The morning of July 23, I awoke to messages regarding The Herald article that appeared online about the Arlington Pride event (“Arlington Pride event draws hundreds; protestors also show,” The Herald, July 23).
In the article, the reporter, named me as not only participating in, but leading a “Jericho March” protesting the Pride event.
This was news to me, as I was at home during the event and was not in or near Arlington all day on Saturday. In fact, the previous Sunday I expressly encouraged our congregation that they should not participate in this kind of unfruitful protest.
I reached out to to the report and requested a retraction. He did change the story, editing out my name and the name of the church, with a pretty generic explanation at the end of the revised story. I also spoke with him directly and he apologized for his mistake. What I found most incredible is that one of your reporters did not have the basic journalistic integrity to verify facts before besmirching my name or the name of the church. Neither myself, nor any of our church members were involved in the protest, nor do we condone the manner of the protest that did occur.
Since the article was published, our church received some negative reviews on Google and a handful of derogatory direct messages on our Facebook page. Some of these comments have thankfully been deleted, and it has all led to at least a couple of good conversations. While we may hold different views regarding sex, biology and lifestyle, our church loves all people and we bear the message of the gospel of Jesus, which is that all who come to Him in repentance and faith might be saved and inherit eternal life. (John 3:16; 1 John1:9; 1 John 5:13)
This news event is just another reason why so many feel that the media cannot be trusted. Whether you are on the left, or the right politically or socially, honest and courteous dialogue is often better than jumping to conclusions based on something that you read on the internet.
Jim Jacobson, pastor
Calvary Arlington
Arlington
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