SOUTHERN BAPTISTS DIFFER OVER BOYCOTT; VALLEY CONGREGANTS DISCUSS SHUNNING DISNEY.Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer Southern Baptists filled church pews in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. on Sunday, perplexed about how to boycott a corporate behemoth behemoth (bē`hĭmŏth, bĭhē`–) [Heb.,=plural of beast], large, fanciful primeval monster, like Leviathan, evoking the hippopotamus mentioned in the Book of Job. the size of Disney and uncertain that they even want to. ``It's hard to boycott something that does 98 percent good and only 2 percent things that we're not comfortable with,'' said Pam Sweet, 35, among worshipers Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
``Let me just put it this way, John 3:17 says that we do not judge the world,'' said Betty O'Dell, among the faithful at the 200-family First Southern Baptist Church in North Hollywood. Meeting in Dallas, the Southern Baptist Convention Noun 1. Southern Baptist Convention - an association of Southern Baptists association - a formal organization of people or groups of people; "he joined the Modern Language Association" Southern Baptist - a member of the Southern Baptist Convention last week approved a resolution urging the church's 15.7 million members to boycott the Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. because of the entertainment giant's ``gay-friendly'' policies, which church members believe are biblically reprehensible rep·re·hen·si·ble adj. Deserving rebuke or censure; blameworthy. See Synonyms at blameworthy. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin repreh and promote immorality. The vote followed last month's coming-out episode of ``Ellen'' on Disney-owned ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. and the company's extension last year of health benefits to domestic partners of gay employees. Many Southern Baptists said that it would be futile to try to financially wound Disney. The company's holdings include theme parks, Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, the Disney Channel  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , Miramax, ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , A&E Television, the Mighty Ducks
Mighty Ducks is a half-hour Disney animated series aired on ABC and The Disney Afternoon in the fall of 1996. Twenty-six episodes total were produced. of Anaheim, and the Anaheim Angels. ``I think it's not going to work, but I like the message it's sending,'' said Donna Kiger, 46, of Agoura, treasurer of the San Fernando Valley Southern Baptist Association. ``I personally don't like gays, but I don't think the boycott's going to do any good,'' said Calvary Church Calvary Church is the name shared by several churches in the United States:
That the boycott is a hard sell in Los Angeles hardly comes as a big surprise. Many Southern Baptists have employment links to Disney. Among those in the pews for the First Southern Baptist Church's 8:30 a.m. service Sunday was actress Angela Bassett, who won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in Touchstone Pictures' ``What's Love Got to Do With It?'' Still, many San Fernando Valley Southern Baptists said they will do their part to exert pressure on Disney. Kiger said her unemployed, 27-year-old daughter turned down an office job at Disney to protest the company's gay policies. At Trinity Baptist Church in Panorama City, youngsters vowed Sunday to make a herculean effort to stay away from Disney's big summer release. ``Even the little kids in the nursery were saying, we can't watch `Hercules,' '' said the Rev. Ken Gore, the church's pastor. San Fernando Valley pastors take varied stances on the boycott, but Gore and others said they would let worshipers make up their own minds about whether to join the boycott. The 200-family First Southern Baptist Church's pastor, the Rev. Charles Cutney, called the boycott ``very, very sad.'' ``I believe the church ought to be about reaching out and loving people, not slamming the door on them,'' Cutney said. Cutney said the church's Victory Boulevard marquee will be changed this week to read, ``We're not boycotting anybody.'' Calvary Church's pastor, the Rev. John C. Powell, said he believes Disney's gay policies undermine family values and morality. ``But there are still very good, pro-family people in Disney. That's what makes this so hard,'' Powell said. Gore said he's joining the boycott on a case-by-case basis, forsaking ABC news anchor Peter Jennings for NBC's Tom Brokaw and staying away from Touchstone Pictures releases. ``Disney wants to impress homosexuals more than Christians,'' Gore said. Recalling the popular refrain about the denomination - ``Southern Baptists don't drink, cuss or chew, and they don't go with girls who do'' - Powell worried that the boycott will hurt the denomination's public image. ``Southern Baptists are known for what they are against rather than what they are for, and that's the tragedy,'' he said. The West Hills pastor said he would prefer Southern Baptists emphasize the positive aspects of their ministry rather than dwell on what's wrong with the world. |
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