A bizarre video reportedly from inside the Cathedral of Hope Protestant church in Dallas, Texas, showed scores of drag queens watching while the congregation prayed for “divine diversity.”
“We celebrate this divine diversity and commit to lifting up the voices of the LGBTQ+ community, and creating spaces where everyone can thrive,” the congregation declares.
In another video from the service, a liberal pastor can be heard claiming family values “have been hijacked by the religious right,” and “Christianity has been hijacked by culture.”
Watch Below:
A man who appeared to be a pastor could also be heard saying, “We recognize that all people are made in the loving image of God, no matter who they are, how they dress, express themselves, or who they love.”
In another clip, a woman in the crowd could be heard proclaiming, “Drag queens are often targets of hate and violence, but we know that they are powerful and resilient people who show us what it means to be truly authentic and expressive.”
Then in unison again, the churchgoers said, “We honor their strength, and we pledge to be allies to the drag community, recognizing their full humanity, and their incredible contributions to our world.”
“We embrace radical inclusivity, and work to dismantle systems of oppression,” the churchgoers continued. “We will fight against all forms of hate, prejudice, and intolerance, and work to build a world that affirms and celebrates every person’s unique identity and gifts.”
The video clip was originally posted to social media by Texas Family Project, an organization based in the Lone Star State that engages in politics and advocates on behalf of the family, its X bio states.
“TFP and Defend Our Kids Texas was on site during a Dallas church’s ‘drag Sunday’ service,” the organization explained.
Texas Family Project posted another video from the service, in which another Pastor can be heard claiming that family values “have been hijacked by the religious right,” and that “Christianity has been hijacked by culture.”
Watch Below:
“For too long we have denied the full expression of God’s loving diversity, we have silenced the voices of the queer community, denied beauty of drag. Today, we declare that we will no longer stand idly by,” the Pastor declared.
“When we talk about family values, the first thing that comes to my head is focus on the family, and some of the ways in which those family values, if you would, have been hijacked by the religious right, and how so often those family values lead into discrimination and hatred,” he added.
The Pastor went on to complain about the phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin.”
“I would be surprised if not one of us in this congregation this morning have not heard love the sinner, hate the sin,” he said. “It’s words that have been used against many of us, and that ‘love the sinner and hate the sin’ is in absolute contrary to the ways of Jesus.”
“It hurts me, it grieves me, when so many people hear phrase after phrase, not just those of us in the LGBTQ community, but those of us in the world today, in religion and Christianity that has been so hijacked by culture,” the Pastor claimed.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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