ADDRESSING THE GAY AGENDA & BULLYING PROGRAMS

IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN AN OPEN LETTER 

TO THE MT. CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF PALM COAST, FL

October 14, 2010


Dear Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of Palm Coast

I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I congratulate you on another Men’s Day celebration here at our church. I am urged, however, by the Holy Spirit to use this occasion to raise thought provoking questions about recent events planned and executed by the Men’s Ministry.

Daily, I am forced to reflect upon the recent political forum held in our Family Life Center where Flagler County School Board candidates and others were introduced and questioned. Like so many excited participants I welcomed the chance to meet and educate the various candidates as well as the community on issues that I feel the church has a responsibility to raise. One such issue is the ugly reality of the lesbian/gay political agenda attached to anti-gay bullying programs and proposed legislation for all US schools.

I certainly understand that it is not possible to fully flush out such a topic in the forum given the time restraints but by totally ignoring the question presented [which was written on a card early in the forum, viewed by at least two men before it reached the moderator] the Men’s Ministry failed in its service to the community and to the youth of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. 

The wave of gay propaganda associated with bullying in schools had not yet been released to the public, but is certainly in FULL swing now as I am sure the members of Mt. Calvary have witnessed; the exploitation of gay suicides [no mention of how many other youth who are not gay died of suicide in the same week]; the shameful promotion of homosexuality as an acceptable alternative to God’s holy order by celebrities on CNN-some of who claimed to have been bullied; and now, this morning, the call for celebrities to return to their old schools to further promote gay life. 

As spiritual leaders certainly we are aware that at its core this effort is NOT about bullying.

I mentioned in my proposed question to the School Board candidates that Kevin Jennings, a gay political activist with whom I have personally worked in my past, had been appointed by President Obama as a ‘School Safety Czar’.  

Is the popularity of President Obama among our parishioners enough to make the church forget its spiritual responsibilities?  

If the CHURCH cannot ask God-centered questions, in a forum held on CHURCH property, to vote-seeking politicians whose feet we are required to hold to the fire---then when is it ever appropriate to raise our concerns? That is, if it is a concern to the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of Palm Coast that our children will surely be taught in local Flagler County Schools to QUESTION their sexuality via anti-bullying programs.

It is much too easy to view this issue as a national one and not applicable to our local church, community or to our local schools but the exact opposite is true. Real change happens at the local level. As the leading African American church in the region we have failed to do what little we could to prepare, equip or educate our candidates on this topic now dominating national news. But most sadly we have failed in our responsibility as Christians to put forth any effort or to go on record as a body of believers who stood in an hour of history to protect our children and grandchildren.

It is my calling to raise these issues in environments where God’s people hope to avoid them. I am simply a voice crying out in the wilderness asking that as you celebrate another glorious year and move forward with planning future events, that all ministries of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of Palm Coast, FL and it members consider the spiritual consequences of conducting business as usual.

In Him I Faithfully Remain,
Evangelist Charlene E. Cothran