Hingham church gets police detail for Pride celebration following 'angry' anonymous call
HINGHAM – A church in Hingham asked for a police detail as a precaution Sunday afternoon following an "angry" anonymous phone call from a resident slamming the congregation for hosting a community Pride event.
The Rev. Ken Read-Brown, of First Parish on Main Street, also called the Old Ship Church, said a caller who identified himself as a Hingham citizen "questioned what sort of religion we were, and went on to accuse me and our congregation of condoning sin and pedophilia. He said we were a disgrace to Hingham and he was offended every time he drove by and saw our rainbow flags."
"Though this caller never directly threatened the event or me or our congregation, his tone and language were angry and threatening enough that our leadership decided that the prudent thing to do was to ask for a police detail," the Rev. Read-Brown said.
The Hingham Police Department arranged for an officer from the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department to be at the church all day.
"It was a beautiful day. Both our Sunday morning worship service and our afternoon Pride celebration went off peacefully and with a great spirit of collaboration and happiness," the Rev. Read-Brown said.
Hingham Sgt. Nicholas Smith said the police did take a report on the incident and provided extra patrols in the area.
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The family-friendly event featured a booth of the Hingham Pride organization, a bake sale, yard games, tie-dyeing and more. More than $800 was raised for The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth.
The Rev. Read-Brown said he's not sure how many Pride events the church has hosted but that it has been an annual tradition for a number of summers. This is the first year he has received such a phone call.
"LGBTQ rights are always important and seem to be more under threat, bringing fear into the lives and hearts of anyone in the community, particularly young people who are just trying to find their way in the world," he said. One of the Unitarian Universalist principles is to "affirm the worth and belonging" of all people, he said.
The Rev. Read-Brown said he shared the message with fellow members of the Hingham/Hull Religious Leaders Association and received an outpouring of support from people of all faiths.
"That lifted us up," he said. "No religious group should receive that kind of message. ... Love is always stronger than hate, and we demonstrated that on Sunday."
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Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'Threatening' call prompts police presence at Hingham Pride event
