By Eileen Griffin
A Massachusetts library scheduled to host a Pastor Story Hour cancelled the event claiming it violated library policies. After being contacted by the pastor’s attorney, the library reversed course.
Public backlash and the threat of legal action forced the Chelmsford Public Library in Massachusetts to withdraw their opposition to the pastor’s event, The Blaze reports.
The Chelmsford library first allowed the pastor, Kendall Lankford, to schedule his event. Then they cancelled the program claiming that Pastor Story Hour would be a violation of library policy which states that proselytizing is not allowed.
Lankford’s attorney, Andrew Beckwith, told the library that their interpretation of the policy was incorrect and could be viewed as a pretext for anti-religious discrimination.
The library relented allowing Lankford, to read the books, God Made Boys and Girls: Helping Children Understand the Gift of Gender and Jesus and My Gender.
Pastor Story Hours have cropped up around the country in response to Drag Queen Story Hours, the Daily Wire reports.
“The promotion of the LGBTQ movement among young children through the Drag Queen Story Hour trend has recently garnered national headlines leading pastors across the country to reserve spaces at their local libraries and host events during which children can discover biblical teachings about gender and sexuality,” writes Ben Zeisloft.
In Arkansas, Owen Strachan, a pastor and author, will host a biblical story hour the same time another group is presenting a story hour promoting gender identity and diversity, Christian Post reports.
“I’m not the pioneer of this and don’t want to be represented as thinking that I am,” Strachan told the Post. “I know others have done this as well, and I anticipate many other pastors and godly men will stand up and do this in days ahead. I certainly pray that will be the case.”
Heartland Daily News previously reported on efforts to stop actor and activist Kirk Cameron from reading his values-based book, As You Grow, at public libraries.
The Indianapolis public library that eventually agreed to host Cameron was overwhelmed with participants, Christian Post reported. The overflow crowd was reported to be 750 patrons based on the library’s reporting. Cameron’s publishing house, Brave Books, reported the number to be 2,500.
Pastor Story Hour is becoming a growing nationwide trend, Daily Wire reports. The promotion of LGBT lifestyle and the offensive display of drag queen performances in front of children has drawn attention resulting in this alternative.
Some parents and grandparents are taking a stand against the sexualization and indoctrination of young children attending what was once an innocent event.
Kelly, an Oregon mother and grandmother who requested that her last name not be published, told Heartland Daily News that Christians are losing rights and need to stand up against the anti-Christian culture even when it means being attacked by the Left.
“Children need to know the biblical truth,” Kelly said. “Teaching children values is important. It starts at home where you are teaching morals, standards, and values that are important for children to learn.”
“We are holding fast to our Christian values,” Kathy, a mother and grandmother who requested that her last name not be published, told Heartland Daily News. “The other side sees it as something to be destroyed. They want to wipe it out. I teach my grandchildren tolerance and understanding but there are some places where we have to draw the line.”
“I think as parents we saw the way things started to change,” Kathy said. It creeps up and grows, slowly expanding, dripping a little bit at a time. Now parents can’t sit back and be silent. We sat back too long. We need to put the brakes on now. These are our children we are talking about. We can’t just sit back and hope others will carry the weight. We all need to work to pull the wagon.”
Lankford told Daily Wire that the church also has a role in defending traditional culture.
“Over the last several generations the church has been asleep, uncritically and complicitly participating at every level of the whims and fancies of this decaying culture, and in some ways, we need to face the fact that much of the moral slide we see around us is on us,” Lankford said.
