Baptist retreat center ends 28-year relationship with ONA Florida UCC church

Dan82 · Oct 29, 2011

http://www.ucc.org/news/baptist-retreat-center-ends.html

For the past 28 years, members of the UCC's United Church of Gainesville (Fla.) have gathered in great numbers for their annual spring retreat at the Lake Yale Baptist Assembly Ground.

"We had a wonderful retreat there on the last weekend in April this year," said the Rev. Sandy Reimer, co-pastor of Gainesville UCC. "Good programs, workshops, worship – we had 283 folks attend, which included 24 preschoolers up to adults in their 70s."

Then, during the first week of June, Reimer received a letter and a phone call from the Lake Yale Conference Center.

"Don Sawyer, the director of the conference center, called to tell me that we would no longer be welcome at Lake Yale for our retreats because we were 'promoting homosexuality.' "

"Their staff noticed several of our folks wearing ONA T-shirts," wrote Reimer in an early June email. "They told the director, then checked out our web site and confirmed that we were Open and Affirming."

Sawyer notified the governing board, whose policy states that any church or denomination that affirms gay people and/or gay marriage is not welcome on their property...

http://www.ucc.org/news/baptist-retreat-center-ends.html
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Chip · Oct 29, 2011

That's right. Spread God's love for all, non-judgement, and goodness by telling good people they "aren't welcome" on your property because they support gay people. Way to go, bigots.

Baptist retreat center ends 28-year relationship with ONA Florida UCC church

Dan82
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Chip
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Baptist retreat center ends 28-year relationship with ONA Florida UCC church

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Dan82 Full Member

Chip Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

Dan82
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Chip
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