The American South : What's the future of LGBTQ parishioners in the South?

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USA TODAY: What's the future of LGBTQ parishioners in the South?

The American South

STORIES THAT CHALLENGE AND CELEBRATE US

Thursday, April 1

Pastor Jim Conrad stands in the Towne View Baptist Church on Feb. 18 in Kennesaw, Ga. In its 2021 meeting, the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee voted to oust the church for allowing LGBTQ people to become members of its congregation.

What's the future of LGBTQ parishioners in the South?

Stories about 'living out the gospel,' vaccination equity, generosity and sweet Easter candy memories

Welcome back to the American South!

If you're new here, thank you for subscribing and becoming a part of our community where we focus on producing revelatory journalism about the South.

To be a journalist and not think about equity every day of your career is rare. You encounter equity issues in every story: education via schools, healthcare via hospitals, workforce via small businesses and justice via courts and policing. You also encounter it in questions. For example, why is this road so broken? Why did that school close? Why are there so many homeless people downtown?

But the bigger question for all of us is what does equity mean to you?

This week, The American South spoke to the Giving Kitchen, it's an organization that sprung up from a difficult question and like many stories involving equity, it was born of pain. Why aren't there more resources to help restaurant workers in crisis?

We also spoke to health care officials and infectious disease specialists across the country about the significance of vaccinating populations in detention centers. It's a story born from the question activists are posing. Why aren't immigration customs and enforcement officials revealing vaccination rollout plans?

In another area, we spoke to Pastor Jim Conrad, who made headlines weeks ago when his church was ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention for accepting gay parishioners. The question here comes from faith. What does it mean to be Southern Baptist? Who determines belonging? Pastor Conrad, LGBT parishioners and divinity leaders share their thoughts.

It's no surprise that the most recent mass shootings bring to light the question. Why does this keep happening? You can read more on that here.

But before I go, one last question. What is bringing you joy lately? For me, it's my spring garden and Facetime with my niece. Thanks for reading!

Ashley Hopkinson (Editor, The American South)

P.S. A sweet story all about chocolate and Easter memories and a beautiful video about a musician who brings joy to strangers.

Heavenly Hash Eggs pass under a chocolate waterfall at the Elmer Chocolate factory in Ponchatoula, Louisiana on Wednesday, February 5, 2020.

Michael DeMocker

Group supporting restaurant workers expands across the South

Leah Melnick oversees Giving Kitchen's programing.

Courtesy Giving Kitchen

Giving Kitchen was born from a tragedy.

In 2012, Atlanta chef Ryan Hidinger was in the middle of opening Staplehouse, his dream restaurant, when he was diagnosed with late-stage gallbladder cancer. The city's restaurant community rallied around Hidinger and his wife, Jen Hidinger. Before he died, the couple created Giving Kitchen to help other restaurant workers.

Since then, the organization has distributed $4.3 million in financial assistance to pay rent, utilities or funeral expenses.

Giving Kitchen, based in Atlanta, now plans to expand across the South.

You can read the full story here.

Unclear plans leads to patchy efforts to vaccinate at-risk ICE detainees

The exercise area at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center on Dec. 17, 2019, in Pine Prairie, Louisiana.

Maria Clark

While the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has increased in the U.S., including some jails and prisons, ICE officials have yet to outline a plan for the more than 14,000 detainees in custody nationwide.

"As we move to vaccinate the entire adult population, leaving detention centers out of it is a big concern. These places are not completely isolated from the public. They will remain reservoirs for the virus," said Mark Travassos, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

What's being done across the South?

Read the full story here.

Georgia church defies Southern Baptist Convention, accepts gay members

Towne View Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, was kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention in February 2021 for allowing LGBTQ members.

Contributed by Towne View Baptist Church

A Georgia church was ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention for accepting gay members, sparking conversations about what it means to be Southern Baptist.

"Essentially the SBC has decided that because we welcomed these folks into our family that we're no longer welcome in their family, and we're OK with that," Pastor Jim Conrad said. What we decided is that when we say everybody's welcome, that means everybody."

Read the full story here.

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