Pastor Story Hour: An Alternative To Drag Queens


It is time for action.  It is time to step out from behind the pulpit and do something that helps children directly.

Which would you rather have reading to your children? (Kirk Cameron or Xochi Mochi)   

By Pastor Many Silva

Drag Queen Story Hour has been going around in many states across the United States since 2015. It was first started by author and activist Michelle Tea in San Francisco, who is originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts. The stated goals were to promote reading and diversity and was generally geared toward children aged 3-11. The events are hosted by drag queens who read children’s books and engage in other “learning” activities, usually in public libraries.

Jonathan Hamilt co-founded the New York chapter of Drag Queen Story Hour as a nonprofit, and as of June 2019, there were 35 U.S. and five international chapters. The program strives to “instill the imagination and play of gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models”.

The cultural battlegrounds keep expanding nation-wide in the never-ending culture wars and woke politics that is infiltrating our schools and colleges, and even our churches! The idea of men dressed as women and parading and twerking in front of very young children, is not appropriate; it is not cute; it is not right.  It is literally child abuse. And yet, The American Library Association (ALA) is actively encouraging libraries across the United States to host “Drag Queen Story Hours.” Despite objections from parents in many communities, these story hours continue to take place in children’s libraries. The ALA claims to promote “tolerance”, and yet they discriminate against anyone who objects to their agenda of sexualizing very young children.

There will always be those who will describe opposition to such “role models” reading to children as being hateful and intolerant. Anyone who objects to these performances is considered ignorant and does not understand the purpose of these events. They claim it is all innocent, but it is simply exploitation of children.

It’s Time For Action

Drag Queen Naomi Chomsky at the Fall River Public Library reading to children.

I have often made reference to my objection to these events on social media and at times I have posted about the latest outrageous event. Recently there was another Drag Queen Story Hour at the Fall River Public Library, on Saturday, January 14, and apparently there are plans to continue it on a monthly basis. Children need an alternative to it.

It’s time for me as a pastor to do more than comment about how these events are harmful to children. Now it’s time for me and other pastors to step out from behind our pulpits and engage the community with action on this issue. What better way than to have a Pastor Story Hour that will teach children the facts of what is a male or female, as well as teaching them biblical values, about God and about the Lord Jesus Christ. What an alternative!

Pastor Kendall Lankford of Chelmsford, MA, recently successfully organized and held a Pastor Story Hour at the local public library in January. It was not without a few “bumps” along the way. After reserving the meeting room, all was going well towards the scheduled day, until the library notified him the day before that it was cancelled. Pastor Lankford swung into action and contacted the Massachusetts Family Institute. Their attorneys contacted the library and explained that denying his right to a meeting room was a violation of the Constitution. The “misunderstanding” was corrected, within eight hours the Library reversed itself and the pastor had a very successful story hour with around 30 children and 25-30 adults in attendance. You can read about Pastor Lankford’s work here: charismanews.com/us/91233-pastor-story-hour-wins-big-victory-against-discriminating-library

You may have heard of Kirk Cameron’s efforts to host a reading hour at local libraries. After being initially rejected by several libraries, Kirk notified them that he was willing to pursue legal action and now he is having success with his Story Hour as well in several cities. In Indianapolis, there were over 2,500 that came to hear him read stories, although 1,000 had to wait outside. This was for a room that had a capacity of only 175!

Quoting Kirk: “”It’s not OK to say ‘yes’ to drag queen story hours and teach children one kind of value and say ‘no’ to other community members who would like to have their children taught other values in the same library, in the same room, for the same amount of time as other people are allowed.”

Last fall, two other pastors started something that hopefully will continue to grow across the country. At the CharismaNews website, they explain their motivation, and I totally agree with them:

Pastor Dale Partridge reads to children stories that are biblical in nature and teach young boys and girls how to navigate childhood.

“Pastors Dale Partridge of Prescott, Arizona, and Michael Foster of Batavia, Ohio, decided there had been enough talk and complaining about men in drag reading to children, and that it was time to act.

To counteract the extreme sexualization of children through performances that are usually reserved for strip clubs, the two men started a “Pastor Story Hour” at their local libraries. Sadly, it was in local, taxpayer-funded libraries that children were first subjected to these events.

Pastors Partridge and Foster shared with the Daily Wire how they started their own story hours that are biblical in nature and teach young boys and girls how to navigate childhood.

“Why are drag queens seemingly more interested in influencing the children in their community than pastors? Why are the lost more committed to the systematic and cultural evangelization of the public than American Christians are to evangelizing the gospel?” Partridge questioned in an interview with The Daily Wire. “These are hard questions the church needs to face. Christians need to see that Christianity is a totalizing faith, which means Christ should not be reserved only for church life but should saturate and permeate our entire lives.”

Putting matters into God’s hands, Partridge started up a Pastor Story Hour at his local Cottonwood Public Library in Arizona. It was attended by approximately 15-20 children and some of their parents, but it was not without friction from the library.

Partridge and Foster explained to the Daily Wire that while women have been taking up this mantle of responsibility and care for America’s children, it is time for men to do so as well.

“Historically, Christian fathers took up the mantle of child discipleship,” Partridge continued. “Fathers and mothers are to raise their children to understand what the Bible says about God, man, Christ and the church. Unfortunately the vast majority of Christian men have abdicated this role, leaving children vulnerable to the influence and lies of the culture. Namely, fathers don’t realize that if they don’t teach their children who they are, the world will.”

They are so right! I feel as if I have been guilty of standing by the sidelines, rightly calling out these people for what they are doing to children, but nothing much really comes out of that. It is time for action, and I am praying that pastors all across New England, and across this country, will take up the challenge. Our children are too important to let radical ungodly ideas be promoted without giving the children a healthy alternative.

I am working on getting a meeting room at Fall River Public Library for a date sometime in February. (Hoping to get a Saturday if possible). If you are interested in being notified about Pastor Story Hour, you can email me and request to be put on my list for notifications.  (I will not add your email to any other list, and I will strictly send only Pastor Story Hour notifications unless you ask for additional information).

My FaceBook page is.facebook.com/mannyrsilva, where I will also post updates and a final announcement regarding any future event. The readings will be geared towards children ages 3 to 11, but anyone will be welcome to come. The library address is: 104 North Main Street, Fall River, MA 02720.

We will be reading selected story books to the children, as well as asking questions and taking questions from the children and parents. Our focus will be on biblically grounded stories that will teach children about not only what is a male or female, but will teach them solid biblical principles about life and how God loves everyone and wants to be a part of their life through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel will be presented to these precious gifts from God.

And in spite of opposition, which may come from even some who are reading this, it is important to emphasize that the motivation for this is out of love for the children. This is not from any sense of hatred towards the LGBTQ community, because we care about them as well, and desire to see them come to faith in Christ and abandon their self-destructive lifestyle. Our real battle is against the spiritual dark forces of Satan, against “principalities and powers” and we can only battle them successfully with the word of God which is truth.

Once again, before coming, please check my FaceBook page for any last minute updates, in case we run into issues and are not able to have the event.  I don’t anticipate that happening, but it would be good to check. Please pray that God will use this event to reach not only children but also parents with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that lives can be changed for the better with this program.

You can contact Pastor Manny Silva at Evangelical Christian Fellowship, 190 Cherry Street, Fall River, MA 02726 On FaceBook: facebook.com/mannyrsilva. Learn more about Pastor Kendall Lankford at theshepherds.church/blog/pastor-story-hour

 

 




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