Meet the new Anabaptists; same as the old Anabaptists

Gay members of an anti-gay church are shocked, shocked that the church is seeking to suppress them.

I feel like a blog-writin' version of "let me Google that for you." Look, Circle of Hope traces its roots to Anabaptist Christians called the Brethren in Christ. Whether they're a subset of Mennonites, or Mennonites are a subset of the Brethren in Christ, or they're parallel groups, I'm not entirely sure. But the main idea here is that they're Anabaptist Protestants! This is the same place the Old-Order Amish come from. They're not going to dig gay people, no matter what the young, hipster-y Circle of Hope congregation says to get them to their meetings! And it took me about three clicks to affirm my suspicion that a modern group of Anabaptists opposes same-sex relationships (PDF), considering them as sinful against their deity's plan for adult relationships as adultery, divorce, and spousal abuse. Though, to be fair, since the Brethren in Christ are modern Anabaptists, they're OK with homosexual inclinations -- so long as they're not acted upon.

Now, there does exist a Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Interests, which seeks "to cultivate an inclusive church and society and to care for the Mennonite and Brethren lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied community." The suppressed members of Circle of Hope's congregation should look into starting up a local group.

H/T Ryan Briggs at the Philadelphia City Paper.