An LGBTQ Pride organization in downtown Newfoundland says an event it attended was canceled after a church refused to allow the group its property. In a statement Wednesday, Grand Falls-Windsor Pride said the Healthy Living Walk, led by the city’s Lions Club owned by The Salvation Army Park Street Citadel, was canceled. In an interview with CBC News, Grand Falls-Windsor Pride co-chair Alyssa Frampton said the church did not ask the Lions Club to cancel the event, but asked the Club to cancel the Grand Falls-Windsor Pride invitation. “They did not want to do that,” Frampton said. “They thought, ‘This is not justice, this is not inclusion.’ The Grand Falls-Windsor Lions Club chose to cancel the event altogether, rather than cancel the Grand Falls-Windsor Pride invitation, Frampton said. “The Grand Falls-Windsor Lions Club believes in an inclusive environment for all people,” the club said in a statement. The Salvation Army Park Street Citadel has not responded to interview requests, but in a statement sent via email, a spokesman for the National Salvation Army said the church was disappointed with the way the situation developed and never asked for the event to be canceled. “We would like to confirm that as a religious organization, The Salvation Army Park Street Citadel is guided by the core values of the organization and welcomes everyone to church property.” CBC News specifically asked if the church had asked the Lions Club to withdraw the Grand Falls-Windsor Pride invitation and if it would allow a Pride event on its property. “Salvation Army Park Street Citadel did not request the cancellation of the event, we welcome everyone to enjoy what the church property has to offer,” the spokesman said in a subsequent statement. Rebecca Blackmore, another member of the organization, said the statement did not suit her. “We were not welcome in the church property. It became clear.” Nationwide, the Salvation Army has explicitly condemned LGBTQ conversion therapy and discrimination.
Change of plans
Frampton and Blackmore said the organization has been flooded with support since the event was canceled. Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Barry Manuel told CBC News that the city has contacted the Lions Club to offer an alternative venue for the walk. “Any kind of discrimination has no real place in our community and for us, we want to be proactive, obviously, to continue working with the Pride team,” he said. “I just hope the parties talk and discuss and I hope they can fix it because it’s not what we usually see in Grand Falls-Windsor.” Barry Manuel, the mayor of Grand Falls-Windsor, says the city has offered an alternative place to walk. (CBC) Although there is currently no new date for the walk, Pride Grand-Falls Windsor said it plans to take part in a healthy living walk hosted by the Lions Club in the near future. Grand Falls-Windsor Pride concluded a month of celebrations with a movie night on Wednesday.
Systemic problem
A former minister-in-chief said he was not surprised to learn of the incident. Although not a member of the Church of the Savior, Kathryn Roberts was an ordained minister for many years as a member of Victory Churches International. “I believed that every word of the Bible was true and if it said that homosexuality was an abomination, then it was an abomination. I did not dispute that. “ Kathryn Roberts, a former Christian minister, said she was not surprised by the incident. (Submitted by Katherine Roberts) That is, until her two children came out gay. “I found myself, as I said, contrary to my morals and to some of the ethics the Bible teaches about women’s rights, gay rights, trans rights, just a lot of things,” she said. “It simply came to our notice then. “I just did not believe it was true anymore.” Roberts said she was encouraged to read supportive comments on the Grand Falls-Windsor Pride Facebook page by members of the Salvation Army church. “There were a lot of people who said it was an Salvation Army and that they were disappointed with the organization that handled it that way,” he said. “People make room for more [inclusive.]” Roberts said the incident shows a systemic problem – and Frampton agrees. “There are definitely so many young people still receiving these messages that are not welcome in different places,” he said. “It’s not just this church.” Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
