Wichita churches face backlash after the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Rev. Jackie Carter said things have been so bad, she’s even received death threats at First Metropolitan Community Church.
The worst came on Monday, when she was cleaning up after an event.
“The phone rang. I went to answer it and it was just heavy breathing,” Carter said. “Then, at the same time, the doorbell rang, and somebody starting throwing rocks at the windows.”
Carter was terrified.
It’s just one of several hostile acts thrown her way in the past few weeks, she said. Every day, she gets phone calls from people leaving death threats against her and the church. Many of the calls are from unlisted numbers. On Sunday mornings, people will jeer at the members as they walk into the building.
“Nobody got hurt. Nobody caused any violence to me, but it’s scary,” Carter said. “It feels like we’re giving people the right to hate.”
Carter said she’s proud to work to support people of varying beliefs. She’s performed 21 same-sex marriage ceremonies this past month.
Even with these threats, Carter said her church is moving forward. She no longer goes to the building by herself, and she’s encouraging the church to work together in this challenging time.
“It makes it difficult to want to continue to do the work and yet we are. We are not going to be scared away. The gospel — the way I understand the gospel of Jesus Christ — we’re called to do this work no matter how scary it gets.”