Within the next few months, Resurrection members will move to a rented building elsewhere in West Chicago. The church has not decided if it will join a group of Anglican parishes based in Africa and Asia that are forming their own organization, Koch said.
A longtime member of the NAACP and a former member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Koch rejects the view that his church’s stance is bigoted. “If I had a family come to my church that were polygamist, we would love them, we would be kind, but we wouldn’t approve. That wouldn’t mean that we were bigoted. It would mean that we didn’t agree with their lifestyle,” Koch said.
“That’s exactly the way we feel about same-sex relationships,” he said. “It ought to be possible to disagree without being accused of being a bigot.”
The Rev. Stephen Martz, of St. Nicholas with the Holy Innocents in Elk Grove Village, called that explanation “disingenuous.” “It’s a clear message that, ‘We as a church don’t approve of you,’ ” said Martz, who’s known Koch for years. “The reality is that the message is harmful.”
New members who are gay or who support the church’s welcoming stance on homosexuality have swelled the ranks of the St. Nicholas congregation, Martz said.
Koch and Skidmore both said that unlike other such splits, they are grateful Resurrection’s departure was peaceful. “Because of the way it’s been handled by both parties, I don’t think it’s going to deter the path we’re on,” Skidmore said. “We’re going to continue to reach out and welcome the ministry of all members — and that includes our gay and lesbian members.”
Hey! Well, this is sad news about Res leaving, because they're a vibrant group, but they've been a foot-and-a-half out the door for years. It's strange about their stance, because they're liturgically a lot more modern and "liberal looking" than most other parishes in the area.
It must be hard on Steve, though. He's known Koch for years, as stated in the article, and he tells me via email that the interviewer caught him a bit unawares for the comment.
I have to say that, while I disagree with their judgment, I’m also respectful of their willingness to express their stand, without animus, but with firmness and grace. I do wish them well in their walk apart, more than I do with folks who decide that their disagreement means that everyone else is a decadent libertine and that those who don’t support them are going straight to Hell.