Was it ‘Oppressive’ for These ‘White’ Christian

Was it ‘Oppressive’ for These ‘White’ Christian Missionaries to Distribute VBS Invites Outside a NYC Public School? (Poll)


Discrimination or Christian kindness? This is one of the questions following a controversy that erupted after Southern missionaries passed out fliers urging public school children to attend Bible school in New York City.

Three white men from Concord Baptist Church in Pickens, South Carolina (and we’ll tell you why their race is important in a moment), were in New York City this month for an annual week-long missions trip. In an effort to help Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, a church in Park Slope, Brooklyn, bolster its membership, the missionaries stationed themselves outside P.S. 282 to pass out vacation Bible school (VBS) invitations to the children.


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What resulted was furor on the part of some who believe that it’s irresponsible and improper for missionaries to be taking such actions outside of a public school. But the criticisms went well beyond the traditional church versus state argument, as some parents even charged that the missionaries are “discriminatory.”

“I know this church. Every summer they truck these kids up to proselytize,” said Ernestine Heldring, a mother with children at the school who also attends a Dutch Reformed church in New York. “It‘s a brand of Christianity that’s homophobic and homogeneous, and I find it oppressive to have three white guys standing there making it impossible for kids to pass without taking a flier.”

While this may seem like an odd statement, apparently Heldring was uncomfortable with the racial differences between the three white missionaries and the diverse student body (67 percent of students at the school are African American). She was also upset over the church’s rejection of gay marriage.

Here is reaction from another parent who also stood opposed to the missionaries actions, as per DNAInfo.com:

A dad at the school said he was equally upset, especially because of the number of P.S. 282 kids with gay parents and the fact that the school serves children of “Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Tenrikyo, Buddhist, Agnostic and Atheist parents,” he said.

“These outsiders from South Carolina are showing little respect for our school, our neighborhood, our diversity and our values here in Brooklyn,” wrote the father, who didn’t want to be named, in an email.

“Park Slope is relatively affluent — perhaps if they really want to honor Christ’s teachings they could go to some disadvantaged areas of the city and feed the poor.”

ho·mo·ge·ne·ous

adjective
1.
composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind; not heterogeneous: a homogeneous population.
2.
of the same kind or nature; essentially alike.

Elena2010
Posted on June 29, 2012 at 1:40pm

@Life — VBS is for the kids not the parents; that’s why they “target” the kids w/the fliers.

The Left is pretty intent on cramming down Christians throats the entire Left agenda fm premarital sex to homosexuality to worship of the state. At least Jesus is a positive, potentially self-actualizing message.

[czygvtwkr]

I've always found people "spreading the word" annoying no matter what word it was they were spreading.

[Radiant1]

Originally Posted by czygvtwkr

I've always found people "spreading the word" annoying no matter what word it was they were spreading.

I'm a Christian and can't even stand fellow Christians preaching at/to me without being invited to do so. Imo, spreading the Word is to be done in private one-on-one and then only if the subject comes up or presents itself. I've often found that actions speak louder than words or bible-thumping anyway.

[ItalianScallion (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Radiant1

I'm a Christian and can't even stand fellow Christians preaching at/to me without being invited to do so. Imo, spreading the Word is to be done in private one-on-one and then only if the subject comes up or presents itself. I've often found that actions speak louder than words or bible-thumping anyway.

[CrashTest]

I think some might be missing the point. That woman found it oppressive that the guys were white. That suggests she would be OK with guys spreading the word if they were black. That makes her the homogeneous one.