Largest Protestant adoption agency in US opens to LGBTQ parents

The Hill ^ | 1st March 2021 | JUSTINE COLEMAN

[Ennis85]

The largest Protestant adoption and foster agency in the country has decided to open up its services to LGBTQ parents nationwide, a win for same-sex couples as several religious agencies have declined them services in the past, the company announced to staff Monday.

Chris Palusky, the president and chief executive of Bethany Christian Services, informed staff of the evangelical organization that the change would go into effect immediately, according to an email obtained by The New York Times. The adjustment comes as several cities and states have mandated that adoption agencies accept same-sex parents in order to receive government funding.

“We will now offer services with the love and compassion of Jesus to the many types of families who exist in our world today,” Palusky said in the announcement. “We’re taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach where all are welcome.”

Previously, the Michigan-based organization in most states referred LGBTQ parents to different agencies, although the process was not official, Bethany leaders told the Times.

A lesbian Philadelphia couple’s story of being referred to a different agency in 2018 sparked outrage, leading the city to suspend contracts with Bethany’s local branch and another agency Catholic Social Services. Bethany later complied with the city’s requirements, while Catholic Social Services took the case to court, prompting the Supreme Court to hear arguments in November.

The following year, the agency took a similar position in Michigan after the state declared it wouldn’t fund agencies that didn’t open up adoptions to LGBTQ parents. Bethany branches in 12 states allowed LGBTQ families to adopt as of late 2020, according to the Times.

Bethany’s national board voted in January to approve an inclusivity resolution that removed its previous statement from 2007 that “God’s design for the family is a covenant and lifelong marriage of one man and one woman.”

The new policy does not directly mention LGBTQ parents but says, “Christians of mutual good faith can reasonably disagree on various doctrinal issues, about which Bethany does not maintain an organizational position.”

Bethany intends to provide training to all employees in the coming months including at its locations where employees have not worked with LGBTQ parents.

"These days, families look a lot different than they did when we started," Nate Bult, the senior vice president of public and government affairs, said in a statement. "And Bethany is committed to welcoming and serving all of them."

Adoption is more prevalent among the LGBTQ community with more than 20 percent of same-sex couples with children having an adopted child, while 3 percent of straight couples said the same, according to a 2016 report.

[fwdude]

...a loss for the children who will be denied a mother and father.

The outcome is more grim than that. Homosexuals often acquire children as an accessory to attempt to bolster an image of "normalcy," often at the expense of the well-being of the child. At worst, they acquire children to indoctrinate and actually abuse. But much of this is covered up and swept under the rug in the interest of the narrative.

Mums drugged their six adopted children and drove off cliff in murder-suicide

Compounding the danger to children, agencies are reluctant to scritinize homosexual couples appropriately at the risk of being accused of homophobic discrimination, resulting in the placement of innocent children in clearly unstable and dangerous homes.

[rdcbn1]

Really shocked at the lack of pushback on this.

Even more shocked at how many seemingly normal people are enthusiastically supporting this garbage.

Obviously, lots of Americans are not well acquainted with the gay lifestyle and it's impact on children.Amazing how far and fast we have fallen. This would have been inconceivable even 20 years ago

[Falconspeed]

“Families look a lot different” to people who are mentally ill.
Children must have both: a mother and a father.

[EasySt]

So many are saying it’s about the money.

I have a different view.

I think it’s also about child trafficking.
(The money is just the machinery lubrication.)

Pay any attention to all the local Child “Protective” Services, etc. horrors,
and you’ll start to understand a different perspective.

Where might the best place to be, be, if you want to be in that business?

~Easy

[fwdude]

Couples in the gay community seem to not stay together long. Just a personal observation.

The flagship "couple" in the first state to obliterate marriage, Marxistchusetts, split up a couple of years after the decision by the state supreme court.

[bramps]

I would guess that employee turnover will be high at this agency at those handing off children to sodomites begin having nightmares about what they have done to the children.

[b4me]

a loss for those who made this choice to not honor God’s word on families.

I do think if God allows this to be, He will use it somehow to further people’s situations to see they need Him, not their self-serving made up gods/idols.

[missnry]

Beings we’re on the topic of sexual orientation... does that mean pedophiles are open to adopting children? If not how does the adoption agency “discriminate” against pedophiles? If they will not adopt to pedophiles what “standard” are they using? Are they just putting their finger to the wind? This is absurd. A Christian organization should not bow to the culture but should hold fast to the word of God!

[Blood of Tyrants]

“The adjustment comes as several cities and states have mandated that adoption agencies accept same-sex parents in order to receive government funding. “

With government funding comes government controls.

[AnxiouslyWaiting]

His judgement comes...

[rdcbn1]

Remember when all those LGBT people rushed down to the border to “adopt” one of those Central American kids flooding the border?

They were portrayed in the media as such selfless Good Samaritans.

I wonder what ever happened to all those adopted kids.

Amazed by the lack of warm and fuzzy, feel good media follow ups on the life changing impacts the adoption by LGBT people had on the kids.

Media black out on the fate of the kids so have suspicions and they are not very happy or optimistic suspicions

Thinking it was more about homosexuals shopping for toys than starting families

[Paved Paradise]

Absolutely. Breaks my heart.

[fwdude]

Folks, we need to understand where this is heading. This is just greasing the wheels to take away the natural children from any parents who express any kind of antipathy toward homosexuality. It’s coming, be sure of that. The current missnamed “Equality Act” which has just passed the House implements a lot of these objective to sever parents from their flesh-and-blood children. And when they do, they’ll be placed in sodomite homes.

Are you getting this yet?!!!!

[centermass_socrates]

These days, families look a lot different than they did when we started

---

Yes but the Word of God hasn’t changed one iota. They will have to give answer individually for each one of these poor children that they turn over to these hedonistic animals.

They will also reap on this earth what they sow here. God’s sees all and there are NO crop failures with the law of sowing and reaping.

[Pontiac]

That tragic story is the first thing that came to my mind when I read this article.

The poor children whose lives will come to a tragic end by this decision.

Or at least be forever scarred.

[fwdude]

There is almost NEVER any follow-up on the children acquired by sodomites. We get the glitzy initial headline and the child is then lost in obscurity, collateral damage demanded by the agenda. The closest we came was the New Family Structures Study conducted by Dr. Regnerus, who was viciously and irrationally attacked for daring to see how children did as adults after leaving homes were homosexuality was practiced as a lifestyle, accusing him of academic "misconduct."

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/key-findings-of-mark-regnerus-new-family-structure-study/

[Gay State Conservative]

Someday a respected researcher will release the results of a study showing that kids...boys *and* girls...that are raised by a pervert (or a pair of 'em) grow up to be breathtakingly ****ed up psychologically.

Someday,perhaps. Or maybe not.

[centermass_socrates]

Between the acceptance of this filth into our society and the unmitigated slaughter of the innocents in the womb, our once great country will not endure. America's salt has lost it's savour. Our country is already being trodden under foot of man.

[ealgeone]

Sodom and Gomorrah.

[libertylover]

a win for same-sex couples [perversion]