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Letter to the editor

One God, two takes on gay pride fest

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published June 24, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Photo courtesy of Larry Keffer] Larry Keffer, left, and Larry Craft demon-strate at last year's gay pride festival. June 30, downtown St. Pete

A year ago, a street preacher and a small band of followers traveled from Tampa to St. Petersburg to demonstrate at the city's annual gay pride parade and festival.

While the religious protesters grabbed headlines, members of liberal churches - gay and straight - quietly marched alongside participants in the festivities and handed out church literature from their booths.

This year, those churches will be joined by others from across the state in a show of solidarity with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Taking the opposing point of view will be street preacher Larry Keffer of the Biblical Research Center in Tampa. At last summer's festival, Keffer's group carried signs, wore T-shirts and shouted slogans through bullhorns that condemned homosexuality.

This year, the city has some new restrictions. Anyone with signs or megaphones will be restricted to a specified protest zone outside the festival. Those who disobey risk being fined or arrested, but Keffer, 45, says he has no plans to confine his protest to a designated area.

"We don't consider ourselves protesters. We will do whatever we need to do to get the Gospel out, " he said, refusing to divulge membership numbers for his 3-year-old organization, which has appeared at events from Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Gasparilla in Tampa to New Year's Eve celebrations in Las Vegas.

"We're there to preach the Gospel, " Keffer said. "People seem to get upset when they get called on their sin. We've got the authority of God behind us."

Churches whose religious views differ from his are counting on their members to respond peacefully next weekend. Last year, some festival participants retaliated by throwing beads and drinks at Keffer's group of about 10 protesters.

"We are going to pray before we go. We will pray during the process. We'll pray for him, " said Pastor Joyce Stone of Christ the Cornerstone Church in Pinellas Park. "The Bible tells us in Proverbs not to argue with a fool, and our silence doesn't mean that he's right."

The Rev. Nathan Meckley, interim pastor of King of Peace Metropolitan Church, a St. Petersburg congregation of mainly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members, said he hopes church members ask, "What would Jesus do?"

"How would Jesus respond to those folks? In loving confrontation and compassion would be my greatest hope. It is very hard sometimes for people who have spent their lives vilified, abused and excluded, especially by churches that call themselves Christians, " Meckley said.

"We would hope that the straight community would respect us as members of the faith community and we, in turn, have respect for those with whom we have theological differences, " said Rick Carson, founder of the Suncoast Rainbow Coalition of the United Church of Christ congregations in the Tampa Bay area.

Keffer, who describes himself as a "Bible believing" Christian, said conservative pastors in St. Petersburg are asleep on the job. Those like Pastor Timothy Kroll of Northside Baptist Church, though, disagree with his methods.

"I believe that homosexuality is a sin, " Kroll said. "On the other end, there are people who are sinners themselves that are so condemning of people that they don't in any way model the life of my savior. Somehow, Jesus was so clear against sin, but so loving of people that those who were involved in sin were still drawn to him but they went away changed."

Kroll, who counts Mayor Rick Baker among his congregation, added that he has no plans to address the gay pride festivities in his sermons.

Keffer said his Biblical Research Center is part of an international network. "We're not a church. It's a ministry. This is not an organization that just targets sodomites. We're going to New York to preach to the Mormons in July, " the former owner of a detective agency said.

Saturday's street festival and parade will also draw congregations from three liberal denominations and the small independent Christ the Cornerstone Church.

United Church of Christ members from throughout the Tampa Bay area will set up booths and march in the parade. Carson of the Suncoast Rainbow Coalition and a member of Pass-a-Grille Beach Community Church said the group has participated in the event since its start in 2003.

"It's an amazingly wonderful experience to watch people pass by your table and look at your sign ... and you realize they want to stop and talk. ... That here's a denomination that will welcome them, " he said.

Unitarian Universalists are planning a weekend of events, including a dinner and service.

For the first time, all 10 congregations in the denomination's Florida West Central Cluster will be represented at the celebration. Others from across the state also are expected.

The West Central group is one of the event's sponsors and has placed ads in gay publications and in the festival's official program.

"This is a big social outreach, " said Jeff Harper, president of the group.

"The Unitarian Universalist Church is unique in that we are accepting of all people and all faiths and all backgrounds. This is a wonderful opportunity to walk the talk, " said Julie McNeil, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg.

Over the past year, the Mirror Lake congregation has been particularly vocal about a number of issues.

"It was our church that hosted the interfaith church service for Steve Stanton, " said the Rev. Manish Mishra, referring to the former Largo city manager who was fired after revealing he planned to undergo a sex change operation.

Mishra, who is attending his denomination's general assembly in Oregon, could have news about the transgender issue in time for next weekend's festival.

Today Unitarian Universalist delegates might vote on a resolution submitted by the St. Petersburg minister and the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi of Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater that would support the rights of transgender people.

If you go

Church to host service

Pride Service, 8 p.m. Friday, Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg, 719 Arlington Ave. N. The sermon "Being a Welcoming Faith - How Do We Create a Religious Community That Welcomes and Honors GLBTs?" will be given by the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi of the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater. Music will be by Bonnie Whitehurst, musical director of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tarpon Springs. Child care will be provided. Call (727) 898-3294 or go to uustpete.org.

[Last modified June 24, 2007, 00:07:00]