By Tabassum Ali

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St. Augustine’s Chapel was at full capacity Wednesday night as 70 people gathered for a panel discussion about same- sex marriage.

Pastor Dana Lockhart, who organized the event titled “Chapel Talk: Why The Church Should Support Marriage Equality,” said he hoped for a “lively discussion,” and wanted “everyone to leave with a better understanding.” The event was sponsored by Ignite, a Lutheran Campus Ministry, and the Episcopal Campus Ministry.

Pastor Laura Altman said “it (same sex marriage) is an important issue which has been dividing Christians.”

The discussion started off with a prayer led by Bishop Douglas Hahn. It then delved into a discussion about scriptures being taken out of context and the definition of marriage changing.

“Context of when these scriptures were written is different to the context we live in today,” Altman said.

Father Joe Mitchell agreed saying “We cannot make a theology out of just one sentence, we have to explore what is going on and that’s when we can come up with an explanation.”

Reverend Laurie Brock said the definition of marriage is constantly being re-defined. She spoke on how slaves would not say, “til death do us part,” as they could be sold and they did not want to break their vows.

Brock said the decision for same-sex marriage was not an issue with the congregation that she serves.

“People were mad at the fact it did not happen before,” Brock said.

Pastor Steve Renner paused in the middle of his answer when asked about his marriage.

“I felt (that) when the nurse asked me whether I was single or married, it was a meaningful moment,” said Renner, who has been with his male partner for 20 years and had a ceremony at a church in October.

Brock spoke about her uncle’s relationship with another man, noting that when her uncle died, his partner sat at the back of the church and then apologized “on behalf of the church to LGBT persons who we have not loved.”

The panelists agreed that Christianity was about “love, mercy, welcome and forgiveness. Not hate and exclusion.”

Family studies junior Amanda Stark said she hopes to have more discussions of “controversial issues and ones in other religions too.”