UK

Church sparks outrage with anti-Pride message. So, one local took matters into her own hands

A homophobic poster pinned outside a Kent church

The homophobic poster has been pinned to Halling Baptist Church’s external noticeboard since June. (Twitter)

After a church caused “absolute outrage” with a poster attacking Pride, a local resident decided to spread a message of kindness.

Since June, a poster has been pinned to a noticeboard outside Halling Baptist Church in Rochester, Kent. It reads: “We don’t celebrate Pride, we preach Christ crucified”.

One resident, who wishes not to be named, told PinkNews it has caused “absolute outrage” and “so much upset” within the local community.

She said that residents reported the poster to police, but that the pastor has refused to remove it.

Kent Police told PinkNews it is aware of the poster which has been reported as being offensive. Details of the report are being assessed to establish if any further police action is required.

Elizabeth Kitchener, who lives on the same street as the church, told Kent Online that she created a poster with her son to cover up the church’s toxic message.

She plastered a poster with the words “be kind”, decorated in rainbow colours by her four-year-old Alfred, over the “we don’t celebrate Pride” message.

“I was shocked and disgusted to have a bigoted message being publicly shown,” she told the newspaper.

“I decided to have a chat with my kids about it and my eldest Alfred said he wanted to colour a rainbow with ‘Be Kind’ on it.

“I think it’s clear a lot of people in the village were not happy with the message shown, I had neighbours smiling with big thumbs up as I was walking back home.”

Another resident took to Twitter to label the poster “narrow minded” and “nasty”, and insisted its message “does not represent the lovely people of Halling”.

Another post reads: “You know, I’m pretty sure Jesus would have been absolutely cool with Pride. 

The church has responded to the “controversy” the sign has caused with a thoughtless message which says “the bible shows that all sin is rooted in pride”.

“We all are infected with and affected by pride and it harms us all regardless of ethnicity, socio-economics, or sexuality,” the church said.

It added: “God’s word outlines the ‘proper’ boundaries for human sexual relationships as between one man and one women in marriage.

“All sexual engagement outside this boundary is rooted in our proud human condition that so often chooses to ignore or actively rebel against what God says is right.”

It also reeled off a list of charitable work it’s done, including “assisting addicts through detox for rehab”.

Halling Baptist Church’s pastor, Kevin Felix-Hollington, has previously come under fire for sermons in which he said the “woke movement” and LGBTQ+ people are the work of Satan.

In a video sermon posted to YouTube in April, which has garnered 150 views, Felix-Hollington says: “Satan’s anti-God, Satan’s anti-law. Satan’s anti-social influence is working today underground.

“We see this and we see its influence revealed in atheism, materialism, relativism, totalitarianism, most recently we’ve heard of the woke movement – wokeism.

“It’s all working underground. It is powerful and it is at work right now. We’re seeing its effect in the sexual revolution – homosexuality or transexualism – oh but don’t dare talk against any of that.”

Halling Baptist Church was contacted for comment.

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