church. This study was planned
for February and March but never materialized.
“A list of books and articles representing various viewpoints was
curated and made available for all.”
5. “There is a desire for conversation around LGBTQ+ inclusion that was
voiced by many congregants in a series of church-wide (in zoom groups) meetings
we had around our values as a congregation.
“Hearing these voices, the pastors and board held listening sessions in
small group contexts (no discussion or cross talk, simply listening to one
another) to discern how to have this conversation going forward. The next two
things were a library table of resources on the topic and the Posture Shift
video series, which is recommended by the MB conference, and which was well
attended. No further study has happened.
Why is LGBTQ+ an important topic for your church?
1. “In hindsight it’s possible now to
look at the time about 10 years ago when one of the members of the youth group
came out as gay. Six families in the church have gay children ranging in
age from 30 to 60. Other church members have relatives who are gay.”
2. “Just before the churches shut down
due to the pandemic, two women who are LGBTQ+ started to attend. Another member
came out as bisexual. We asked BCMB for direction; they never responded.”
3. The topic is absolutely important. It's a matter of spiritual survival and
maybe physical survival for LGBTQ+ folk in our families and friendship circles,
and for the queer folk who have come through the Cedar Park door.
“I don't want to sound overly pious, but I believe this conviction about
intentional welcome is something the Spirit stirred up in our congregation for
a variety of reasons—all of them involving beloved people—at this very time and
that we needed to pursue it.”
What was your reaction to the demand by BCMB for the March 6th meeting? (Where they said to be at the church at 6:45 PM and someone needed to meet them there to open the door.)
1. Tone deaf! About 350 people show up at a church business meeting where
all three pastors resigned and then we receive a letter four days later full of
legalese demanding that we open the church doors for the BCMB executive
and organize another meeting in three days. They don't care about us. I get it.
They have to ‘protect’ the conference. It's their job.”
2. “BCMB
has been heavy handed in all its dealings with Cedar Park. There is a complete
lack of trust. The letter arrived at 10 a.m. on Thursday demanding a
meeting for the following Sunday at 7 p.m. The evening time was determined
by BCMB, which is not our usual meeting time of 3:30 p.m. They wanted the
doors unlocked when they arrived. There was no time to send out the letter
with our usual system.
Anything to add?
1. “My hope is that, after Artisan and now Cedar Park, that questions about
LGBTQ+ welcome and affirmation will begin to be asked more often and the MB church
will no longer damn to hell the 22 million people who identify as LGBTQ+ in North America.
