{"id":1479156,"date":"2022-05-18T08:15:53","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T12:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1479156"},"modified":"2022-05-18T08:16:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T12:16:15","slug":"texas-church-evicted-after-pastor-criticized-lgbtq-mural-in-city-council-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-church-evicted-after-pastor-criticized-lgbtq-mural-in-city-council-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Church Evicted After Pastor Criticized LGBTQ Mural In City Council Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-church-evicted-after-pastor-criticized-lgbtq-mural-in-city-council-meeting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1479156&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gay-scaled-e1652811973215.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A new mural in the city of Georgetown, Texas, is generating controversy for its support of LGBTQ ideology. Members of one church who spoke out against public subsidies for sexual politics at a city council meeting believe their subsequent eviction from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgetownpalace.com\/\">Georgetown Palace Theatre<\/a> was retaliation for their speech.<\/p>\n<p>The mural is part of a jointly sponsored initiative between the Georgetown Independent School District (GISD), Georgetown City Council, and the Georgetown Arts and Culture Board to display the work of one student artist a year. Under the agreement, GISD sponsors materials up to $500, and the city is responsible for hiring an artist costing up to $500, Georgetown Community Impact Newspaper reported in <a href=\"https:\/\/communityimpact.com\/austin\/georgetown\/arts-entertainment\/2022\/03\/14\/downtown-charm-georgetown-arts-and-culture-board-plans-public-art-expansion-in-2022\/\">March<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/arts.georgetown.org\/everyone-deserves-kindness-by-peyton-vega\/\">Last year<\/a>, the mural followed the theme \u201cEveryone Deserves Kindness.\u201d This year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/artsgeorgetown\/posts\/3193768927547285\">mural<\/a>, designed by a student at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgetownisd.org\/site\/default.aspx?PageType=3&#038;DomainID=4&#038;ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&#038;FlexDataID=118131&#038;PageID=1\">Forbes Middle School<\/a>, displays the phrase \u201cbe your own person\u201d in rainbow text above an assortment of red poppies, with some flowers painted with the transgender, bisexual, non-binary, and other sexual pride flags.<\/p>\n<h2>Church Leaders Speak Up<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thechurchonthesquare\/\">Church on the Square<\/a> Pastor Bradley J. Helgerson, along with two other church members, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=q9EQ8T3HjR4\">spoke out<\/a> against the mural at an April 26 Georgetown City Council meeting. Calling the ideology expressed by the mural \u201can attempt to fundamentally reorder society,\u201d Helgerson said his remarks were aimed to provide \u201ctheological context for the ideology lurking behind this artistic expression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany have been fooled into thinking that such a rebellion against reality is an act of liberation. That when we tear down every norm we will be left with a freer society, that true freedom comes when the shackles of the sacred are removed,\u201d Helgerson said. \u201cBut the work of the LGBTQ movement is not the work of liberation, but of liberationists whose desire it is to destroy the societal order itself, precisely because of its demand for conformity.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn other words, it\u2019s not a matter of open-mindedness, but of closed-heartedness to right judgment that is the problem,\u201d the pastor said. \u201cTherefore, their goal is to remove all judgment, all boundaries, as is testified to by the endless numbers of genders and sexual orientations they affirm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know this seems extreme in the context of one mural, but it\u2019s not just a mural. It\u2019s a piece of propaganda for an ideology that seeks to destroy Western civilization and to use our children as its foot soldiers,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s not culture that we\u2019re talking about, but it\u2019s anti-culture. And to refuse to push back against it now will mean the substantial loss of real liberty for our children in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two Church on the Square members followed Helgerson\u2019s remarks with their own.<\/p>\n<p>One member, Aliya Mathiesen, read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans%201:18-32&#038;version=ESV\">Romans 1:18-32<\/a>, and another, Kate Pamplin, expressed concern about the impact on her children and the well-being of children in public schools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a blatant lie that this mural is not an LGBT agenda push,\u201d Pamplin said. \u201cI don\u2019t want my children desensitized to evil.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At least one city council member also <a href=\"https:\/\/records.georgetown.org\/WebLink\/DocView.aspx?id=628651&#038;dbid=0&#038;repo=Georgetown\">expressed concern<\/a> that the mural was making a \u201cpolitical statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018It Was Retaliation\u2019: Evicted without Explanation<\/h2>\n<p>On May 6, two days before its Mother\u2019s Day service, Helgerson received an email from Palace Theatre Executive Artistic Director Ron Watson, stating the Church on the Square was evicted due to \u201cresource management issues,\u201d effective immediately. He did not elaborate further, even after multiple requests from Helgerson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI must say that I am perplexed,\u201d Helgerson replied to Watson\u2019s email. \u201cCan you provide us more information as to what the issue is?\u2026 As a religious organization we are afforded certain protections by the federal government against discrimination and the immediacy and vagueness of your termination letter gives us reason for pause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Georgetown Palace Theatre is run by a non-profit separate from but with close ties to the Arts and Culture Board. Helgerson says the arts community in Georgetown is \u201cvery tight-knit.\u201d One <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgetownpalace.com\/board-of-directors\/\">Palace Theatre<\/a> board of directors member also holds a seat on the <a href=\"https:\/\/georgetown.org\/boardscommissions\/\">Arts and Culture Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A copy of the lease shows the church had a month-to-month agreement with the Palace Theatre, and Helgerson says they paid for May in full. The church has been renting the facility since September 20, 2020, according to the lease agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Helgerson says Watson did reach out to the church member responsible for audiovisual work to coordinate a pickup time for equipment left in storage. When Helgerson and other members arrived at 4 p.m., Watson was not there, only the employee who let them into the building. A refund check for the remainder of May\u2019s rent was left with the church\u2019s belongings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was highly suspicious,\u201d Helgerson said. \u201cThe way that it was terminated just made no sense. It wasn\u2019t like, \u2018Hey, we changed our mind, we\u2019ll give you until the end of the month\u2019 or, \u2018Here\u2019s why\u2026,\u2019 or anything, it was just an immediate cutting off, giving us absolutely no chance of finding a place for our Mother\u2019s Day service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The church has gathered the past two Sundays at the <a href=\"https:\/\/visit.georgetown.org\/free-historic-courthouse-tours\/\">Historic Courthouse<\/a> lawn. During their Mother\u2019s Day service, two other churches joined in support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt ended up being amazing,\u201d Helgerson said. \u201cGod took something that was done for evil and made it for good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since the eviction, Helgerson still has not heard back from the Palace Theatre staff or Watson. Watson and Arts and Culture Board liaison Amanda Still did not respond to a request for comment and questions concerning the eviction.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Katelynn Richardson is an English major at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a correspondent for Campus Reform and contributor to The College Fix. Follow her on Twitter @katesrichardson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new mural in the city of Georgetown, Texas, is generating controversy for its support of LGBTQ ideology. Members of one church who spoke out against public subsidies for sexual<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":647,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1479156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/647"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1479156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1479156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1479156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1479156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}