One mum said the leaflets were given to two children within bags of sweets
One mum said the leaflets were given to two children within bags of sweets(Image: Submitted)
Children were given religious leaflets during trick or treating in Greater Manchester which featured propaganda and ‘homophobic’ messaging, according to a furious mum and local councillor.
At least two youngsters out on Halloween were said to have been handed the small brochures in bags, with one parent slamming the act in a post on social media.
The leaflet, which features a logo from the Grace Fellowship Manchester, based in St Stephen’s Church in Middleton, features four pages including a screenshot of a mobile phone which reads ‘Are you a good person?’
Along the side are the words ‘Swindlers’, ‘Homosexuals’, ‘Drunkards’ and ‘Idolators’, among others.
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A message on the front, mimicking a text exchange, reads: “The Bible says; Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, no swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God.
“Keep reading to find out how you can be forgiven and have eternal life.”
The leaflet asked ‘Are you a good person?'(Image: Submitted)
The Manchester Evening News has tried to call and message Grace Fellowship Manchester on multiple occasions and has not received a response.
St Stephen’s Church said Grace Fellowship Manchester congregation meet on Sunday afternoons and hire the church building for their use. It appears the Church had no affiliation with the leaflet.
One mum said the leaflets were given to two children within a party of five, within bags of sweets, and appeared to have come from the same property. They were later discovered upon returning home.
The inside of the booklet then features a paragraph between each of the subheadings, reading: “God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. And anyone who indulges in sex outside of marriage…. no such person will inherit the Kingdom of God. BE NOT DECEIVED!
“God isn’t being cruel in warning us. He shows us we’re in trouble so that we’ll realise how desperately we need his help to fix us.”
At the end, the leaflet, then advertising a Sunday service with the Grace Fellowship Manchester, adds: “Are you guilty of these ugly sins? You know you are. Don’t deny it. Don’t ignore it. Don’t run from it! YOU ARE NOT GOOD. Don’t try to hide.”
One mum, who shared a post in a local Facebook group, claimed the leaflet was given to her six-year-old daughter. In a post, Victoria Loop wrote: “I wasn’t too keen to discover my 6 year old was handed this from one house this evening. I understand people want top force their views on others however this is not appropriate.”
At least two children received the leaflet, according to mum Victoria (Image: Submitted)
She told the M.E.N: “I’m a bit angry with the level of maturity of the subject matter of this particular leaflet. It’s just not appropriate for young children. I am not against people expressing their opinions for the most part but when it becomes discriminatory and offensive it is just wrong.
“There were other leaflets amongst the other children’s treats however they were more appropriately worded and not on this level. My views on the matter is that there was quite some degree of misjudgement when deciding to include this particular leaflet in treats to young children.
“I have many friends and family that this would hurt very deeply and I am angry on their behalf as much as for my daughter having to ask questions as why some people haven’t yet got the message in this age that homophobia, no matter how benign this may seem to some, is not acceptable. Let alone giving this opinion to children with no consideration of their innocence or family circumstance.
“I am aware that this may be an unpopular stance from many different religious groups, however the method of delivery of their rhetoric and beliefs in this case needs questioning and scrutinising. We have age restrictions on many things such as films and television and restrictions on products and publications for the protection of children.”
Alkrington Councillor Dylan Williams told the Manchester Evening News that homophobia ‘should not be acceptable in our society’ as he equally slammed the incident.
“As a ward councillor, like many residents in Alkrington I am concerned to see that children as young as six were given literature with sexually explicit language in it, including blatant Homophobia whilst trick or treating this Halloween which not only upset the parents but their children too,” he said.
“As a gay man who regularly goes to church, I believe most Christian’s will be upset by this blatantly homophobic literature and would condemn it. I am also concerned that people think it acceptable to give literature on it with adult words and sexually explicit language to Children as young as six.
“Homophobia seems to be becoming more and more prevalent leading some members of the community to feel unsafe and this is and should not be acceptable in our society. We must say no to hate.”