They came through the morning, the smoke of their breaths lingering in the winter chill. Marching side by side, they made their way down Northwest 37th Street, hoisting a rainbow banner for all to see.
Carrying signs calling for tolerance and acceptance, they halted in front of the Dove World Outreach Center, a church known for its controversial statements regarding Islam.
Gainesville’s Queer Activist Coalition, Stand Up Florida and several advocacy organizations spoke out against the church’s stance against homosexuality Sunday morning.
“They seem to think everything is wrong except for what they preach,” said R. Zeke Fread, the west central director of Stand Up Florida, an activist group dedicated to promoting gay rights. “We need to call them out. That’s why we’re freezing our butts off.”
The group of about 40 stood across from signs planted on the church’s property that read “Homo leads to Hell,” “Fort Hood is only the beginning” and “Obama’s policies are of the devil.”
They waved banners, planted rainbow flags next to the center signs and altered the church’s signs to read “God loves youR butT…”
When Wayne Sapp, a pastor with the center, came out to record the protesters, he was greeted with two questions.
”Sir, why do you hate us?” a few of the protesters asked Sapp, who stayed at a distance. “Doesn’t God love everyone?”
According to the Rev. Terry Jones, the center's senior pastor, the church’s message isn’t one of hate but of compassion.
“We feel very sorry for these people. You can’t have love without the truth,” Jones said. “Whether you are a homosexual or a good ol’ boy who listens to country music, pays his bills and drives his pickup truck... there’s only one way to heaven, one way to forgiveness, and that is Jesus. We aren’t singling out any particular group, we’re addressing all groups.”
Although he accuses the protesters of distorting words, Jones says that the door to his church is still open to them.
“They are more than welcome to come in so long as they don’t create a disturbance,” he said.
But Timothy Nevin, a UF Ph.D. candidate and one of the protesters, has no interest in joining the center anytime soon.
“They are bigots who go out of their way to scapegoat portions of humanity,” he said. “They call themselves Dove World Outreach Center, but who are they reaching out to?”
