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Wednesday,
January 28, 2004 |
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Brite
rep accuses Disciples' group of bigotry
The
divinity school's director of field education filed a
petition in state District Court over alleged discrimination
by a committee of the Christian Church's Southwest Region.
By
Elizabeth Bassett
Staff
Reporter
A top Brite Divinity School administrator said Tuesday
that he was barred from representing Brite on a Disciples
of Christ Church regional committee to interview minister
candidates because he is gay.
Stephen Sprinkle, director of field education at Brite
Divinity School, said he was told by committee chairman
Ben Hubert that he was “polarizing students”
and would not be allowed to participate in interviews
held Jan. 12 to Jan. 14. Sprinkle said he disputed the
claim, but stayed for general meetings, which included
prayer and meals.
According to the bylaws of the Christian Church’s
Southwest Region, the director for field service education
is an automatic member of the committee. Brite sent Sprinkle
to the Committee on the Ministry of the Christian Church
as one of two representatives.
Sprinkle said the tension between Brite and the Southwest
Region stemmed from the conflict between Brite’s
non-discriminatory policy and the Region’s disapproval
of homosexuality.
Hubert did not return several phone calls seeking comment.
Brite President D. Newell Williams said late Tuesday that
he supports Sprinkle and is working with the Southwest
Region to resolve the conflict.
“He needed to go to that meeting and present himself
for service,” said Williams, who did not attend the
meetings. “He went to that meeting with my endorsement.
It is part of his job.”
Bob Rueter, the transitional regional minister for the
Southwest Region, would only confirm that Sprinkle was
present at the meetings. He would not comment further.
Sprinkle said that although Hubert did not explicitly
say so, Sprinkle was being barred because of his sexual
orientation.
“If they had any other reason for denying me access,
they never told me,” Sprinkle said. “I have
a responsibility built into my job here at Brite to represent
Brite.”
Richard Lee Griffin, Sprinkle’s attorney, said a
petition requesting depositions from several Southwest
Region members had been filed in the state District Court
in Tarrant County. The petition requests the court’s
permission to investigate a claim for damages, he said.
Ed Coble, attorney for the Southwest Region, was not available
for comment.
Dan Carroll, who was part of another small group at the
committee, said the decision to exclude Sprinkle was made
by Hubert and “he made the decision even if it might
not have been voted on by the entire committee.”
Carroll referred questions to Hubert.
“We’ve been asked not to comment on this,”
he said.
The TCU Campus Advocates for Peace and Social Justice
presented a “community conversation” about the
matter Tuesday afternoon.
Katie Low, co-moderator for CAPS and a Brite student,
read aloud a letter she had written to the region. “Dr.
Sprinkle’s treatment is a break of covenant and a
clear violation of the Southwest Region’s bylaws,”
she said.
“As a Brite Divinity student, I deserve an apology
from the Southwest Region and I expect the region to apologize
to Brite Divinity School, its students, and to Dr. Stephen
Sprinkle ... for its denial of Brite representation at
the meeting,” Low’s letter continued.
At the CAPS meeting, Sprinkle said: “I’m seeking
justice.”
A petition was presented at the end of the meeting. It
asked the Christian Church to send a letter of apology
to Sprinkle and Brite by Feb. 4. |
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