Norwich – For 10 years, a plainly worded sign has stood near the sidewalk in front of Christ Episcopal Church at 78 Washington St. near Norwich Harbor: “We are an Open & Inclusive Church.”

The sign sent a clear message that local LGBTQ community members are welcome at the church – although the Rev. Hugh James, the church pastor, said it also has brought people with mental disabilities and parents of gay children to the congregation, as well as others who felt uncomfortable at other places of worship.

Christ Church and nearby Park Congregational Church at Chelsea Parade now want to bring to the forefront an issue that has divided people of many religions in a four-hour workshop titled “LGBTQ: Bible and Church. A Frank Discussion.”

The free workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, in the lower level Pine Room at Christ Church. The Revs. James and Sara Ofner-Seals, pastor of Park Congregational Church, will lead the study workshop that will dissect various passages in the Bible often cited as referring to a prohibition on same-sex intimate relationships. They also will explore other passages in which James says Jesus encounters same-sex relationships and does not rebuke them.

“There are six passages in the Bible, if taken very narrowly, condemning homosexuality,” James said last week. “There are many areas where Christ sees an obviously gay person and says nothing.”

James also said the six anti-gay passages – including two in Leviticus that refer to homosexuality as “an abomination” – are just the English translations of ancient texts.

“The English translations often condemn homosexuality,” James said. “The German and French translations don't.”

James said the Leviticus passages are part of a “purity code” that also includes a prohibition on eating shellfish and, curiously, on wearing clothing that includes a mixture of different fabrics. James said modern Christian Americans certainly don't take to heart those portions of the code.

The workshop will explore the six passages, as well as accounts in Matthew, Luke and John that tell of a Roman centurion who pleads with Jesus to heal his dying male slave. The passages, the Rev. James said, indicate that the centurion and the slave are in a sexual relationship. Yet Jesus praises the man for his strong faith and cures the slave.

“I think it's important that it's not just gay people talking about this,” James said. “It's a matter of justice.”

James and Ofner-Seals, who was not available last week to discuss the workshop, are spreading the word through their congregations, on Facebook, through the Norwich Area Clergy Association and through local social services agencies and the LGBTQ community.

John-Manuel Andriote, who sometimes attends services at Christ Church, offered to help publicize the workshop in the Norwich area LGBTQ community.

This summer, Andriote said, marks the 35th anniversary of his own acceptance that he was a gay man. He was 22 at the time and had graduated a year earlier from conservative, evangelical Gordon College in Wenham, Mass.

“So I have been around all that negative condemning of gay people, which supposedly came out of the Bible,” Andriote said.

Andriote said it's important for non-gay ministers, such as Pastor James, to address the issue.

“It's a good thing for non-gay clergy in mainstream denominations to speak out, to make clear that not all Christian denominations are condemning as the ones who are the loudest.”

Christ Church members Will Schramm and Sarah Vertefeuille were attracted to the church as parents of two gay sons, now in their 20s. The couple attended – and highly recommend – the annual March forum at the University of Connecticut sponsored by True Colors, a Hartford organization that addresses the needs of LGBTQ youths.

Kamora Herrington, director of youth programming at True Colors, said the UConn conference is the largest LGBTQ youth conference in the country, with 3,200 participants. The conference has been held at UConn for the past 23 years, she said.

Schramm and Vertefeuille suggested that Pastor James attend the UConn conference and do a workshop on biblical references to homosexuality. He and Ofner-Seals ended up doing a 45-minute workshop that will be the basis for the July 30 four-hour study session.

“Nowadays everything is sound bites, and snippets and taken out of context,” Schramm said. “So it was nice to get the details of the language and the words used and the usage. 'What about two lines back in that passage where it says your clothes can't be made of two fabrics? You don't do that.'”

The March workshop was attended by youths, parents, teachers, guidance counselors and youth advocates. James hopes to bring the discussion to an expanded audience on July 30.

“I suspect there are a number of people looking for ways to raise the issue,” James said.

James acknowledged that with open invitations to the free workshop, the conference could bring naysayers and those with conservative interpretations of the Bible passages to be discussed. That's fine, he said, as long as the discussion remains civil.

“There could be some who come and disagree with us,” he said. “But we hope they don't come to try to shout us down.”

c.bessette@theday.com

LGBTQ: Bible and Church. A Frank Discussion

Saturday, July 30, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Pine Room, Christ Episcopal Church, 78 Washington St., Norwich.

Admission free. Donations to cover refreshments accepted.

RSVP to Christ Episcopal Church office, (860) 887-4249 or to hughjames1784@att.net