This is a commentary that I wrote for Crosscut on the controversy about the exclusion of gays in Scouting. Outside my role with the WCTA, I serve as vice chair of the council of the Magnolia United Church of Christ. I was Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 80 for five years. My son, JT, and I are Eagle Scouts. My wife, Melissa, works for the Boy Scouts. (My daughter has absolutely nothing to do with Scouting — including a determined objection to camping of any kind.) Source: Tom Ranken, Crosscut, May 6, 2013.
My church, the Magnolia United Church of Christ in Seattle, has conflicting legacies. It has been an open, affirming church accepting of gay people for decades. It has had several leaders that are gay.
It has also been the sponsor of Boy Scout Troop 80 and Cub Scout Pack 80 since the 1940s.
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