Ministry bats against baseball team’s gay promotions

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A Christian ministry in Philadelphia has accused the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team of “helping to advance the homosexual agenda” by prohibiting the display of banners with anti-gay messages on them.

The Philadelphia Phillies held their fourth annual “Gay Community Night” at Citizens Bank Park as religious group Repent America (RA) greeted the attendees with their conservative message concerning homosexuality.

“The Philadelphia Phillies have once again rolled out the red carpet to those who celebrate sexually deviant behavior by hosting ‘Gay Community Night’ at the ballpark,” stated Repent America director Michael Marcavage.

“As in previous years, we returned to minister the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are in bondage to this self-destructive lifestyle, and to call on the Phillies to end their promotion of homosexuality,” he said.

Prior to the game, RA said they distributed religious literature, individual conversation, open-air preaching, and displaying two banners, one offering hope to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender attendees (LGBT), and the other, calling on the Phillies to end their promotion of homosexuality.

During the first two years of the event in 2003 and 2004, RA was ejected from the ballpark for displaying a banner which read, “HOMOSEXUALITY IS SIN, CHRIST CAN SET YOU FREE.”

Last year, however, RA was allowed to display the banner in the stadium without interruption.

This year the Christian group’s volunteers were not allowed to share their message within the stadium.

After being pressured by LGBT activists, the Phillies changed their banner policy to state that “banners and signs may not bear a message that contains derogatory matter relating to … sexual orientation,” and refused to allow RA into the city-owned ballpark.

Mr Marcavage said: “It is deeply disturbing that the Phillies are helping to advance the homosexual agenda, and that they have declared the Biblical message of freedom from homosexuality through Jesus Christ to be derogatory.

“It breaks my heart that children are being exposed to this perverse lifestyle in what should be a family-friendly environment. The Phillies’ promotion of homosexuality is certainly not helping their game either since they have lost every year on ‘Gay Community Night.'”

For the last four years, the Major League Baseball franchise in Philadelphia has been sponsoring “Gay Community Night” at the ballpark.

© 2006 GayWired; All Rights Reserved.

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