Rachel Held Evans, whoever that is, thinks the World Vision (US) reversal on allowing the hiring of the same-sex married REALLY sucks:
For those of you who donated, thank you. That money will be put to good use, I assure you. But I am deeply, profoundly sorry that I inadvertently rallied these fundraising efforts in response to a decision that would ultimately be reversed. Though I certainly hope everyone who sponsored a child or made a donation will continue to support World Vision, I can see how this effort would make you feel betrayed, as though it were launched under false pretense. And I’m so, so sorry for that. I’m as surprised by all this as you are.
This whole situation has left me feeling frustrated, heartbroken, and lost. I don’t think I’ve ever been more angry at the Church, particularly the evangelical culture in which I was raised and with which I for so long identified. I confess I had not realized the true extent of the disdain evangelicals have for our LGBT people, nor had I expected World Vision to yield to that disdain by reversing its decision under pressure. Honestly, it feels like a betrayal from every side.
I feel for you, kid.
This whole situation just might be one of the great public relations disasters of all time. If this story is accurate, this move was contemplated by World Vision (US) for quite some time and the following paragraph:
Stearns expects the board to continue to deal with questions about employment and same-sex relationships. “I think every Christian organization will continue to deal with this sensitive issue,” he said. “The board will continue to talk about this issue for many board meetings to come. … We need to have a process to do further and wider consultation with key Christian leaders around the country, and we will be discussing how that can happen.”
This suggests that the World Vision (US) board was taken completely by surprise by the resulting firestorm and tried to cover its ass while intending to look for a way to slide this policy change in under the radar some time in the future.
But the fact remains that you cannot claim to uphold a set of beliefs while regarding blatant contradictions of those beliefs as matters of moral indifference. As a result of this train wreck, I don’t think that the Christian left or the Christian right will ever completely trust World Vision (US) again.
For those of you who donated, thank you. That money will be put to good use, I assure you. But I am deeply, profoundly sorry that I inadvertently rallied these fundraising efforts in response to a decision that would ultimately be reversed. Though I certainly hope everyone who sponsored a child or made a donation will continue to support World Vision, I can see how this effort would make you feel betrayed, as though it were launched under false pretense. And I’m so, so sorry for that. I’m as surprised by all this as you are.
This whole situation has left me feeling frustrated, heartbroken, and lost. I don’t think I’ve ever been more angry at the Church, particularly the evangelical culture in which I was raised and with which I for so long identified. I confess I had not realized the true extent of the disdain evangelicals have for our LGBT people, nor had I expected World Vision to yield to that disdain by reversing its decision under pressure. Honestly, it feels like a betrayal from every side.
I feel for you, kid.
This whole situation just might be one of the great public relations disasters of all time. If this story is accurate, this move was contemplated by World Vision (US) for quite some time and the following paragraph:
Stearns expects the board to continue to deal with questions about employment and same-sex relationships. “I think every Christian organization will continue to deal with this sensitive issue,” he said. “The board will continue to talk about this issue for many board meetings to come. … We need to have a process to do further and wider consultation with key Christian leaders around the country, and we will be discussing how that can happen.”
This suggests that the World Vision (US) board was taken completely by surprise by the resulting firestorm and tried to cover its ass while intending to look for a way to slide this policy change in under the radar some time in the future.
But the fact remains that you cannot claim to uphold a set of beliefs while regarding blatant contradictions of those beliefs as matters of moral indifference. As a result of this train wreck, I don’t think that the Christian left or the Christian right will ever completely trust World Vision (US) again.
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