'We're not gonna be knocked down': Middletown church under attack by Christian groups

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Virgil Walker was hosted by Church on Main. He was hosted by LifeHouse Church in Townsend.

A Middletown church that proudly flies Black Lives Matter and Pride flags has come under fire from a nationally known evangelical pastor and others on social media.

LifeHouse Church hosted Virgil Walker, executive director of G3 Ministries and co-host of the "Just Thinking" podcast, for a men’s conference in late October. After his visit, he noticed the nearby Church on Main and tweeted a picture of the church’s exterior with the caption “if you're headed to visit a church this morning, and you see this, keep driving. It's not a church.”

The tweet was posted on Oct. 24 and has received 1,800 likes, 212 retweets and 165 quote tweets in just over a week’s time.

Since then, Church on Main has received messages from other churches and individuals who are upset about them displaying the Pride flag and BLM flag.

While some Twitter users backed Walker’s stance, others defended the church.

“The people who actually started this church and built the building would probably be sickened by how it’s now being used,” said one user.

“So much hatred in these replies. So little grace or humility,” said another reply.

The Rev. Brooke Scott, the church's newly ordained pastor, fears the type of divide that could come as a result of Walker’s tweet.

“I think it just reinforces people’s suspicion of religion,” said Scott. “It’s not a good look for people outside of our communities to see communal conflict. I think it just makes us look divided,” said Scott.

In a mission statement, Church on Main describes itself as an “LGBTQ+ affirming, justice-minded, Christ-centered worshipping community,” and aims to celebrate “our diverse identities including race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, physical and mental health, age, sexual identity, religious background and social-economic status.”

It is one of the only churches in the area that publicly displays its support for issues pertaining to the pride community and the BLM movement.

Although the church has received negative attention from the picture, Scott believes displaying both flags is important and says there are people who have been encouraged by the stance of the church, including herself.

Finding support in these flags is “a matter of life of death” and shows people they are safe and embraced even if they don’t attend church, she said.

“As someone who is Black and identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community, it lets me know that we are going to continue to stand against hateful messages, faith that’s used in a way that’s harmful and we truly believe in a God that doesn’t care about your background,” said Scott.

While most of the negativity has remained online, the church has already discussed different ways to increase security to ensure the safety of members since this isn’t the first time they have faced scrutiny for displaying flags.

In August of 2020, Church on Main’s LGBTQ+ and BLM flags were stolen in the middle of the night and set on fire in front of Middletown High School. A sign was also vandalized.

Initial coverage: Flag burning, thefts in Middletown hint at tensions below community's surface

“Quite honestly, I was not surprised. These things have happened quite a few times,” said Brent O’Neill, former pastoral resident of the church. “This is the first time it has happened with someone with notoriety.”

After the events of last summer, he wonders how bad the backlash could become if more people see Walker’s tweet and decide to take action.

“It struck me as particularly shocking,” he said of Walker’s tweet. “To be a visitor in a town and say this...It is quite sad to me that this community feels like they’re doing what God calls them to do and are being confronted by people who are so resistant to that work.”

This type of opposition can be increasingly difficult on a community as small as Church on Main’s, especially given that many of their members came from previous congregations that did not accept them or their lifestyles, said O’Neill.

“A lot of people who visit Church on Main is because they’ve been burned by other faith communities,” he said. “There’s a uniqueness in the community that is what people have been searching for.”

In contrast to those who don’t support the church’s open stance on social issues, Church on Main has also received an outpouring of support and donations from people near and far, and new members eager to attend.

“We’re gonna stay strong. We’re not gonna be knocked down,” she said. “It’s not something we’re gonna be easily intimidated by.”

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Virgil Walker attacks Middletown church for flying Pride and BLM flags