Winston-Salem city councilmember Kevin Mundy had a clear message for an anti-LGBTQ+ group that spoke at Monday’s city council meeting: “We cannot let religion rule what we do. You can let religion rule your life; you cannot let religion rule the life of others who don’t agree with you.”
Mundy’s statements came after a handful of local religious leaders took to the podium to speak out against the city’s policy of equality and its celebration of Pride month in June.
In her comments, Rev. Laura Spangler said that it is “heartbreaking” to her that the city is “not following God and its biblical heritage,” alluding to Moravian settlers who founded half of the city’s name — Salem — in the 1700’s in their search to exercise religious freedom.
According to Spangler, the inclusive celebrations during Pride month such as the parade, the rainbow banner outside city hall and the city’s proclamation declaring June as LGBTQ+ Pride month makes her feel “hurt” and excluded, adding that it “supports sin and does not represent the majority of our citizens, nor our city’s heritage.”
“We need to acknowledge the authority and sovereignty of Almighty God,” Spangler said.
“You claimed a month in June. We ask for a declaration of a month of prayer and repentance to reset and give citizen believers a voice,” she said, calling for prayer, fasting and repentance “for a return to our Lord Jesus Christ so that our city, state and nation may be healed and flourish.”
Rev. Michael Hunter of Covenant of Grace Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church followed in the footsteps of Spangler, saying that it is his “responsibility” to “call civil magistrates to repentance when they fail to rule according to righteousness.”
During Hunter’s comments, Spangler held up a sign that read: “The Iniquity of Sodom,” followed by the word “PRIDE” underneath it.
Hunter urged council to “submit” themselves to God, to “repent” and “rule according to His Word” because “brother, it’s starting to rain.”
Typically, the public comment period is a time for the city council to listen to the concerns of residents.
Mundy, the representative for the Southwest Ward and the first openly gay councilmember in the city’s history, made a clear statement in response to the bigoted speech.
“We don’t talk back,” he acknowledged, adding, “I will always defend your right to speak, whether I agree with what you say or not.”
Additionally, Mundy said he “made a commitment and took an oath to protect the Constitution,” not religion. And these reverends’ experiences and values are not the only ones that matter, he said as he spoke in a stern and measured tone simmering with rage.
The first clause in the Bill of Rights states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” which has been interpreted as a Constitutional requirement to separate church and state.
“We’re not all white, we’re not all Christian, we’re not all straight. And we don’t all weaponize scriptures to tear people down rather than build them up. I can tell you with certainty that you don’t represent the majority of this city.”
Many churches around the city preach this kind of narrative: That it’s not okay to be gay. Many local church websites expressly state these views.
The website for Two Cities Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch on Patterson Avenue, leads visitors to a full list of their beliefs. It states that, “in the spirit of Christ,” Christians should “oppose” all forms of “sexual immorality,” including “homosexuality.”
Awake Church also preaches this, citing Leviticus 18:20 and 22, listing homesexuality among “sexual sins” that are “clear variances or perversions from what God created and intended.”
In 2019, members of Elevation Church told TCB that they’d faced discrimination and were barred from advancing to leadership roles once they came out as gay.
During a July 21 sermon, Pastor Kyle Mercer of Two Cities Church said that they are “so compassionate for anyone who struggles with gender dysphoria and stuff,” yet in the same breath, he said that the “transgender movement” is a “movement that wants to cut up human bodies.” Countless studies have shown that gender-affirming treatment reduces suicides. Additionally, members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community are at higher risk for suicide, not due to their sexual orientation or how they identify, but because of how they are often treated, or rather mistreated, by society.
Since 2021, Winston-Salem has had a non-discrimination ordinance to protect residents, including on the basis of sexual orientation. This protection applies to employees or prospective employees at an employment location or place of public accommodation in Winston-Salem.
“That’s the type of ordinance we want; we want to be protective of people who have historically been maligned and marginalized,” Mundy told the room.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If you are in Winston-Salem and you or someone else is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 911 and ask for the city’s Behavioral Evaluation and Response (BEAR) Team, counselors that offer an alternative to police response for non-violent mental health calls.
Reach a counselor with the Trevor Project, a group that seeks to end suicide among the LGBTQIA2S+ community, at any time of the day or night.
All CityBeat reporting content is made possible by a grant from the NC Local News Lab Fund, available to republish for free by any news outlet who cares to use it. Learn More ↗
Republish this storyJoin the First Amendment Society, a membership that goes directly to funding TCB‘s newsroom.
We believe that reporting can save the world.
The TCB First Amendment Society recognizes the vital role of a free, unfettered press with a bundling of local experiences designed to build community, and unique engagements with our newsroom that will help you understand, and shape, local journalism’s critical role in uplifting the people in our cities.
All revenue goes directly into the newsroom as reporters’ salaries and freelance commissions.
I have always found it peculiar that this country of ours was founded on religious freedom, pilgrims coming here protesting (protestants) the Catholic Churches overarching power get here and immediately begin an assault on the freedoms of others. I am a christian but do not try to prosyletize others or critique the actions of others. It is written, and I paraphrase to work on the big problems with yourself before going after the smaller problem you see in others.
A website we are given here tells us their tenets. Avoid sexual immorality including homosexuality. Funny, I am guessing there is much more adultery and even more fornication which now is common place (we advise our kids to get things like college and travel done before they consider marriage and we know there will be few humans that will hold out till 30 or so before marrying.) We don’t try to hide the facts that we and our kids are fornicating. My point is why don’t we focus on those two things instead of homosexuality. I think those things are ten times more of a problem. In the end it is for God, the father to decide. We are the brothers and sisters in this relationship. As such we support each other and leave it to parents to make those kind of decisions.
I applaud Mr. Mundy for standing up and not cow towing to people who make politicians bow to them in hopes of obtaining their favor/votes. Stand for your beliefs and not just say what people want to hear. I can let religion rule my life and do but will not attempt to rule over others.