A church in Georgia in the United States to split from the conservative Southern Baptist Convention and begin performing same-sex weddings.
Members of the 186-year-old First Baptist Church of Christ have spoken to about the “exhausting” years-long “journey” of deciding to stand up for LGBT+ rights.
Two years after the historic Supreme Court ruling that saw same-sex marriage legalised in the US, the church’s congregation voted on whether it would split from the SBC—a Christian denomination that’s fundamentally opposed to marriage equality.
“We reminded ourselves why we listen to Scripture in the first place: not to be a battleground, but to bring us together,” Pastor Scott Dickinson told the Washington Post.
Two-hundred and thirty members of the congregation voted in a secret ballot and more than 70 per cent voting in favour of same-sex marriage.
Dickinson post ahead of the vote that the church was “standing on the edge of a big decision and that has brought with it an understandable measure of anxiety.”
“I hope that naming our fears and hopes—hearing that many others share them—has given you a measure of peace about Sunday’s vote.”
The church had previously ordained an openly gay deacon and spoken out in support of the LGBT+ community in the wake of in Orlando last year.
Dickinson told the Washington Post that although the vote meant that the church ultimately lost members, the decision to support same-sex marriage has ultimately been worth it.
“One of our older members said to me afterward, ‘I’ve been wondering why we are putting ourselves through this, but now I get it,’ ” Dickinson told the Post.
