Canyon Springs Church guests 'former' lesbian, LGBTQ+ activists protest

LGBT activists opposed Patti Height's, an identified lesbian, speech at Canyon Spring Church. (Photo by Norbu GYACHUNG from Unsplash)

Canyon Springs Church, located in the Scripps Ranch neighborhood of San Diego, invited Patti Height, who had renounced her lesbianism, to give a talk to their congregation.

Following this, LGBTQ+ activists and their supporters protested at the church to oppose her statement.

They then started a petition for the San Diego Unified School District to terminate the church's rental agreement.

Canyon Springs Church was established 25 years ago by Pastor Jack Hawkins.

It is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church, rents space from Thurgood Marshall Middle School, and uses it outside of school hours.

God's Love

According to the LA Times, the members of the congregation were engaging in a discussion about gender-related topics in society.

The guest speaker for the event was Patti Height, representing Out of Egypt Ministries, who shared that she previously identified as gay but now believes that it was a misguided identity.

The mission of her organization is to support Christians in ministering to members of the LGBT community, as she believes that being gay and being a Christian are incompatible.

According to the Daily Citizen, during her sermon titled "God Loves All," Height shared her personal history of struggling with gender identity and same-sex attraction.

She revealed that she grew up feeling detached from her mother and experienced abuse, both verbal and sexual, during her childhood.

As a result, she began harming herself at a young age and started using drugs and alcohol to numb her pain.

At around 12 years old, she realized that she was attracted to women.

In her late teens, she married a man in an attempt to suppress her same-sex attractions and gender confusion.

However, the relationship turned abusive, and she eventually left him to embrace her identity as a lesbian.

In her talk, Height spoke about how she found faith in Christ and went through a difficult journey toward healing and sanctification.

She emphasized the importance of love and read from Colossians 3:12-14, encouraging the congregation to love those who struggle with sexual sin.

After her sermon, Hawkins commended Height for her bravery in sharing her story and highlighted the love and grace with which she spoke.

He also acknowledged the negative responses and death threats she had received for telling her story.

Petition

Hawkins had intended for the event to spark a constructive dialogue that could lead to healing and teach his congregation how to love their LGBT neighbors more effectively.

However, the event has resulted in some parents and activists urging the San Diego Unified School District to terminate its long-standing rental agreement with the church.

According to the petition, Canyon Springs Church has openly supported hate speech, discriminatory language, and hatred directed toward the LGBT community and other religious groups.

The petition specifically referenced Height’s sermon, wherein she claimed to be a former lesbian and spoke about there being no place for homosexuals, Muslims, or Buddhists in heaven.

The petition argued that such language is hurtful and harmful to the LGBT community and other religious communities, especially when spoken in front of children.

Dr. Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, sees this incident as a clash between "the new morality" and religious freedom and free speech.

He predicts that this kind of conflict will continue to arise in various communities, churches, and institutions as our culture goes through a period of tumultuous change.

The petition has prompted discussions about the limits that school districts and other public agencies can set regarding the provision of space for religious and community organizations.

According to the LA Times, the San Diego Unified School District is currently reviewing Canyon Springs Church's rental permit to determine if the church violated the district's facility rental policy.

While schools are not obligated to allow outside groups to use their facilities, they cannot discriminate based on viewpoint in their rental decisions.

Eugene Volokh, a constitutional law professor at UCLA School of Law, explained this to the LA Times.

Mohler emphasized the significance of this situation and urged Christians to take note of the "monumental precedent" it could set.

The school district's decision on this matter could have a significant impact on the future of society and the freedom of Christians to hold a biblical understanding of sex, marriage, morality, and gender in any context.