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Gay pastor walks out of chaplaincy training

Jason A. Michael

PONTIAC – He thought he was going to learn to be a better chaplain; instead, he was confronted with the bitter truth of intolerance. On the recommendation of a friend, the Rev. Mark Bidwell, pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit, signed up for a six-day, 47-hour fully accredited chaplaincy certification training given by the International Fellowship of Chaplains. Bidwell made it no further than day two, however, and left when the "spiritual violence" he encountered became overwhelming.
Toward the end of the first day, the conversation turned to marriage.
"We talked about divorce and that one of the causes of divorce was homosexuality," recalled Bidwell. "I don't have a problem with that. I was actually married and my wife filed for divorce because I was gay."
The discussion included the recent book "On The Down Low" by J.L. King and Governor McGreevey of New Jersey, who recently admitted he had been involved in a gay affair and announced his plans to resign.
"While it was very evident that most of the people thought these scenarios were wrong, I didn't take any personal offense, though it did make me cautious," Bidwell continued.
But by the second day, things had gotten worse.
"We were talking about organizations for referral and one of the students in the class brought up the 'homosexual agenda,' and at that point I was waiting for this to take a negative turn," said Bidwell.
He didn't have to wait long.
Responding to the student, Bidwell says the instructor of the course, IFOC founder and president Major General Rev. David Vorce, was clear.
"He said, 'The one thing that I cannot tolerate is homosexuality,'" said Bidwell. "He said, 'The Bible says that it's an abomination and that homosexuals should be killed – and I believe that.'"
The words were frightening enough on their own, but even more so considering that Vorce, a former Marine and retired lieutenant with the Saginaw County Sheriff's Department, had already told the class he carried a gun and "extra ammo" in his chaplain's bag, which was in the room.
"At that point, I packed up my things," said Bidwell. "The woman next to me reached over and touched my arm and said, 'Are you going to be ok?' Now I had never come out to the class, I hadn't said anything to her, but I said, 'I'm going to be ok. It's the other people in the class I'm worried about.' I stood up, I said, 'This is spiritual violence,' and I walked out of the class."
Bidwell requested a refund of his registration fee, and was told he would receive one. He also reported the incident to the Triangle Foundation, who issued a press release and contacted the IFOC.
"It is reckless and horrifying that someone charged with training chaplains would advocate murder," said Jeffrey Montgomery, Triangle's executive director, in the press release. "This self-styled religious leader admits he carries a gun and then announces to a gay student that gays should be killed. It must have been terrifying for Mark. It is shocking that this man is training people to be chaplains in our prisons, hospitals and police departments. Vorce should apologize to his class and his other members for his behavior, unless he really feels this way. Whatever the case, he needs to explain his alarming beliefs."
When contacted by Between The Lines, the IFOC said that Vorce was unavailable and referred the paper to their press release on the matter.
"The International Federation of Chaplains, Inc. is extremely offended by the false allegations leveled as it pertains to the false allegations of Reverend Mark Bidwell, senior pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Ferndale, and the Triangle Foundation," read the uncredited press release. "At no time did Reverend David C. Vorce, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Chaplains, Inc. support, condone or even encourage the killing of homosexuals and lesbians."
Bidwell, though, said he knows what he heard, and the effect it's had on him has been profound.
"I believe that it made me more of an activist in proclaiming the message that we are all equal and we are all part of one body and we need to work as one body together," he said. "There are so many problems in this world that we do not need to disassociate ourselves from each other. It's time, as a human race, that we started treating each other with the dignity and respect that is deserved, regardless of race, gender, faith, sexual orientation – the whole gamut that's here."

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