Saturday, September 05, 2009
Finding a home in the Roanoke Valley
SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times
The Rev. Joe Cobb is returning to Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge for an eight-month provisional pastorate.
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The Rev. Joe Cobb, a Kansas native who led congregations in Texas and England, found his home in Roanoke.
He had lit altar candles at his Wichita, Kan., church since he was 12, led youth groups as a teen, and after seminary school served the United Methodist Church for 13 years. But in 2001, he was forced to relinquish his credentials because he was gay.
That year he moved to Roanoke to be closer to his former wife and his children, who were in Blacksburg. It was here that he led and grew services at the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which provides hot meals and temporary shelter for homeless families. And it was here where in 2006 he was ordained in the Metropolitan Community Church.
Cobb, 47, moved to North Carolina and served a congregation near Winston-Salem and High Point until late 2008. At 11 a.m. Sunday, he will celebrate his first service of an eight-month provisional pastorate at Roanoke's Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge. Here are excerpts from a recent interview:
Q: Why did you want to come back to the Roanoke Valley?
A: In November 2007, my partner and I had a new baby, Ginny. I was trying to spend time with them, and our family in Blacksburg and be a pastor in North Carolina. ... I felt like something had to give and moved back to Roanoke after my contract ended.
Q: You and your former wife have been writing a book on your coming out experience, tentatively titled "Our Family Outing: A memoir of coming out and coming through." Why do you think it will be valuable to readers?
A: Because we know our experience is not unique, and we wanted to write it from both of our voices. There's a straight spouse, and there's a gay spouse. When a family's relationship changes -- in our case it was divorce -- you can still create a new way to be a functioning family. Reconciliation can take a lot of different forms.
Q: You're going to lead the church where you were ordained, which not many pastors get to do. What will that be like?
A: My ordination service was an unbelievable experience for me. My former spouse, my partner and my children were all there. The Blue Ridge MCC nurtured me in that transition of leaving a church that I loved to join a new family, so it's neat to have this opportunity to walk alongside them as a pastor and companion.
Q: What's one challenge the congregation is facing right now?
I think one thing will be to find creative ways to utilize the great space that's there. It's a 30,000-square-foot building, and it hosts a number of 12-step groups as well as children's and youth ministries. It'll be good to see what are some of the outreach efforts we can do to use the space in a way that connects with the mission of the congregation.
Q: What do you look forward to in these eight months?
A: To continue offering the meaningful worship they have there, doing work with the leaders of the congregation to strengthen them as leaders, and to develop and strengthen our partnerships in the community.
