Baptist Convention Kicks Out a Church Tolerant of Gays & Lesbians

WBTV.com

Members of a Charlotte church met for the first time Wednesday night since they were booted out of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Myers Park Baptist Church is open and accepting to gay and lesbian parishioners.

On Wednesday, we went to the church to see what members think about getting kicked out of the denomination.

The church has been around since the 1940s and has been part of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina--until Tuesday.

The convention met in Greensboro and voted to kick the church out since it allows gay and lesbian people to be members and hold positions in the church.

Robin Johnston is a long-time member of the church. She says being "kicked out" is actually a relief.

"I think there are those of us here--and I won't speak for everybody in the congregation--but I'm certainly one of them who kind of wears this as a badge of honor," Johnston said.

Member Todd Rubenson says he strongly supports the church, but he says this week has been bittersweet.

"This is a relationship that we had with the Baptist convention for many, many years--I think over 60 years, and we don't take the severing of that relationship lightly at all," he said.

No one from the Baptist convention would return our calls Wednesday night. Their website says all are welcome to attend Baptist churches, but the convention believes homosexuality is a sin and churches, therefore, should not allow homosexuals to join.