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From the Baptist Standard:
Clergy expelled from church prior to Trump photo op
June 2, 2020
| Source: Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS)—President Trump stood before the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Washington, D.C., on June 1 and held aloft a Bible for cameras.
During the photo opportunity, Trump said relatively little, positioned stoically in front of the boarded-up church...
The church appeared to be completely abandoned.
It was, in fact, abandoned, but not by choice. Less than an hour before Trump’s arrival, armored police used tear gas to clear hundreds of peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Square park, which is across the street from the church.
...
Authorities also expelled at least one Episcopal priest and a seminarian from the church’s patio.
“They turned holy ground into a battleground,” said Gini Gerbasi, who serves as rector at a different Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown.
Gerbasi arrived at St. John’s Lafayette earlier that day with what she said were at least 20 other priests and a group of laypeople. They were organized by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to serve as a “peaceful presence in support of protestors.”
The volunteers and clergy offered water, snacks, and hand sanitizer to demonstrators who were gathered in Lafayette Park across the street—directly in front of the White House—to denounce racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
But sometime after 6 p.m., when volunteers were packing up supplies, Gerbasi said police suddenly began to expel demonstrators from the park before the 7 p.m. curfew announced for Washington residents earlier in the day.
...
Gerbasi and others eventually fled the scene, leaving emergency medical supplies behind. By the time she reached K street several blocks away and checked her phone, Trump already was in front of the church holding a Bible.
“That’s what it was for: to clear that patio so that man could stand in front of that building with a Bible,” Gerbasi said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Clergy expelled from church prior to Trump photo op
June 2, 2020
| Source: Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS)—President Trump stood before the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Washington, D.C., on June 1 and held aloft a Bible for cameras.
During the photo opportunity, Trump said relatively little, positioned stoically in front of the boarded-up church...
The church appeared to be completely abandoned.
It was, in fact, abandoned, but not by choice. Less than an hour before Trump’s arrival, armored police used tear gas to clear hundreds of peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Square park, which is across the street from the church.
...
Authorities also expelled at least one Episcopal priest and a seminarian from the church’s patio.
“They turned holy ground into a battleground,” said Gini Gerbasi, who serves as rector at a different Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown.
Gerbasi arrived at St. John’s Lafayette earlier that day with what she said were at least 20 other priests and a group of laypeople. They were organized by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to serve as a “peaceful presence in support of protestors.”
The volunteers and clergy offered water, snacks, and hand sanitizer to demonstrators who were gathered in Lafayette Park across the street—directly in front of the White House—to denounce racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
But sometime after 6 p.m., when volunteers were packing up supplies, Gerbasi said police suddenly began to expel demonstrators from the park before the 7 p.m. curfew announced for Washington residents earlier in the day.
...
Gerbasi and others eventually fled the scene, leaving emergency medical supplies behind. By the time she reached K street several blocks away and checked her phone, Trump already was in front of the church holding a Bible.
“That’s what it was for: to clear that patio so that man could stand in front of that building with a Bible,” Gerbasi said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
