Dear supporter,
Due to the coronavirus our freedoms are currently being curtailed. Churches are unable to meet. Public venues cannot be hired for Christian events. This is for very good reasons and we all accept that. Everyone else is affected too – such things are necessary in times of national emergency.
But when ordinary life resumes we don’t want Christians to still be barred from hiring public venues. That’s what is at stake in Edinburgh.
The City Council there cancelled a three-day conference being held by Destiny Church in the city’s Usher Hall this coming June. The reason given was because of the views of one of the speakers, US preacher Larry Stockstill. He has said that homosexual behaviour is “not accepted by God”.
The church is challenging the Council’s decision in the courts. We are pleased that it has commenced legal proceedings against the Council. This is a clear case of unlawful religious discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. It is a clear denial of free speech under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ban came just a matter of days after the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) had been banned from public venues around the UK on similar grounds. Clearly the action taken against them emboldened Edinburgh Council.
The Christian Institute has had involvement with the legal teams of both groups. We are all seeking to resist the marginalisation of Christians in the UK. If Destiny Church or the BGEA can be banned from hiring public venues today, the same could be true for other Christian groups tomorrow. We do not want that to happen.
We believe Destiny Church has a strong case which they should win. The BGEA is also taking legal action challenging the bans affecting them. Please remember them both in your prayers.
