In the suburbs of Chicago, the First Congregational Church of Geneva is an LGBTQ-friendly church that welcomes members from all walks of life.
Because of their open acceptance, the church is no stranger to angry protestors. It’s even to the point that the church has an email blast to inform members when protestors have showed up again.
Colin Campell is a member of the church and one day he found seven protesters with pamphlets saying things like, “Love kills pride” outside his house of worship.
19-year-old Aaron Viland, the protestor who made the fliers, talked to the Kane County Chronicle and said his group wasn’t a part of any church or organization but just a group of Christian friends trying to “share the gospel.”
As for Campell:
“I was hopeful this group wouldn’t show up again,” Campbell said. “I walked over to see who they were and they were asking me if I was a follower of Jesus Christ and gave me a flier that said, ‘Love Kills Pride.’ I said, ‘Thank you very much’ and walked away and called my wife.”
His wife then went sent out an email and, “Within about five minutes, people started showing up,” Campbell said. “Within about 30 minutes, there were probably 50 people there.”
“[The protestors] were right at the first step and I was trying to figure out how to push them back, and these guys just made a wall and were chanting, ‘Love wins,’ and they backed off all the way to the grass, and we were able to get people into the church OK,” said church member Carolyn Fabian. “It was fantastic.”
