Pastor Apologizes Via Facebook For Offensive Church Marquee About Same-Sex Marriage


Pete O’Leary, senior pastor of the Christian Church at Holbrook, New York, definitely feels some kind of way about gay marriage. Although he wasn’t too pleased when New York legalized same-sex unions in 2011, he still felt obligated to make his sentiments known yet again when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the debatable marriage last month.

Apparently, he decided to voice his opinion publicly by putting a quote on the church’s marquee, reports Opposing Views. The controversial quote, publicly stated by Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, quickly caught the attention of many local citizens who definitely weren’t pleased with the offensive marquee.

“The Supreme Court is not the supreme being!” the marquee read.

In fact, the public response has been so overwhelming that many locals took to Facebook to address the church about the sign on the church’s marquee. According to Patch.com, one man put things into perspective on the church’s Facebook page.

“Lots of local residents think your sign outside your church is in very poor taste! If you were trying to get people upset then it worked…I think you should please consider changing it to something more loving or lose support from lots of local residents. Thank you.”

Due to all the backlash, O’Leary felt compelled to address the situation via Facebook. Although he adamantly argued the importance of upholding God’s word and stated that the church’s intention was “to recognize God as the Supreme Being through obedience to His Word and not man’s word,” he also stated that the intent was not to “upset, annoy, insult or anger anybody.”

“However, the message was not received as intended, and for that CCH apologizes to everyone who has been caused pain, insult, offense, or who has been angered. We are a loving church who will never turn anyone away who is in need of food or clothing, who desires to hear the Truth of God’s word, or any person needing help of any kind.”

On July 1, the church shared another post with a photo of the updated marquee and a message explaining the change. “This sign represents the nature of the Christian Church At Holbrook. God loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us all, and He instructs us to love each other with that same love. We regret that our previous message insulted, angered, and hurt many people in our wonderful community.”

[Image via Patch]

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