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USA: Cream pie thrown at anti-gay pastor

Fri 11 May 2007 In: International News

A Colorado Springs teenager faces possible criminal charges after throwing a cream pie at the pastor of an anti-gay breakaway Episcopal parish as the cleric was leading Sunday worship. The pastor of Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish, the Rev. Donald Armstrong, was reading a Church of England sermon called "Of Christian Love and Charity" at the time. He ducked and the pie missed him. The man, Marcus Hyde, 18, tried to escape, but parishioners chased and caught him. Tim Chambers, a parishioner who witnessed the incident last weekend, described it on his ‘livejournal' blog, saying, "This act was hateful. It was an invasion of sacred space." According to a police report, the suspect said he was passing judgment on Armstrong. Hyde declined to comment when reached by phone, saying he needed to talk to a lawyer first. The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado late last year had moved to suspend Armstrong while it investigated allegations against him of financial misconduct. Armstrong has denied wrongdoing. The pastor returned to the theologically conservative parish in March, when church leaders voted to leave the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church. The U.S. denomination caused an uproar in 2003 when it consecrated the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. Hyde faces potential misdemeanor charges of harassment, trespassing, criminal mischief and disrupting a lawful assembly, police Sgt. Vince Niski said.     Ref: 365gay.com (m)

Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff

First published: Friday, 11th May 2007 - 12:00pm

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