CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) – A Calgary Christian pastor was forcibly removed from a public library over the weekend after protesting at a children’s drag queen story time event at which he said “homosexuality is a sin.”
Despite Pastor Derek Reimer of Mission7 being threatened with charges, he told LifeSiteNews he has vowed to continue to expose the “evil” of what he says is the “perversion and the indoctrination” of kids.
The all-ages storytime was hosted by the Calgary Public Library at its Seton location this past Saturday.
Reimer attended the event in protest, at which he preached messages of the Gospel, before being forcibly removed from the venue on the threat of trespass charges after police were called.
A video posted online shows Reimer preach that “Jesus Christ is holy” before Seton library staff members tell him they were going to call the “police,” as he was thrown out of a door by two men.
He was pushed to the floor, at which point he was told by a Seton employee that he could either leave or be dealt with by police.
After a brief time, Reimer left the library after being told by Calgary Police if he did not do so he would be charged with trespassing.
Reimer told LifeSiteNews that he was protesting the event as part of a new initiative called “Exposing Darkness” that he said will mobilize more “Christians to be on the offence” and that people need to start “pushing back against the evil and the wickedness, and the darkness in our city.”
“We are disgusted and disturbed and appalled that the perversion and the indoctrination of the centralization and the normalization of this homosexual agenda and drag queen transgender agenda on the children,” Reimer said.
“We feel compelled to take a stand in the name of Jesus against this and to speak out and to preach the gospel and to rebuke, and to expose this.”
In the video of the altercation, Reimer can be heard preaching multiple times about repentance and turning away from the “sin” of “homosexuality.”
One employee could be heard telling Reimer that he was disrupting the program.
Reimer can be heard on the video saying, “Homosexuality is wrong,” along with “Homosexuality is a sin.”
One employee told another Mission7 member, Ray Friesen, that there were kids inside the event to which he replied, “They’re being indoctrinated with evil.”
The video shows Reimer leaving the library while saying people need to repent and move away from “wickedness.”
Reimer could be heard saying that the homosexual agenda is “sweeping this city and the globe” and that people need to “come against this.”
At this point on the video, Reimer moved outside, where he continued to preach until the arrival of the Calgary Police Service, which told him if he did not leave he would be charged with trespassing.
Reimer agreed to leave but told LifeSiteNews he will continue to protest at future child drag queen story time events.
The Calgary Public Library’s “Reading with Royalty” events will be taking place across the city at various locations over the next few months.
According to the library, the events “celebrate inclusion and diversity with our glamorous family-friendly story time program, led by local drag queen, king and monarch performers.”
The event encourages young kids to dress for the events in their “best outfit, cape or crown.”
Our mission is to speak the ‘truth as handed down by Jesus,’ says pastor
Reimer told LifeSiteNews his mission is to speak the name of truth as handed down by Jesus in the Gospels, and that is why he and others were protesting.
“That’s our mission, we are going to continue to do that,” he said.
Reimer has promised to not back down despite Calgary left-leaning Mayor Jyoti Gondek saying she will go after protesters at drag queen story times with the city’s street harassment bylaw.
“We’ll be resilient. Someone needs to take a stand here. These are strong Christian leaders that I have linked shields with, and we are going to come together as a team,” Reimer told LifeSiteNews.
Many others are joining Reimer in pushing back, however.
Earlier this month, Canadian high school student Josh Alexander promised to “not back down” despite being arrested.
He was held in a police car for hours, handcuffed, charged for trespassing, and then dumped on the side of the road after preaching the Gospel in protest of a drag queen event in Ottawa geared toward children.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable push in western nations to actively promote gender ideology to young people, particularly in the United States and Canada. A large part of promoting gender ideology is through drag queen story events, which have become prevalent throughout North America.
However, there are some jurisdictions that have banned kids from attending drag shows.
Last week, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill to ban minors from attending drag shows and other events that are classified as an “adult-oriented performance.”