Groomsport Presbyterian Church celebrates same-sex marriage of former trainee ‘minister’

Isaiah 5:20: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

These days there is a great deal of turning truth and righteousness on its head and this is no more pronounced, both in secular and religious circles than on the issue of LGBT ‘rights’.

It is not an issue we particularly like treading over, but as the propagation of such defiance of God’s Word and natural order persists, so must we persist in voicing our objection to such utter godlessness.

And it has recently come to our attention that Groomsport Presbyterian Church, near Bangor in County Down, has offered its support to same-sex ‘marriage’ by cheerily celebrating the recent ‘wedding’ between a former intern ‘minister’ in the congregation and her ‘girlfriend’.

In their church magazine, known as ‘Eagle Wing’, it is proudly boasted of ‘Rev’ Jennifer Barchi’s ‘marriage’ to her ‘girlfriend’.

This was advertised in the Christmas 2017 edition of their magazine, though it has only recently come to our attention.

Jennifer Barchi (pictured, top), who appears to be an American, served as Groomsport Presbyterian Church’s ‘Princeton intern’ in the 2010/11 year. She is now ‘minister’ in Dickey Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland in the USA.

In the Eagle Wing magazine, declaring her anti-Christian union, she says: “It has been a wonderfully busy Fall. On October 14th, my fiancée, Lauren, and I were married at a beautiful ceremony on Chesapeake Bay.

“We were delighted to have so many family, friends, and much of our congregation present with us. I’ll be sure to send photos along when I get them in the spring.”

We’ll all look forward to seeing the photos, no doubt.

The Bible passages on such sins are crystal clear and anyone who attempts to contort them so as to fit their anti-Christian world view is clutching at straws, to put it mildly.

Romans 1:24-27 says: “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

It says clearly there in Romans that ‘Rev’ Jennifer Barchi’s relationship is “against nature” and she and everyone else is warned that “abusers of themselves with mankind” shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

So how can it be justified that such an individual be tasked with preaching God’s Word when they live in such open defiance of it?

1 Timothy 2 also deals with this matter in a crystal clear manner. Verse 12 says: “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”

And in the following chapter there is not even the faintest consideration that a woman might hold the role of a minister.

1 Timothy 3:1-4: “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity”.

The role of an overseer in a church belongs to a man, who must be the “husband of one wife” and must rule well “his own house”.

Nowhere does it say that it could actually be a woman and nowhere does Scripture give its endorsement to homosexual relationships.

So why does Groomsport Presbyterian Church include such open sinfulness in its publication?

We do not know, but there is clearly little or no opposition to this at the highest levels in that church.

The current minister there is a Rev Paul Dalzell and he ought to be speaking out most vociferously against it.

Instead, he contributes to this same publication so tainted with such vileness by including his ‘Letter from the manse’ at the opening of the magazine.

He is not the editor, that is a woman called Susan Ekin, but Rev Paul Dalzell could at the very least refuse to touch “even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude v 23).

However, one must draw the conclusion that he is in support of such vileness, or at the very least he is willing to turn a blind eye.

Ezekiel 33:2-9 warns of such abandonment of a minister’s duty to speak out against sin.

It says: “Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man , thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

The blood of those the minister, or watchman, failed to warn, is on the hands of that minister. What a frightful thought that is!

And to be a ‘minister’ openly engaging in a sin God has called an “abomination” (Leviticus 18:22) as well as failing to warn the people, as is the case with ‘Rev’ Jennifer Barchi, is more frightening still.

In a blog post she has put up on her church, Dickey Memorial’s website, she has stressed her celebration of the sodomite ‘Pride’ festival.

Grievously, she points out that it was people in her own congregation there who encouraged her to date a woman in the church, who would later become her ‘wife’.

This means that the church was clearly aware of an openly lesbian member of the church and not only tolerated it, but encouraged it.

‘Rev’ Jennifer Barchi also states that she told the ‘Pastoral Nominating Committee’ for Dickey Memorial Presbyterian Church that she was a lesbian.

Their response, says she? “They didn’t care”.

Neither, too, did her congregation, particularly given it was members of the church who encouraged her in to her ungodly relationship. When one looks at the church’s website, it is no surprise. It says: “We welcome all persons into all aspects of our church life and leadership regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, gender identity…”

As was stated above in her correspondence with Groomsport Presbyterian Church, most of her congregation attended the affront to God that was her ‘wedding’ ceremony.

This is such an apt instance of what Jesus said in Matthew 15:14 when he said: “they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

There must surely be those in Groomsport Presbyterian Church who are opposed to this disgraceful situation and we would encourage anyone reading this who knows anyone connected with the church or in the area to share this with them.

In her article for ‘Pride’, ‘Rev’ Jennifer Barchi says that she had not ‘come out’ when she was in Groomsport and there were those who had no “qualms about talking about it as a sin in front of me”.

We would call on those people in Groomsport Presbyterian Church to take a loud, vociferous and uncompromising stand against such disgraceful apostasy.

We are called on to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude v 3) and Ephesians 5:11 instructs us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them”.

There is to be a separation from wickedness and if Groomsport Presbyterian Church continues to endorse such defiance of God, then true believers must separate themselves from it.

Let our vow be as that of Joshua, when he said in Joshua 24:15: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”