I read with interest last week’s Wit article about the Brave Spaces group, and was glad to hear that it was subsequently approved as a student organization. I was impressed that Wyatt Baer, who just came to Bluffton this year, took the initiative to help bring this group into fruition.
I’d like to attempt to clarify and give some background to the quote in the article from Alex Sider regarding an “anti-LGBTQ+ incident in chapel.”
While using the term “anti-LGBTQ incident” is not necessarily implying that Chapel is anti-LGBTQ+, I want to make it clear that all students, faculty and staff, regardless of sexual orientation, are welcome not only to attend Chapel but also to use their gifts in helping carry out Chapel services.
We have had students who openly identify as LGBTQ+ serve on the worship band as well as participate in other ways and will continue to do so.
At the same time, when I started working at Bluffton almost 12 years ago, a moratorium on speaking about same-sex relationships in Chapel was in place, and continues until this day. A letter that we send to Chapel speakers contains the following paragraph:
Chapel worship photo provided
We currently have a moratorium on speaking about the issue of homosexuality at our chapel services, because of its divisive nature as well as due to the lack of dialogue available during and after our chapel services (the issue is discussed in other setting on campus where there is opportunity for dialogue).
Over the years that I have been at Bluffton, there have been two instances of which I am aware where the moratorium was not honored without prior consent. One time involved a speaker who promoted same-sex relationships in the Church; the other time was the incident that Alex Sider mentioned. The “anti-LGBTQ+ incident” took place when a friend of an invited guest speaker gave his interpretation of a Greek word in one of the apostle Paul’s letters to support his belief that same-sex romantic relationships are not acceptable in the eyes of God.
Perhaps there will come a time when we decide to lift the current moratorium. I welcome your thoughts and input in regards to this possibility. For now, I’d like to address a bit more the rationale behind the moratorium.
As the paragraph alludes to, the topic of same-sex relationships is divisive in the Church today. Mennonite Church USA, the denomination to which I belong and with which Bluffton University is affiliated, is just one of many church denominations that have experienced splits and the loss of members due to different perspectives on same-sex relationships.
Bluffton University students, faculty and staff come from a wide variety of church traditions, each with its own statements and doctrines regarding same-sex relationships. As the person who oversees Chapel on campus, my hope is that Chapel is a place where everyone will feel welcome and where we can be united in our worship of God. The current moratorium prevents different views on same-sex relationships from being divisive in that particular setting.
The paragraph in the letter to Chapel speakers also acknowledges that the worship structure of Chapel does not provide adequate opportunity for dialogue.
Nonetheless, I—and my student leaders on the Ministry Team—welcome opportunities for respectful conversations around the topic of same-sex relationships from a variety of Christian perspectives.
At one of our group meetings this year, we explored several passages in scripture that address same-sex relationships, and how these passages are interpreted in various ways by different scholars. Our purpose in doing this was not to come to agreement on one perspective, but to seek a greater understanding of different points of view.
Our Civic Engagement theme for next year, “When Talking is Tough; Respectful Conversations in a Divided Nation,” will hopefully provide our campus with opportunities to have respectful dialogue about same-sex relationships as well as other important topics in our world today.
Given the current cultural climate in our society, this will not be easy, but I believe that it has the potential to help build more authentic community at Bluffton.
My hope and prayer is that we can learn to talk about divisive topics in ways that help us strengthen our listening and empathy skills, grow in our understanding of complex issues, allow ourselves to be vulnerable with each other, and most of all learn to treat one another with respect and grace in this diverse community to which we belong.
Stephen “Tig” Intagliata
Campus Pastor
