Rainbow banners go up on front doors at First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara
First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara installed temporary rainbow banners on the church’s front door as a sign of solidarity with the LGTBQ+ community.
The rainbow banners read: “God’s Doors Are Open To All.”
The act comes soon after United Methodist Church leaders decided to tighten their existing ban against ordaining gay clergy and performing same-sex marriages during a February meeting of delegates, which represent 13 million members of the United Methodist Church worldwide.
The ban is called the Traditional Plan.
Mark Richardson is the Senior Pastor at the Santa Barbara congregation on Anapamu. This congregation has existed in the city for 150 years.
“This meeting that took place in February reinforced the restrictions and also put some more punitive measures in place so that if we don’t follow them, there are going to be repercussions for us,” he said.
Despite the threat of punishment, Richardson said his congregation will not discriminate against anyone based on their race, gender or sexual orientation.
“We have been trying to be an inclusive church, one that welcomes all people,” he said. “We just felt like we needed to reassure our community and our neighbors that that does not reflect who we are here locally.”
If a clergy member marries a same-sex couple, Richardson said they can be brought up on “charges” and lose their credentials.
Richardson said same-sex couples will be treated the same as heterosexual couples within his church.
“What we believe about people is that they are who they are and their sexual orientation or gender identity or whatever understanding they have of their own self, that’s the way God made them,” Richardson said. “It’s not a choice. It’s not a statement of some kind. It’s the way people are and that’s the reason we can’t exclude people on that basis.”
Since that February meeting, other churches, and lay and ordained leaders across the denomination, have also voiced their opposition.
