A church sex workshop in Melbourne, Florida is shaking things up on the east coast. Melbourne’s New Hope Church is presenting a three part series, called "Great Sex for You." Earlier this month, the New Hope Church mailed 25,000 fliers to Melbourne houses, asking occupants "Is Your Sex Life a Bore?" The ad campaign showed two bare feet snuggling in bed. Oh no, not snuggly sockless feet!
Apparently, the community wasn’t ready to talk about sex (baby). Strangely enough, the controversy isn’t sex in church, but sex in church in a public school.
New Hope Church rents out the auditorium and a classroom at Sherwood Elementary for weekly services and seminars. Brevard County School District's director of risk management Mark Langdorf told Florida Today "We believe the type of advertising used is not appropriate for students to read in any elementary school . . .it should not be used to advertise any event held at an elementary school in Brevard County."
Pastor Bruce Cadle is probably the coolest cucumber in Melbourne. Facing possible eviction from Sherwood Elementary, and complaints from the community, Cadle plans to finish the series that breaks the taboos discussed everywhere but the church. "Sex between married believers is a holy activity,” Cadle said during his first sermon. “It's not a dirty activity. It's not a shameful activity. It's a holy activity. And the Bible is so clear about this. But it's still hard for us to get it."
What’s next, endorsing premarital sex? All joking aside, the Melbourne debacle raises a lot of interesting questions. If kids are learning about sex in school, what’s the harm in hosting a sex seminar on a day when students don’t show up? Furthermore, who let the church into a PUBLIC school?
-W.J. L’amour
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2009.