More than 1,000 gay activists and protesters jammed the street in front of the historic Tremont Temple Baptist Church on Saturday, shouting "Get the f--- out of Boston!" during Focus on the Family's Love Won Out conference.
 More than 1,000 anti-war protesters joined a demonstration against Focus on the Family's Love Won Out conference in Boston on Saturday. |
It was the largest demonstration since the event—which relates the truth that homosexuality is preventable and treatable—began eight years ago.
While more than 30 gay activists waved signs all morning, they also arranged for those taking part in a large anti-war protest scheduled for the same day to march down and join them. The marchers arrived in early afternoon as it began to snow, and they filled Tremont Street from one end of the block to the other.
Their shouts echoed up the canyon-like walls of the tall buildings on either side: "Focus on the Family! Shut it down! James Dobson! Shut him down! Hate-filled churches! Shut 'em down!"
Others made obscene gestures at people watching from inside the building as well as a row of police officers standing shoulder-to-shoulder, guarding the church doors from the threatening mob.
Allison Silva, a member of MassEquality, stood near an upright coffin bearing a sign that equated the conference with death.
"What they're doing is causing suicides," she said. "It's causing people (to have) severe mental illness after they've gone through treatment that is not successful. Being gay is natural. Homosexuality is natural. It's just a part of everyone's life."
Ashlee Reed, director of Project 10 East, said the conference was "not acceptable."
"Groups such as these that have programs where they attempt to change people and attempt to make people into something they're not—it's a form of bullying," she said.
The Rev. Ray Pendleton, pastor of Tremont Temple Baptist Church, held back a curtain and calmly watched the protest from a second-story window. He said while the protesters certainly had a right to free speech, it was a great tragedy they didn't understand the message.
"They have labeled it, unfortunately, 'gay-bashing,' " he explained, "when it's really 'loving people for Jesus' sake.' "
Pendleton pressed ahead with plans for the conference in spite of earlier protests at his church and the threat of the major demonstration on the day of the event.
"We have folk in our congregation who are gay, who are struggling," he said. "I have people I have known for a lifetime who have struggled with this, who need the message of the conference."
A history of taking a stand
The church is no stranger to protest and controversy. While one sign tagged the conference as "racist," Tremont Temple was the first racially integrated church in America. It was part of the Underground Railroad. It's where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read in New England. All of that in the face of great opposition.
 Police block the door of the historic Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston to prevent protesters from storming the building. |
Pendleton said taking a stand for truth ultimately brings people together, including teaching a biblical view of homosexuality.
"This is a whole issue that has divided the church," he said, "but I think having such a strong, positive, loving, redemptive message is something that unites a church. And that's what I'm about."
With the shouts from the protest continuing outside, Mike Haley, host and keynote speaker of Love Won Out, emphasized the importance of speaking truth in love.
"It's scary. People are increasingly wanting to shut the message down. The hatred from the other side is becoming more and more volatile," he said. "If they truly heard our message, if they truly heard the message that we're speaking to these families, they would not be so angry."
When Haley shared how he found freedom from homosexuality with the nearly 800 people who attended the Boston conference, it was a story of pain, hope and redemption.
"We want the Christian community to know that they can stand for truth: That homosexuality is against what God originally intended," he said. "But we want them to know that they can do that with love and compassion for men and women who struggle with same-sex attractions."
A couple that asked to be identified only as John and Debbie shared how their son had recently announced to them he was gay. They came to the conference seeking insight on how to continue a relationship with their son and maybe show him a way out.
"I just thank God for the ministry of Focus on the Family and for those who have been able to come out and say what's on their heart and to be able to share what they've gone through," Debbie said. "That takes a lot of courage—and only through Christ and His grace can that take place."
"I give a lot of credit, especially, to Dr. Dobson," John added. "I have respect and admiration for him standing up to society. I know he has been under attack in many different ways. I just think that what's he's doing here is tremendous in offering hope to a generation that thinks there isn't any."
Debbie said the words of the protesters in no way captured the message inside.
"It makes me realize that we need to be more caring, more loving, more sensitive. As a parent of a gay son, I need to know how to handle the situation," she said. "And this has given me hope."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about the ministry of the Love Won Out conferences, visit the event's Web site.
