Here is Kelly Oribine’s Facebook post from Monday
In 2015 I left my job at a local drop in centre to start Grace Inn Shelter. I knew that Belleville desperately needed a shelter, and I had been dreaming for 15 years of starting a shelter with a special focus on maintaining dignity for the people who used it. I imagined semi-private rooms, in-house counselling and employment services, and meaningful opportunities for the guests to contribute to the atmosphere and ethos of the shelter.
In 2017, I stepped down as founding director of Grace Inn in part due to a bylaw that the board insisted on that required all leadership in the shelter agree with their statement about marriage being between one man and one woman. When I fought this notion, they insisted that all leadership must be Christian and that “real” Christians oppose same sex marriage. When I proposed that a Bible-believing, God-centred Christian could also be LGBTQ+, or an ally, they expressed disgust and asked me why I was even part of this organization I had started.
For 2 years I didn’t share this publically because I felt that perhaps the good the shelter will do for the community outweighs the harm done by their bigotry. Belleville does afterall desperately need a shelter. I have since come to understand that keeping silent in the face of oppression is essentially taking sides with the oppressors. I cannot in good conscience quietly allow an organization I began to exclude people in the name of faith. For some people this information won’t change anything. But the public has a right to know what they are supporting.
To be clear, my understanding is that the shelter doesn’t plan to discriminate regarding who can use it, just who can hold a leadership position. But in my opinion, allowing LGBTQ+ people to be served, but not to work in positions of leadership or be on the board of directors is a profound injustice.
I regret that I did not have the courage and good sense to say this sooner. I was afraid to take a public stance and possibly lose some church friends along the way. I am sorry.
I have learned that whenever we draw a line between “us” and “them”, Christ stands on the other side of the line. Christ stands with the marginalized and excluded. I will endeavor to as well.
Below is the response by Grace Inn taken from their Facebook page.
In response to recent claims made, Grace Inn would like to respond as follows:
The current volunteer board of Grace Inn is affiliated with no particular church, however, we are a group of like-minded individuals who share the Christian faith.
In keeping with our faith, and as is the case with many other charities and volunteer organizations, board applicants are required to agree to our statement of faith and for a term, to be bound contractually to helping meet the goals of the organization.
This requirement is limited to board membership only and does not extend to any staff, volunteers or guests. Recently, the claim was made by someone previously involved with the shelter that board members are required to hold a certain position or belief on marriage in order to sit on the board. We would like to set the record straight that this is not true.
Our bylaws have been revised several times over the course of 3 years as we sought advice from a lawyer, and the issue of biblical marriage was one of many topics discussed and considered.
In keeping with transparency and full disclosure, it was included in one of the previous versions as a direct result of legal advice, but was subsequently removed as the board felt it didn’t fit with our overall vision for the shelter. It is not in our current bylaws, nor will it be reintroduced. We would also like to clarify that in no way or at any time have we ever “expressed disgust” at the LGBTQ+ community.
Grace Inn is a community-based project and will be the area’s first emergency homeless shelter. Our goal is and has always been to help those experiencing homelessness and to connect them to other resources that can help them overcome poverty in the long-term. We are an inclusive organization with a foundation of love, acceptance and compassion and we do not and will not ever discriminate against anyone.
We remain committed to this goal and it is our hope that the community will continue to come alongside us in support of this much-needed effort.
