Christian Rally Draws Opposition In Liberal San.Francisco
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mar 9, 2007 6:14 pm US/Pacific
*Christian Rally Draws Opposition In Liberal San.Francisco*
(AP) SAN FRANCISCO Thousands of Christian teenagers rallying this
weekend against the moral corruption they see afflicting their
generation are finding their agenda at odds with many in this
live-and-let-live city.
BattleCry is a two-day onslaught of Christian rock, religious speakers
and worship that kicked off Friday and is expected to draw more than
20,000 participants to San Francisco's AT&T Park this weekend.
The rally being held at the downtown ballpark for the second straight
year is meant to spark a teen rebellion against the glamorization of
premarital sex, drugs and booze, said Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania,
the Texas-based ministry behind the extravaganza.
"All the stuff that's being rammed down their throats, it's pillaging
and raping this young generation of any virtue," said Luce. "They're
saying 'we're tired, we're going to shape our culture in a different way."
But the ministry's condemnation of homosexuality and alternative
lifestyles strikes many in this ultraliberal city as anything but inclusive.
"When you're in a city where there's every viewpoint under the sun, and
you're working with a group for whom there can be only one viewpoint,
and never any compromise, you're going to have a clash of ideals," said
Thom Lynch, Executive Director of the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual
Transgender Community Center.
City officials agreed the rally's values seemed to go against what San
Francisco represents.
"Their homophobic beliefs are offensive, but we hope they'll become more
tolerant after spending the weekend in our famously tolerant city," said
Nathan Ballard, spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Although the event is likely to benefit the city financially, organizers
say they aren't feeling particularly welcome. Officials have asked them
to turn down the volume after neighbors of At&T Park, the downtown
baseball stadium, complained about noise during last year's event.
The ministry hasn't faced this kind of opposition elsewhere, but seeing
the way they're being received in San Francisco is "indicative of the
cultural war going on all around us," Luce said.
He is unapologetic about his ministry's stance on homosexuality, but
hopes the message of love for the sinner, if not for the sin, will reach
those who need to hear it.
"The Bible teaches us homosexuality's harmful and is a sin, period," he
said. "There's lots of documentation that homosexuals have shorter life
spans, and are more prone to suicide and depression, so it's not very
loving of us to let them stay in that situation."
Charlotte Rose Hamilton, 18, of Waterford, one of the organizers behind
this year's BattleCry, described how last year's event in San Francisco
transformed her life, helping her leave behind the volatile mix of
drugs, alcohol and sex that left her depressed and suicidal.
"I thought I was the only one who could have been that horrible," she
said. "When I got here, and I heard the message that there's an entire
generation of people out there who were living like I was, struggling
with the same things, and who felt absolutely alone just like I had."
Hundreds of teenagers gathered Friday on the steps of San Francisco's
City Hall. A banner reading "Marriage (equals) One Man (plus) One Woman"
hung in the background near the site where Mayor Gavin Newsom issued
more than 4,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004.
Having the event in San Francisco makes it particularly relevant, said
Anthony Orsillo, who came from Oroville to attend.
"There's just so much ripe fruit here, and we're here to pick it,"
Orsillo said. "We're not here to bash anyone but to love those who
haven't been loved."
Some who came to protest BattleCry said they want to show the teens
they're open to talking.
"It was important to show these children that even though we may be on
opposite sides of the political and spiritual spectrum, we have a lot in
common, and we want to minister to them," said Sister Mary Timothy
Simplicity, of San Francisco's Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, sporting
extravagant makeup and a fitted nun's habit. The Sisters are a group of
activists and self-described nuns who include people of all sexual
orientations.
Hamilton finds opposition to the ministry she credits with saving her
life discouraging, but sees this weekend's events as a chance to reach
out to those who haven't had a chance to hear what they have to say.
"It's nothing but a message of hope, of love, of joy, of how you can
progress out of the rut you're in," she said. "We definitely invite
anyone who has any kind of confusion or misconception about the
BattleCry message to check it out."