A lesbian teen and a congregation in New Westminster, B.C., are at the heart of a dispute that has resulted in the teen and her family leaving the Presbyterian church.
The situation arose when a story in the Royal City Record on June 12 highlighted 17-year-old Tory Inglis’s involvement in the Royal City Pride Society (which organized New Westminster’s first Gay Pride Day) and was accompanied by a photo of the girl with two gay men. Inglis, who has been a life member at First, New Westminster, came out as a lesbian two years ago.
On Aug. 5, the Vancouver Province reported that Inglis was asked by her minister, Tim Bruneau, to either re-think her involvement in the society or step down from her leadership post with the church’s junior youth group.
“Basically, they told me that I wasn’t being a positive role model for the youth in the church and the younger children, and that I was promoting a sexual lifestyle,” Inglis told the Province.
The Inglis family left the congregation. The newspaper did not speak to the minister or the clerk of session, who were both on holiday. Nor did the newspaper seek out statements from the Presbyterian Church.
The presbytery moderator, Rev. Jim Smith, subsequently sent an email to the members of the Presbytery of Westminster: “You have probably seen the front-page article in today’s Vancouver Province … Until all the details can be known, please do not discuss this matter with the media — instead, direct them to me.”
He was later quoted in the Province, saying his sympathies were with the Inglis family. “Pastorally, it’s saddening. That’s neither the theology nor the policy of the Presbyterian Church in Canada,” he said. “If the details as reported are accurate, at the very least it was handled badly pastorally.”
The national church, through the associate secretary of communications, Colin Carmichael, contacted the newspaper and also issued a similar statement to presbytery:
“The actions of First PC, as reported by the Province, seem contradictory to the decisions of the various General Assemblies as summarized in the Social Action Handbook:
“‘The Presbyterian Church in Canada has never limited the roles of its members on the basis of their sexual orientation. These roles include church school teachers, musicians, youth leaders, ruling elders, teaching elders and members of the Order of Diaconal Ministries. No legislation has ever existed for this purpose and, following six years of study, the special committee on sexual orientation finds that none is needed.’ — Social Action Handbook, page 46
“It is imperative that the PCC respond to the report. We will be contacting media in the Vancouver area to clarify the positions and policies of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. In the event that this situation has been misreported, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can co-ordinate corrections to the media.”
The Presbyterian Record was unable to speak on the record to anyone from First Church, or the presbytery.
Bruneau, who was on vacation when the issue hit the press, responded with an email to presbytery before his return. The following is an excerpt:
“I am indeed shocked at how huge this has become. I very cautiously approached this issue with the Inglis family — they are great folks — and believed that it could be handled in an agreeable manner. In no way did session (by whose authority the clerk and I were sent to speak with the family) have any desire to make an ultimatum ‘change your ways or leave,’ but to lovingly ask her to consider the manner in which she conducts herself as a leader of our junior youth; that is, her taking on of a leadership position as a very public promoter of the Gay Pride Day in New Westminster. Our clerk kept repeating in that very uncomfortable discussion (in which I asked the parents to be a part of) with Tory that we love her and that the church welcomes all, gay and straight, and calls all to follow and be formed by Jesus Christ. We also spoke of how the church’s role is to call people to live out their Christian calling in and out of the church.”
“Tory came home visibly upset [after the meeting],” said Karen Inglis, Tory’s mother. She had been treasurer and head of Sunday school before the family left the church in support of their daughter.
She said she has been trying to correct misinformation in the media regarding the family’s decision to leave, since some assumed Tory had been “thrown out” of the church.
“It was our choice to leave. It was emotional for me to walk away from something after 18 years.”
