In the wake of a controversial sermon and the suspension of funding from the Office of Multicultural Student Programs, Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) will not seek further financial support from the College, according to BCF adviser Rob Gregory.
The decision to withdraw funds followed a September 18 sermon that prompted two students to walk out of the service in response to what they considered homophobic remarks. Without College funding to pay for speakers' honoraria, BCF's visiting speakers will appear at chapel services on a volunteer basis.
"We encouraged them to handle their funds however they saw best," said Gregory, of the Office of Multicultural Student Programs.
BCF had received a $100 honorarium from the Office of Multicultural Student Programs each week to compensate speakers ever since chapel services resumed in 2008. BCF has increased its presence on campus significantly since then, when Protestant chapel services were attended by fewer than 10 students.
BCF now boasts over 100 students on its mailing list and offers weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings in addition to the Sunday chapel services.
According to Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, the increasing level of student participation in BCF influenced the decision on the part of the Office of Multicultural Student Programs to stop providing the $100 stipend.
Customarily, student organizations are directed to seek funding from the Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) once they have gained traction on campus, even if they received initial sponsorship from the Dean's Office or the Office of Multicultural Student Programs.
"I can't think of any other faith groups that have been funded this way," said Foster of the longtime support BCF received.
The initial decision to award the honorarium to BCF was meant to help get chapel services going back in 2008, and was not intended to indefinitely support the initiative.
In explaining his rational for why BCF should be funded independent of his office, Foster said, "If there is something that is going to be a longstanding tradition, then I think you should have a longstanding source of funds."
Since the institution of the honorarium, his office had not taken a hard look at the reasons behind its continued support.
Foster explained that Associate Dean of Multicultural Student Programs Leana Amaez reconsidered the financial arrangement when Williams' sermon "resonated in the way that it did."
Foster also noted that "while having sermons on campus is a valuable and important thing," funding for religious services does not by any means have to come from the Office of Multicultural Programs, "whose mission is to create an inclusive environment."
"This felt like something that was exclusive," he said.
Pastor William is not the first BCF-sponsored speaker to generate controversy on campus.
Two years ago, BCF used SAFC funds to finance a talk by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Professor Robert Gagnon.
According Gregory, Gagnon was brought to campus to speak "primarily to the Christian students" on the subject of sexual ethics in light of Maine's statewide referendum on same-sex marriage in the fall of 2009.
Gagnon gave two speeches at the College, in which Foster said he "made some comments that some people felt were blatantly homophobic."
"I had a number of conversations with the student leaders at the time—there were definitely some members who I think were uncomfortable with the fact that they had sponsored that speaker. There were probably many other members of BCF who were quite comfortable, but it generated a lot of discussion within BCF and within the broader community," said Foster.
Both Foster and Gregory mentioned BCF's ties to the InterVarsity Christian fellowship—the group that Gregory and his wife, BCF co-advisor Sim Gregory, work with.
Gregory called the organization "orthodox" and Foster noted that the group has "a clear faith perspective" that he called "more conservative."
When asked if an openly gay student could possibly take on a leadership position in the BCF, Gregory said that such a situation would be "complicated."
"I think that it's complicated to be a leader in a Christian organization that professes Christian orthodoxy [while having] unorthodox views about important matters like that," Gregory said.
Foster also said it's possible that the campus' reaction to both Williams and Gagnons' remarks has brought attention to a group of students that does not currently have a clear avenue through which to practice its faith.
"Right now, the option for Christian students on campus is BCF," said Foster.
"I don't think all of our students on campus who identify as Christian would necessarily feel that they can practice their faith within the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship," he said. "And that leads to the dilemma for some of our students of, Can I continue my worship at Bowdoin or do I need to go somewhere else to continue my worship?"
Ultimately, he added, it's up to students to take initiative to assemble religious groups that will best allow them to practice their faith.
Foster said he would be a supporter of student-led initiatives to build a wider spectrum of religious groups on campus.