Our Meeting with Board of Trustees
Posted: March 3, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »On Friday, February 27th, Greenville United was asked to send representatives to meet with a subcommittee of the Greenville College Board of Trustees to discuss the language of the Lifestyle Statement. In our one hour meeting, we had the opportunity to discuss our concerns regarding what we knew at the time to be the draft the committee was evaluating. Our discussions included the difference between statements of belief versus action, the importance of distinguishing between gender identity and sexual orientation, the recognition of people born intersex, harassment of current and previous LGBTQ students, and more. We are very grateful for the board’s invitation to speak with them, and we hope to see positive change moving forward. We reiterated at that meeting that we would like to stay in dialogue and we are preparing a message that includes other ideas and factors that we were not able to discuss in our one hour meeting. If you are reading this message, we’d like to thank you for your support and ask you to continue contacting the College as it concerns this statement. We can do more when we are united.
This is a copy of the previous draft:
FREEDOM OF PURITY. We believe certain sexual behaviors, conduct and practices, go against God’s design as articulated in Scripture, and from which a person in this community should naturally abstain. We believe God created male and female with gender at birth, that marriage is between one man and one woman, and that extramarital sex, premarital sex and homosexual intimacy are distortions of God’s created order. In all issues of purity, we have a corporate responsibility to be God’s agents of transformation to persons as they learn to live a Christian life that is wholesome and pure.
Here is the text of the revised, final draft released today by the Board of Trustees:
FREEDOM OF PURITY. The College, guided by the historic church’s understanding of sexuality and marriage as interpreted through Scripture and tradition, believes that God created male and female in God’s own image; that the gift of sex is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman; and members of our community should therefore abstain from premarital, extra marital and same-sex sexual relationships. We recognize that there are individuals who experience same-sex attraction, and/or self identify as LGBTQ in our community. Regardless of one’s perspective or tradition, we encourage all community members to engage one another with civility and respect. In all issues of purity, we have a corporate responsibility to be God’s agents of transformation as we learn to live a Christian life that is wholesome and pure. We commit to help all of our students thrive and find fullness in Christ within the context of our Wesleyan tradition.