Baptist Pastor Apologizes for Remark on Gays

After using an offensive term to refer to lesbians and suggesting that homosexuality is sinful, one of Washington’s most prominent preachers has apologized for remarks he made during a recent sermon.

The Rev. H. Beecher Hicks Jr., pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Northwest Washington, acknowledged in a letter this week that he used “unacceptable” language during a program this month at National City Christian Church, also in Northwest. His audience consisted mainly of African American ministers from out of town and some openly gay church workers, who complained to National City’s pastor.

“He made a passing remark--it was not a good remark--and almost as soon as he made it, he knew he had overstepped some boundaries there,” said the Rev. Alvin O. Jackson, pastor of National City, who described Hicks’ letter of apology as “very gracious.”

The letter will be read at National’s worship services Sunday by a member of the board of the church, which takes pride in being a place of worship that welcomes gay men and lesbians.

Hicks said that the context of his March 7 remarks had been misunderstood but that he regretted his choice of words. “I intended no denigration,” he said in an interview. “It was more a mistake of words.”

In his letter, which is addressed to Jackson, Hicks wrote that he had used words “that were hurtful and pejorative. Whether in a sermon or any public platform, the use of epithets is unacceptable. In this instance using such words masked the larger context and intent of my comment that when our lives are examined, all of us are candidates for the grace and mercy of God.”

Hicks asked Jackson to convey his “profound apology for the insensitivity of my language” to his congregation and apologized to Jackson “for any discomfort I may have caused to you or your fine ministry.”

Hicks’ offending comments, which were first reported by the Washington Blade newspaper, came during a worship service at a retreat for black ministers of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Indianapolis-based denomination for which Jackson’s church serves as the national cathedral.

“I was stunned and embittered,” said Tyrone Fowlkes, an openly gay employee of the denomination’s headquarters who heard Hicks’ sermon.

Bridget Robinson, a lesbian who also works for the denomination in Indianapolis, said she was “shocked and overwhelmed” when she heard Hicks’s comments. “What has upset me is . . . that in a Christian-based setting such comments would be uttered from the pulpit.”