Churches receive threats over gay marriage

Several area churches have received threatening letters after a vote by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to approve same-sex marriage.

Westminster and First Presbyterian churches in Cape Girardeau and First Presbyterian in Jackson and Perryville, Missouri, received the letters, which say any church that accepts gay marriage "should be burned to the ground" and tells the churches, "you have been warned."

Cpl. Darin Hickey, public information officer at the Cape Girardeau Police Department, said one of the Cape Girardeau churches brought the threat to the department's attention.

Hickey said the department is increasing its patrols, not only of the churches that received the threat, but "we're going to try to keep an extra eye on any church or other major buiding" that could face a threat.

He said anyone who sees anything suspicious should report it to police as soon as possible.

Hickey couldn't recall having dealt with any similar threats in the past, but he said the department is starting with the normal investigations, such as tracking down postal information, then moving on to more scientific study of the letter itself.

Beyond that, Hickey said, the department will "utilize any federal agency we need to and their investigative techniques."

He said the Cape Girardeau Police Department has worked on previous threats to buildings with agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the SEMO Bomb Squad.

"Because we're such a close-knit community ... we can get them involved as little or as much as we need," he said.

No suspects are in custody.

The letter, which opens with a verse from Leviticus, is printed in all capitals and contains several grammatical errors.

"How can your churches accept this action? ... People u had better turn around or your soles are going down," the letter reads.

The Rev. Kim L. Nelson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau, stresses the change to the church's constitution was not something that happened overnight.

"The change and the transformation of the constitution of our church goes through a long process," Nelson said.

"And if people understand the United States form of government, it's very similar. ... This has been in dialog for transformation of our constitution on this since 1978.

"This wasn't pushed down from above. We have a very representative form of government" in which clergy and lay people have equal representation when voting.

The policy was forwarded from the church's general assembly June 21 and will take effect one year from that date.

"To be approved, they have to send it out to the 171 presbyteries," Nelson said.

Every presbytery has voted or will vote on the issue; the local one, which meets five times a year, will vote at its April meeting.

Enough of the presbyteries have voted on the issue that a majority have approved it, so the local vote will not affect the outcome.

Still, Nelson said, the change will not go against civil law. If a church and pastor are in a state where same-sex marriage is not legal, then they are not authorized to perform the ceremony in that state.

"It's still up to the local pastor to agree or disagree to do the wedding or not," Nelson said, and it's up to the local church governing board to approve whether to perform a wedding inside a church.

Nelson said though he "did not want to make a big deal about" the letter, he has addressed the issue with the congregation via email and in the church's newsletter, and he plans to talk about it Sunday.

"If this is an issue for somebody to write a letter like this, or a threat, they've got some bigger issues in their life," Nelson said, "and I just found myself praying for them.

"I would love -- if this person wanted to have a conversation and be reasonable and not threatening -- I would love to have a conversation with them."

Nelson said six verses in the Bible speak on gay marriage, but often they are taken out of context.

"Translation is hard, and you've got to take it within context. And most people quote scripture either not quoting it correctly or surely out of context," he said.

The Rev. Grant F.C. Gillard, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, said he doesn't necessarily plan on taking special precautions.

"We just kind of took [the threat] in stride," he said.

Gillard said he has addressed the situation with his congregation.

"I let everybody know we received that letter. And I don't know exactly what we're going to do, because I think my ignorant suspicion is when people send letters like that, they're not the ones you worry about. It's the quiet people that are the ones that sneak up on you," he said.

Nelson said he hopes the person behind the threats finds help.

"I hope, bottom line, this person finds a way to talk about issues in his or her life," he said.

kwebster@semissourian.com

388-3646