NAPLES, Florida (LifeSiteNews) – A “Christian” church in Florida plans to host on Saturday an LGBTQ “Youth Pride Conference,” featuring a drag show and a “sex education” talk by a Planned Parenthood speaker.
The event, which is being run by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), is advertised as “an exploration of LGBTQ issues facing today’s youth,” “organized by and for LGBTQ students.”
The host church, the Naples United Church of Christ (Naples UCC), styles itself as a “progressive church in terms of openness to a wide theological spectrum and the wide variety of lifestyles and orientations in our culture.”
In addition to a drag show featuring “local drag queens,” the event will hold a variety of talks during breakout sessions, with themes including “Forbidden Queer Literature,” “Inclusive Sex Education,” with Kathryn Ross, who works for Planned Parenthood, “Coming Out,” and “Navigating a Religious Identity,” as the Eventbrite page details.
The organizers initially planned on using Collier County schools as transit points for the attending youth without the school district’s knowledge. Florida’s Voice reported that when they reached out to the school district to ask why “transportation is being permitted directly from school property to an LGBTQ draw show,” the district said that the schools may not be used as “transit points for the pickup and drop-off of students for this event.”
RELATED: Arizona education dept. encourages teens to chat with LGBT adults about sex, gender
Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, shared the Florida Voice article in a May 12 tweet, writing, “Thank you @FLVoiceNews for exposing this and for making @collierschools aware of the situation!”
Lucas Miles, author of The Christian Left, told Florida’s Voice that the host “Christian” church “should be leading the way to protect young minds from explicit materials and behaviors, definitely not approving of them, or God forbid, hosting an inappropriate event….”
“This isn’t about politics or policy anymore. It’s a battle for retaining basic moral truths and protecting a vulnerable generation of young persons from being groomed and indoctrinated by corrupt thinkers and damaging ideologies,” he continued.
Naples UCC’s pastor, Rev. Dawson B. Taylor, resigned last week, Florida’s Voice noted, However, the reasons he stepped down are unclear.
Taylor not only open supports LGBTQ ideology, but is such a firm supporter of abortion that his Twitter bio states, “I stand with Planned Parenthood.”
Last month he planned to host a “gay prom” for children at Naples UCC.