A central Newfoundland LGBTQ Pride organization says an event it attended was canceled after a church refused to allow the group on its property.
In a statement on Wednesday, Grand Falls-Windsor Pride said a march for healthy living, led by the city’s Lions Club on the Salvation Army Park Street Citadel property, had been cancelled.
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 instead asked the club to disinvite Grand Falls -Windsor Pride.
“They didn’t want to do that,” Frampton said. “They thought, ‘That’s not fairness, that’s not inclusion.'”
The Grand Falls-Windsor Lions Club chose to cancel the event altogether, rather than not inviting Grand Falls-Windsor Pride, Frampton said.
“The Grand Falls-Windsor Lions Club believes in an inclusive environment for all,” the club said in a statement.
The Salvation Army Park Street Citadel did not respond to interview requests, but in an emailed statement, a Salvation Army national spokesperson said the church was disappointed with the way the situation unfolded and never requested the cancellation of the event.
“We would like to reaffirm that as a faith-based organization, The Salvation Army’s Park Street Citadel is guided by the organization’s core values and welcomes all onto church property.”
CBC News specifically asked if the church had asked the Lions Club to stop inviting Grand Falls-Windsor Pride and if it would allow a Pride event on its property.
“The Salvation Army Park Street Citadel has not requested the cancellation of the event, we invite all to enjoy what the church property has to offer,” the spokesperson said in a follow-up statement. .
Rebecca Blackmore, another member of the organization, said the statement did not match her.
“We were not welcome on church property. That was clear.”
Nationally, the Salvation Army has explicitly condemned conversion therapy and LGBTQ discrimination.
A change of plan
Frampton and Blackmore said the organization has been overwhelmed with support since the event was canceled.
Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Barry Manuel told CBC News the city has contacted the Lions Club to offer an alternative location for the march.
“Any form of discrimination really has no place in our community, and for us, we want to be proactive, obviously, to continue to work with the Pride group,” he said. “I just hope the parties talk and discuss and hope they can rectify that because that’s not what we usually see in Grand Falls-Windsor.”
Although there is no new date for the walk, Pride Grand-Falls Windsor said it plans to take part in a healthy living walk organized by the Lions Club in the near future.
Grand Falls-Windsor Pride wrapped up a month of celebrations with a movie night on Wednesday.
A systemic problem
A former ordained minister said she was not surprised to learn of the incident.
Although not a member of the Salvation Army Church, Katherine Roberts was ordained a minister for years through Victory Churches International.
“I believed every word of the Bible to be true, and if it said homosexuality was an abomination, then it was an abomination. I didn’t question it.”
That is, until her two children become homosexual.
“I found myself, like I said, disagreeing with my morals and some of the morality that the Bible teaches about women’s rights, gay rights, trans rights, just a bunch of things” , she said. “Eventually I felt I had to leave it behind. I just wasn’t convinced it was real anymore.”
Roberts said she was encouraged to read the supportive comments on the Grand Falls-Windsor Pride Facebook page from members of the Salvation Army church.
“There were a lot of people saying they were part of the Salvation Army and they were disappointed that the organization was handling things that way,” she said.
“People make room to be more [inclusive.]”
Roberts said the incident indicated a systemic problem – and Frampton agrees.
“There are definitely so many young people still getting these messages that they are not welcome in different spaces,” she said. “It’s not just this church.”
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