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Pressure mounts on bigoted pastor to take his church elsewhere

Pressure mounts on bigoted pastor to take his church elsewhere
Teachers, staff say Rev. Ken Hutcherson sullies the name of Lake Washington High School by Robert Raketty -SGN Staff Writer For Lake Washington High School Principal Mark Robertson, it is only a couple minutes walk from his office to his church, which meets on school grounds. Antioch Bible Church and its notoriously homophobic pastor, Rev. Ken Hutcherson, have used the school for Sunday services for the past six years. However, complaints from school staff about Robertson and the church have not fallen on deaf ears. Kevin Teeley, President of the Lake Washington Education Association, wants Hutcherson and his church evicted and hes making his wishes known. He wrote in the Associations monthly newsletter: The Lake Washington Education Association strongly condemns the bigoted views of Dr. Ken Hutcherson, and believes that his actions and words only serve to promote a climate of hate and intolerance in our community. Hutcherson was a key organizer of the Mayday for Marriage rally that drew conservative Christians from across the state to Safeco Field a year ago to denounce same-sex marriage. He organized a similar rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. five months later. An effort to lobby Microsoft to pull its support of anti-discrimination legislation, however, put Hutcherson on the national stage. The company withdrew its support of the Anderson-Murray Anti-Discrimination Bill (House Bill 1515) after meeting with Rev. Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond. The conservative pastor had first met with the company in mid-February and asked for the company to pull its support of the measure or face a nationwide boycott. The company maintains it decided to focus on other legislative priorities long before the meeting with Hutcherson. Nevertheless, pressure from LGBT groups and allies locally and across the country quickly mounted and the company did an about face, saying it would again support the measure. THE CHURCH HAS CROSSED THE LINE Teeley told the Seattle Gay News on Wednesday that the church may have a legal right to meet on school grounds and use school facilities, but hopes that public pressure will convince Hutcherson to take his views elsewhere. Under state law, school districts must make their facilities available to community groups and religious organizations when the facilities are not being used for school-related activities. At least 10 churches are renting district facilities. Lake Washington Superintendent Don Saul told the PI that his hands are tied. It comes down to almost an all-or-nothing situation, based on First Amendment jurisprudence, he said. If we rent a facility for the use of a church, we cant typically restrict access to another group with which we have disagreements (over) the point of view theyre expressing. This pastor has taken such a high profile political view and has worked so strenuously to deny rights to the citizens of Washington State, says Teeley. That is where [school staff] and I feel that the church has crossed the line. It is one thing for a church to believe a certain way. We dont agree with their beliefs, but they have a right to believe whatever they want. As soon as they take those beliefs and start working with legislation politically to deny those rights to others thats when it becomes about bigotry, intolerance and hatred. Teachers are calling me about this pastor and asking, Is there anything we can do to get him out of our school? They believe Hutchersons actions are putting the school in a really bad light. Hes having his picture taken in front of the school. Hes conducting interviews in front of the school. A picture of the school even appeared in the New York Times and in publications all over the country. Theyre feeling like their school is tiedto this guy and they dont want to be connected to them. Teeley says he also worries about impact on school staff and the message the district may be sending to students by allowing Hutchersons church to meet there. The message that it sends to students is extraordinarily discriminatory and hateful. The message that it send to students is that the school district endorses this, he said. In reality the school district doesnt endorse it, but they youth dont know that. The youth see the district is renting our school to this church and dont know the nuances of the law and dont why the school district would rent to an organization like this. So, many students feel very strongly about that. On top of that, the principal of the school is a real active member of Antioch Bible Church. Students know this and the teachers know this. They find it a really chilling factor in that school because they have the principal who is there on Sunday with this guy and presumably believes the same way he does. It is very hard for staff members to raise any concerns. It is hard for students to feel it is an open environment, because it looks like the school district and the principal endorse this kind of stuff. Actions speak louder than words. Even thought the policies are there, clearly saying that the district must be nondiscriminatory, their actions speak differently. We have this principal there and we have this church there that seems to be saying that basic rights should be denied to a segment of our population. That is wrong. Teeley says his objections are not based on Hutchersons views alone. He receives complaints regularly from teachers who have reported that things in the classroom have been moved or are missing; lesson plans and assignments have been erased; and dirty diapers in the waste basket regularly greet them on Monday mornings. Dealing with this kind of thing is a matter of routine. Every Monday morning for the last six years. Staff are really upset and fed up with it. They feel they are subsidizing this church with free labor, said Teeley. Teachers are responsible for cleaning up after the church and the taxpayers are footing the bill. The church claims that it leaves everything exactly the way that they found it. That just isnt the case. I have received complaint, after complaint, after complaint about it. Teeley hopes more people will contact the Lake Washington School District School Board and ask them to review their internal policies to determine if any action should be taken. SIT IN THE BACK OF THE CHURCH A group Gay people and allies who wished to bring another viewpoint to Antioch Bible Church tried to enter Hutchersons church one Sunday last month but - reminiscent of scenes straight out of the segregated south - the peaceful crowd was denied entry. After negotiations with the police and media, the dozens of peaceful protesters where allowed entry but were told to sit in the back unless they removed the rainbow armbands they were wearing. During his sermon, the 52-year-old Hutcherson said he grew up in Alabama and witnessed racism. He grew to hate white people as a youth and started playing football as a legal way to hurt White people. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that about 3,500 people regularly attend Sunday services at Antioch Bible Church, which uses the gymnasium and about 30 classrooms for Sunday school, a nursery and other activities. The Lake Washington School District receives approximately $140,000 per-year in rental fees from the church.