Girls’ Brigade of Northern Ireland caught up in ‘gay sin’ row

A mother in Northern Ireland has made an official complaint to the police, after her two daughters
attended a Girls’ Brigade event in February where homosexuality was described as a sin which equated to murder.

The girls were attending a spiritual programme as part of the Girls’ Brigade, when they were asked to place a number of sins in order – including murder, adultery, stealing and homosexuality – after which they were told that in fact all of these sins were equal in the eyes of God.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, the Newtownards mother explained her children were upset after she picked them up. “Someone’s sexuality is certainly not regarded as a sin in our family as they have an uncle who is not only gay, but openly lives with his partner whom they love dearly.”

She went on to say, “As a mother I believe this is a serious safeguard issue for children. LGB teens and young adults are at a much greater risk of suicide. They are telling children as young as 11 that homosexuality is a sin. That could have very serious consequences.”

The Girls’ Brigade have since responded on its website, saying “The objective of the learning activity that the parent complained about was to stimulate discussion and to help girls to consider the Christian teaching that there is no ‘hierarchy of sins’ and that a loving God can forgive all sin. This activity was not intended to be about homosexuality but designed to demonstrate the love of God. On reflection, given the way it has been misinterpreted, we have concluded that the learning could have been achieved more effectively in a different way.”

The Girls’ Brigade Northern Ireland describes itself as “a Christian youth organisation for girls of all ages, backgrounds and abilities” and has 23,000 members in the province.

Although the girls’ mother reported the event to the Police Service of Northern Ireland for what she believed amounted to hate crime, the police have said that following legal advice, they would not be taking further action.

The story emerges in the week that Northern Ireland is seeing a major court case over a Christian bakery in Belfast who refused to print a gay marriage slogan on a cake, beginning a country wide political discussion about gay equality and religious freedom.