City Apologizes For Canceling Church Event Over Guest, Pays $35K For Damages

Edinburgh’s Usher Hall
Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, where Destiny Ministries was supposed to hold its conference featuring Larry Stockstill. |

A city in the United Kingdom has apologized to a Christian church for canceling their event over a guest speaker's religious beliefs.

The Alliance Defending Freedom International, a faith-based organization that legally protects the basic rights of people, said that the city council of Edinburgh, Scotland has admitted its mistake for canceling the conference of Destiny Ministries due to the held beliefs of its guest speaker Larry Stockstill.

According to ADF International, the conference was supposed to be held for three days last Summer 2020 in the Usher Hall of Edinburgh but the council received a complaint against Stockstill for his renowned Christian views on sexuality and marriage. The council found such views as "offensive and discriminatory" and canceled the event. It was only after Destiny Ministries filed a lawsuit through ADF International that the council has realized what they did is in itself discriminatory.

ADF International announced that the council has already offered damages to Destiny Ministries alongside its apology. The Christian Post reported that the amount of damages offered to be paid by the Council of Edinburgh was over $35,000.

"(The Council) failed to meet its equalities duties to Destiny Ministries in terms of the Equality Act 2010 and therefore acted unlawfully," ADF International quoted the council in saying.

Stockstill, as per The Christian Post, is an American pastor based in Louisiana that formerly belonged to Bethany World Prayer Center. He is the author of the book "He Teaches My Hands To War" that was published in 2007 and contained his stand against homosexuality, which he deemed "not accepted by God" and "not normal behavior." This very stand has pushed the event's cancellation by the council, based on a spokesperson's interview with Edinburgh Evening News.

ADF International, through its U.K. Legal Counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole, expressed acceptance for the council's offer and admission of mistake.

"We welcome the decision of City of Edinburgh Council today to acknowledge the right of Destiny Ministries, and those invited to speak for them, to express their Christian faith, including through teaching conferences," Igunnubole said.

"Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are foundations of every free and democratic society, and must be protected for all people," he stressed. "We were pleased to support Destiny Ministries in this matter because freedom of religion includes the freedom to manifest your faith in teaching, practice, and observance--no one should be discriminated against simply because of their faith."

Destiny Ministries' litigation representative Lindsays pointed out that the council's actions were unlawful because it defied the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion. Lindsay's Brent Haywood disclosed that they had to make the council realize that what they did was actually unlawful, yet they publicly stated that they would "'vigorously' defend itself in any litigation."

"At the heart of this case is the right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Destiny Ministries is a Christian organisation which holds to orthodox biblical teaching," Haywood said.

"The cancellation of its booking was an obvious act of discrimination under the Equality Act, and an equally clear breach of the Human Rights Act," he highlighted. "Ironically, facing a full hearing of the case, the Council has now apologised and has accepted that it discriminated against Destiny under the Equality Act and acted unlawfully under the Human Rights Act."

The city council's admission, as per Premier Christianity, is "a win for Christians everywhere."