Reverend defends Pride sign after pastor’s ‘disappointment’

A Saskatoon church is drawing a lot of attention over its open support for the LGBTQ community.

Mayfair United Church is displaying a rainbow sign on its property with the message, “Happy Pride — Love is Love.”

Rev. Dave Moors placed the sign as a message to members of the LGBTQ community that the church is a welcoming place.

But one of the early reactions he got was from a fellow pastor, who called Moors to express her “disappointment” in the placard.

“I asked her what the true point of her call was and she replied, ‘I just want you to give your head a shake,’ ” Moors wrote in a public Facebook post that has received hundreds of shares.

“So I shook it and came up angry and dug in and reminded her most of the North American church left the literal translation of the bible back during the slavery debates.”

The reverend told Saskatchewan Afternoon’s David Kirton that he has grown “weary” of the mindset in some churches against the LGBTQ community, and he’s trying to promote inclusion among Christians.

He said that while anti-LGBTQ Christians get a lot of press and movie portrayals, the majority are open-minded.

“The world needs to know that,” Moors said.

While the unnamed pastor’s disappointment frustrated the United Church reverend, Moors said the majority of responses to the rainbow sign have been positive.

“One person, the first time they saw it last week they got teary, because they didn’t realize there were churches like that,” he said. “I’m extra happy when people who have been pushed out of the church decades ago are now understanding there’s a place for them.”

Saskatoon’s Pride Festival runs in Saskatoon until Sunday, with the Pride Parade through downtown on Saturday.