open hearts, open minds, closed doors to activists

i alluded to this article already, but feel like flushing out some thoughts.

so on sunday an immigration activist (a minuteman) showed up at adalberto united methodist church to go to services.. or to start some trouble??

that article reads that this man asked permission to attend sundays service. the pastor gave no official answer. the man took this as ok to show up. upon showing up at the church he was told he could not enter and a shoulder to shoulder man blockade was made to keep the man out. i suppose this is where the fun really started. i'd be agitated too, someone keeping me out of services, but the actions (or words) showed that the true intent was not worship but to make some scene or statement.

"Behold I stand at the door and knock," Hayes called out repeatedly, his hand pumping in the air with a single pointed finger. "May I come to church please?" said the man

so i can quote some from revelations and be totally out of context. honestly i'm not sure what this has to do with the situation but to take a common phrasing of scripture and use it to some dramatic advantage.

With his arguments wending through discussions of slavery, the 14th Amendment and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Hayes said he came from California to protest because "what this woman, these people are doing is killing my people."

"They're taking our heritage," said Hayes, who is black. "They're taking my civil rights. They're taking my icons, like Rosa Parks and Dr. King.

"These people were citizens. This lady's no citizen. She's a criminal."

it is mentioned that arellano (the woman in sanctuary) had mentioned herself as being a Rosa Parks. i'd affirm that this is not the same, but someone is way off base to start claiming that she "is killing my people." she's sleeping in a storefront church.. honestly man, get a grip. she is technically a criminal/fugitive, she's certainly not a citizen (otherwise this wouldn't be news), but there is a legal process in action to keep her in the states on behalf of her son, who is a citizen & not a criminal. sad to say though, minutemen, from my vantage point, don't seem to have faith enough to let the justice system do their things, so maybe it's systemic to usurp the authority.. soon they may be the criminals.

so back to the church...

After the two-hour service, Coleman said he didn't want Hayes at the service because he didn't want to create more volatility.

"He's a provocateur," Coleman said, "and his aim and the aim of the Minutemen is to create a violent situation inside the church."

i'd have to agree with pastor coleman's assessment. this man was not out to find God in worship with their community. he wanted to create a scene within the church or to approach mrs. arellano. to this i'd say it was well within the rights to protect the congregation from such a person. was it the right thing to do?

we could find teachings from the scriptures that could argue to both sides. we welcome our enemy with love and charity, blessed are the peacemakers. then again, we protect the sheep, we do not bring false idols (even if they are in the name of justice)...

note: that is a picture of mr. hayes, apparently he's quite popular

Comments

[Mary Beth]

The best handling of a situation like this I've ever seen was at Broadway UMC, where I used to worship. During the service, a man stood up and started spouting off about how homosexuals are an abomination, etc. Greg reminded him that we were in a worship service and that he needed to refrain from disrupting it. Greg invited him to remain if he felt he could do so without being disruptive, and invited him to wait outside until after the service if he wanted to talk to Greg personally. Of course, Greg didn't miss a beat during any of it. It was handled impeccably.

I'd say that Rev. Coleman should have explained that Mr. Hayes was welcome to worship if he acted appropriately, but that if he was going to be disruptive, he would need to wait elsewhere. I wasn't there, but the shoulder-to-shoulder blockade sounded extreme, unless he was being threatening or wouldn't leave after a respectful request to do so.

[gavin]

mb, that is much more of how i would vision a peacemaker & welcoming agent of the church to someone

[Andy B.]

Lots of issues here, huh? How about theology of worship, for starters. If worship is the time and space to gather together and give to God, then anything that is a part of a worship experience but detracts from God really has no place there. But you're right, rather than a barricade, perhaps a firm yet graceful word would have been a better option.

[Brett]

I knew when I first read about this that it was only a matter of time before people like that started showing up at the church.