Letters to the Editor VIII: Editor puts an end to "gay family" letters

After 16 weeks of conversation, the editor decides these are the last of the Letters to the Editor regarding the original article about our family.
(See editor's comments below).

Friday, October 12, 2007

More reader reverberations over 'gay' letter

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Bible is very clear about sin

Friday, October 26, 2007
Attitudes toward homosexuality said to shift
Mayor George Heartwell speaks out about the changing attitudes in West Michigan

Sunday, November 4, 2007
Muskegon Chronicle editor puts an end to the letters

"Editor's note: This heavily edited letter is the last on this subject we will be running for a while. We need to give the Pastor Cross-"gay family" controversy a rest in order to catch up with our letters backlog. Thanks to all our writers for contributing to what has been a very interesting dialogue."

Soulforce posted original article on their blog followed by this quote:

"Still, the Bible is like a mirror. You end up reading it not as a reflection of how it is but of how you are. If you're a bigoted, narrow person, you will find bigotry in the Bible." D. Tammet

Our Family's Story on the Sunday Front Page

When the Muskegon Chronicle asked to interview our family, we were happy have our trusted friend Susan Harrison Wolffis tell our story. We were surprised, however, to find it the lead story on the front page of the Sunday edition!

Now we're hoping it will save lives.

Parents Choose to Accept Son Over Church and Friends

In 2005, while his parents were getting ready for a Super Bowl party at their home in Spring Lake Township, Ari Beighley asked if his mother had a couple of minutes to talk. Two hours later, mother and son emerged from conversation, their lives irrevocably changed. "Even when we were talking that day, I remember thinking: Things are never going to be the same again in this family," said Ari's mother, Colette Beighley.

"In a sense, everyone had his or her own 'coming out.' " By the end of the year, Ari Beighley's father, the Rev. David Beighley, 56, had his ministerial license "withdrawn" by the West Michigan District of the Wesleyan Church for, among other things, questioning the denomination's position that homosexuality is a sin, he said.

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