Derbyshire schools part way with church due to row over LGBTQ+ values and Pastor's belief that 'marriage is between a man and a woman'

Leys Junior School, Croft Infant School, Alfreton Park School and Copthorne Community Infant School contacted Ryan Clarke, Pastor at Watchorn Church in Alfreton, to let him know that they will no longer work with the church.

This comes after the Pastor criticised mayor Hannah Jowett-Frost, for her Facebook post in June 2023, in which she said she wished ‘all the homophobes a super uncomfortable month’ during Pride.

In his letter to the Mayor, a copy of which was published on the website of the church, Mr Clarke said the post caused several concerns within the church and added the mayor ‘distanced herself from those in town who would sincerely hold a different opinion about Pride month.’

Following the publication of the letter, the Pastor was contacted by the headteacher of one of the schools who said she was concerned about the direction of the church regarding LGBTQ+ values and she decided that her school could no longer work with the church for inclusion reasons.

Mr Clarke said: “I was disappointed because we stand by what we believe is true - which is the Bible. The ease at which the school could pull away from the church, after having historically had so much influence from the church was frightening to me."

The Pastor then received two further emails from two other local schools which also wished to part ways with the church due to the incident.

Mr Clarke added: “When those emails came through one after another on Friday afternoon I was not surprised but very saddened by the reality of which the schools who have benefited historically through the Christian faith can easily dismiss us for believing in biblical marriage and threw us out after two decades of visitation and ministry.”

Last month the Pastor posted a video on the You Tube channel of the Watchorn Church expressing his disappointment with the approach the schools presented.

In the video, he said: “The Bible has been teaching us for centuries that marriage is between a man and a woman. I recognise good that goes on within schools and I have admiration for teachers who work hard but the system sadly is corrupt and it has one mind and that is to change the minds of our children into what they think is right which is sadly far from the truth.”

The Derbyshire Times contacted the schools following the release of the video and was provided with a joint comment.

The statement reads: “When we became aware of the views of Watchorn Church, we can confirm that we informed Watchorn Church that we will no longer be able to use their buildings for school events. This is with great sadness as we have used the church for many years when it was part of the Methodist church group.

“Unfortunately, the beliefs of the group now running the church are at odds with those of our schools, and do not fit with the national curriculum we must follow. All schools have a duty to promote British values of tolerance and respect for sexual orientations. We wish the church and their congregation well.”