Gay rights protesters disrupt Sunday service
People threw fliers, shouted slogans at Delta Town****p church
Kathleen Lavey =95 klavey@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
=95 November 12, 2008 =95 From Lansing
State Journal
DELTA TWP. - A radical gay rights group is claiming responsibility for
a protest Sunday at Mount Hope Church in Delta Town****p.
Protesters who entered the Creyts Road church along with wor****ppers
surprised the congregation when they stood up during the service,
threw fliers at churchgoers and shouted slogans such as "It's OK to be
gay," and "Jesus was a homo," according to David Williams,
communications director at the church. His father, Dave Williams, is
the church's longtime pastor. He was not preaching at the church
Sunday.
Another group of protesters demonstrated outside the church at the
same time as the indoor protest.
The Eaton County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene Sunday
but no arrests were made.
In a released statement, David Williams said churchgoers were unclear
as to the purpose of the demonstration.
A Lansing group affiliated with a radical gay organization known as
Bash Back, formed to protest the Republican and Democratic national
conventions earlier this year, put out a call on the Internet on Oct.
7 for activists to come to a "radical queer convergence" in Lansing on
Nov. 7-9.
A posting on its MySpace page declared the convergence a "fierce
success."
Fire alarm pulled
According to a re****t on the Bash Back group's news site, protesters
inside the church pulled a fire alarm, unfurled a banner from the
church balcony, shouted and threw fliers to the wor****ppers.
Outside the church, protesters carried picket signs and an upside-
down, pink cross.
The conservative RightMichigan Web site posted an account of the
incident Monday, and a number of conservative bloggers had picked up
on the item by Tuesday.
Williams said the church had received 80 to 85 e-mails and phone calls
by Tuesday, "from churches and individuals around the country to
express their concern and general disgust for what happened on
Sunday."
Nick De Leeuw of RightMichigan said he got his account of the incident
from a church member who was there.
However, he said, the photo along with his re****t - of protesters
dressed in black with their faces covered by pink, Middle-Eastern
style headcoverings - was not from the protest at the church but from
an earlier Bash Back protest elsewhere.
No arrests made
Mount Hope Church, affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination,
teaches followers that homo***uality is a sin.
However, "Mount Hope Church strives to follow Jesus' example of loving
the sinner but not the sin," Williams said.
The Eaton County Sheriff's Department got a call regarding the protest
at about noon Sunday, said Lt. Jeff Warder.
Warder said protesters outside the church left peacefully when someone
from the team of pastors came outside and told them they were not
welcome on church property.
Warder said deputies did not handle the protest inside the building.
No arrests were made.
In New York City on Tuesday, the conservative Catholic League said it
would ask Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to investigate the
protest.
Typically, the sheriff's investigation would be turned over to the
county prosecutor if the sheriff felt charges were warranted, said
Matt Frendewey, spokesman for the attorney general's office. He said
it would be rare for the attorney general's office to get involved in
such a case.
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