{"id":27995,"date":"2022-12-17T17:10:08","date_gmt":"2022-12-17T22:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=27995"},"modified":"2022-12-17T17:10:12","modified_gmt":"2022-12-17T22:10:12","slug":"over-two-dozen-faith-leaders-stand-in-solidarity-with-the-lgbtq-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2022\/12\/17\/over-two-dozen-faith-leaders-stand-in-solidarity-with-the-lgbtq-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Over two dozen faith leaders stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Below is the Statement of those faith leaders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the evening of Saturday, December 3rd, a group of twelve Neo-Nazis harassed an LGBTQ+ fundraising event being held at a venue called ART\/ifact on Massachusetts Avenue in Lakeland. The individuals, mostly wearing masks, were reported to have been shouting \u201cHeil Hitler!\u201d and using slanderous lies directed at those attending a \u201cCelebration of the Arts.\u201d In addition to the verbal harassment, the Neo-Nazis brandished a Nazi flag, a \u201cChristian\u201d flag, and a sign equating the Star of David with the Communist \u201chammer and sickle.\u201d This sickening display of hateful ideology parading as protest has provoked widespread anger and sadness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, a diverse group of faith leaders gathered to consider an appropriate response. Part of our response is to issue the following statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, the undersigned faith leaders, stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and our Jewish friends and neighbors against the historically hateful Neo-Nazi and White Christian Nationalist ideology of this group who hid behind masks while shouting slanderous lies at peaceful members and friends of the LGBTQ+ community gathered for a charitable cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also deplore the use of signage intended to perpetuate the evil of Anti-Semitism rooted in the perverse ideology of Hitler and his Nazi sympathizers, and we extend our solidarity and support to our Jewish friends and neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As people of faith, we aspire to overcome evil with good and believe that love is more powerful than hate. Our hope is that these individuals, who attempted to disrupt and divide the welcoming and inclusive community of Lakeland that we love, will rethink and reject their ideology of hate and intolerance and work toward a greater realization of the Beloved Community where all people can live together in peace and harmony. Meanwhile, we are committed to be a presence of safety and sanctuary to those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Timothy Sizemore Beacon Hill Fellowship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi David Goldstein Temple Emanuel of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Andy Whitaker Smith First United Methodist Church of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Nicki Taylor First United Methodist Church of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contemplative Order of St. Brigid, CCC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Mel Wilkinson. Pastor, Christ Promise UCC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marjorie Hudson Deacon, Christ Promise UCC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steven G. Blansfield. Deacon, Christ Promise UCC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolores (Cookie) McQuaig Deacon, Christ Promise UCC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heather Norby Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Lois Ann Sorensen Pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church (ELCA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rankin United Methodist Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Pamela Smith Pastor and congregation of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Betsy Neff Lakeland Zen Community<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Beth Gardner College Heights United Methodist Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shelly Robinson President, Temple Emanuel of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Michael LeBlanc<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pam DeDea Pastor, United Methodist Temple<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Missy Turbeville<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Richard Anthony Purcell, Ph.D Lake Gibson United Methodist Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. David McEntire First United Methodist Church of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Don Skellenger First United Methodist Church of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Skellenger. First United Methodist Church of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janice Tedder Jones First United Methodist Church of Lakeland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linda Gainer. First United Methodist Church of Lakeland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below is the Statement of those faith leaders: On the evening of Saturday, December 3rd, a group of twelve Neo-Nazis harassed an LGBTQ+ fundraising event being held at a venue… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"0","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[4072],"class_list":["post-27995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-over-two-dozen-faith-leaders-stand-in-solidarity-with-the-lgbtq-community"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}