A pastor in Vancouver recently drew the ire of people online when he said in his sermon Tuesday that the death of five individuals at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado was "a good thing."
Pastor's 'Hateful' Comment on Club Q Shooting
According to an article by The Columbian, Pastor Aaron Thompson of the Sure Foundation Baptist Church issued the comment during his Tuesday sermon. The video of Thompson's sermon was uploaded on YouTube and became the subject of negative comments from users.
"I really don't care that those people got killed. And you're like, 'That sounds really hateful, pastor.' Well, it is hateful. Because I do hate them," The Columbian quoted Pastor Thompson saying in a now-private YouTube clip.
Aside from Thompson, another individual linked to the Vancouver church apparently had his share of infamy for spewing anti-LGBTQ comments.
Former Sure Foundation Baptist Church congregant Tyler Dinsmoor reportedly got himself jailed after issuing homophobic statements.
Thompson later denied Dinsmoor's connection with his church, saying the latter only attended service a few times and engaged in a Northern Washington Memorial Day weekend church activity.
Comments Against Pastor Thompson's Anti-LGBTQ Sermon
Several personalities publicly blasted Pastor Thompson for his sermon criticizing the victims of 22-year-old suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich.
Michelle Bart, the NWCAVE (National Women's Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation) co-founder and president, told reporters that she found Thompson's sermon "disgraceful."
"It's just disgraceful that any person that is a messenger of the church would ever make a statement like that and be able to keep their job. I'm just lost for words," Bart explained.
"As a proud, out lesbian who runs an anti-violence organization, I can honestly say that people like that worry me. And a statement, whether it's a sermon or free speech or whatever people want to hide behind, the bottom line is when you do something like that and say something like that, that's a threat. And why aren't we taking it more seriously as such?" The Columbian quoted Bart saying.
Hate Group
The pastor's 'hateful' remarks were apparently not uncharacteristic.
The news outlet bared that the Southern Poverty Law Center has tagged the pastor's church as a "hate group" based on its hate map. Its reputation as a hate group is linked to Verity Baptist Church, where it descended.
Verity, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), belongs to an organization called the New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) Movement.
ADL's website described New IFB Movement as "a loose network of independent churches concentrated in the U.S. connected by their belief in certain religious doctrines and a shared brand of deeply anti-LGBTQ and antisemitic teachings."
Pastor Roger Jimenez of Verity Baptist Church in California was heavily criticized in 2016 when he remarked following the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting that the incident was a "tragedy" since "more of them (victims) didn't die."
Related Article: Colorado Churches, Others To Hold Vigils Honoring Club Q Shooting Victims
