The Adventist Lesbian Pastor Urban Legend

[Stan]

THE FAKE NEWS STORY

Lansdale/Souderton, PA District Gets New Pastor

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> June 23, 2004 Lansdale, Pennsylvania .... [Walter M. Andersson/ANN]

>

> Pennsylvania Conference President Ray Hartwell announced June 23 that the

> search for a new pastor for the Lansdale/Souderton district has been

>completed. The new pastor will be Angela Sanders, a recent graduate of the

>Andrews University Theological Seminary.

>

>Hartwell was quick to point out that Sanders, while being openly lesbian,

>is an excellent preacher and has a track record as a tremendous church

>leader. "Sexual orientation and also women's ordination have constituted

>hot potatoes in our denomination for some time," said Hartwell. "It's time

>we opened our minds to the differences we have among us, and I believe

>that the brethren in the Pennsylvania Conference and especially the fine

>folk in the Lansdale and Souderton churches will be able to get past the

>relatively insignificant issues of sexual orientation and pastoral gender

>and will warmly embrace Pastor Sanders."

THE TRUTH ABOUT THIS

"E-Mail Hoax Warning: The Lansdale and Souderton Seventh-day Adventist Churches have recently been the victim of an ill-advised email hoax. The email, dated June 23, 2004, purportedly came from the Adventist News Network, and announced that a new pastor has been found by the Pennsylvania Conference to replace Pastor Skip Dodson who left Lansdale July 15, 2004 to pursue a PhD in New Testament Studies. The reality of the matter is that no part of this email is factual. It is the work of one individual, who has nothing at all to do with the Adventist News Network. The names of individuals used in the email are fictitious, with the exception of Ray Hartwell, Pennsylvania Conference President. The sentiments and statements attributed to Elder Hartwell are entirely fictitious and do not in any way reflect his convictions or course of leadership. We pray that God will bring the circulation of this fictitious email to a stop, and that it will cease to cause any unnecessary distress to those who love the truth as it is in Jesus.

- Lansdale SDA Church Board "