Westminster Presbyterian Church D.C., an open and inclusive congregation located at 400 I St., SW, will present a seminar titled “The Scrolls Revealed! Homosexuality and the Bible: An In-depth Study.” The seminar will be held at the church on Oct. 8, with registration starting at 9:30 a.m., and the seminar lasting from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. with a lunch break.
The intent of the Seminar is to show that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality as some churches continue to teach. In order to better understand certain scriptures, participants will look at ancient scrolls through the influences of ancient Middle Eastern traditions, Hebrew tradition, Greek and Roman traditions, and early Christian situations, with emphasis on true translations instead of misguided interpretations.
The syllabus for the seminar includes the following: Matthew 19:16-24, Historical-Critical Reading vs. Literal Reading, It’s wrong to pick and choose scripture, Our destiny as Christians, Defining Sexuality, Defining Spirituality, Going from In-headment to Embodiment, Challenging scripture, Translation vs. Interpretation, Forming a definition, Deuteronomy 23:17-18, Genesis 18,19 – The Sodom Story, Judges 19:14-25, What other scriptures say about Sodom, Leviticus – The Holiness Codes, All those abominations, Deuteronomy 22:22-23, The Romans and their Pederasts, Matthew 8:5-10, 13, 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1st Timothy 1:8-11.
The facilitator for the seminar will be the Reverend Harry Stock. He completed five years of study in the West Virginia School of Religion, received a BA degree from West Virginia University, and received a Masters of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained an Episcopal Priest in 1981 and later transferred his credentials to the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches which ordained him in 1991. He served as Pastor of the Church of the Disciples, MCC, for fourteen years and served on the faculty of Samaritan Institute of Religious Studies for ten years where he taught “Homosexuality and the Bible” and “Introduction to Sexuality Studies.” He is currently serving as Parish Partner at Westminster Church.
Registration for the seminar is $20 and includes lunch and a binder with all working materials. For further information or to register for the seminar, call 202-484-7700 or email Co-Pastor Ruth Hamilton at rwh@westminsterdc.org.