Inclusive church in Henderson County targeted by anti-LGBTQ protestors

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A protest outside a progressive church in Henderson County quickly escalated on Sunday, forcing the church to temporarily halt its morning services.

Protesters lined a sidewalk near First Congregational Church in Laurel Park, a church well known for welcoming members of the LGBTQ community. Signs held by protesters contained religious references and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

Several neighbors who heard the protestors walked up to the scene and told the group to leave. One neighbor who challenged an attendee who was shouting anti-LGBTQ sentiments through a bullhorn had to be physically held back as tensions escalated. Both Laurel Park and Hendersonville police were dispatched to the scene after neighbors made multiple 911 calls.

“It was hate speech,” said Colleen Spillane, a neighbor who shot footage of the protest on her phone. “Everyone in the neighborhood came walking over and they were livid.”

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Spillane shot video of a neighbor who walked through the grass towards the man with the bullhorn. The man is heard telling the protestors, “get out of here,” though the group continued with their protest. Spillane said she was proud that her neighbors had come out to defend the church’s inclusive message, but also saw the neighbor who lost his cool.

“He literally was trying to beat up the guy on the bullhorn," she said. “Like, he had to be held back.”

Spillane said the protesters kept referring to the "lake of fire."

“And that's where we're all going if we're not them because that's a special place that God has for us," she said, referring to the protester's calls.

News 13 couldn’t reach administrators with First Congregational Church on Monday, but another area church in Henderson County also publicizing inclusivity is preparing for the group to come protest at their church in days.

“Members came to me Sunday,” said Rev. Dr. Dwight A. Moody, who heads Providence Baptist Church. “They said, 'did you hear about what happened Sunday morning at the Congregational Church?' They said to me, 'we're next on the list. They're coming here a week from Wednesday for our Praise and Pride event.'"

Providence Baptist is holding an LGBTQ outreach event Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. at the church located at 1201 Oakland Street. Rev. Moody believes the group is from a church in South Carolina that came to protest a Pride Picnic in 2022 his church held.

Moody said the hate and intolerance of the LGBTQ community goes against everything Jesus Christ preached. He said most mainstream Christian leadership across the country is doing an injustice to the teachings in the Bible.

“The new marginalized group is the trans group," Rev. Moody said. "All over the country, they're passing laws making life harder for them. We stand against. It's not right. We have LGBTQ members in our congregation and we love them.”

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Rev. Moody has been writing about intolerance and producing podcasts encouraging people to explore a dialogue about acceptance and love towards the LGBTQ community at his website. He said his church and the small congregation is preparing for protestors for their May 24 event. But Moody said there’s no sidewalk or public property protestors could legally stand on, since the lot's adjacent and across from the church are all privately owned.

“We’ll inform our neighbors there could be protestors.”

Both Laurel Park and Hendersonville police responded Sunday to the protest in Laurel Park. But witnesses remain concerned that what unfolded on Mother’s Day could be an example on a small scale of the large scale crisis of Americans dangerously at odds.

“It could have escalated very fast," Spillane said. “Everyone was just screaming, 'get out of our neighborhood.'"