Recently Christ Church has been making local and national headlines for their protests against the mask mandate wisely implemented by Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert in July. Despite the mask mandate being 100% constitutional (shoutout to Jacobson v Massachusetts), Christ Church continues to rage against it as if it’s not. Although it would be easy to write them off as another group of misguided citizens, they’ve established their roots deeply I’m worried they are more than that. Christ Church and their plans for Moscow are dangerous and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Christ Church, like I was, let me enlighten why I think so strongly on the subject. Christ Church is an incredibly traditional, conservative group of Christians with backwards views that would feel more at home in the dark ages. They are your classic group of intolerant extremist folks (homophobic, transphobic, anti- BLM, etc.). But turns out Christ Church is more than just a church. They fund a New St. Andrews College, located right on Main St., which fosters their backwards beliefs. I recommend perusing their college’s Instagram page for some “fun” rants about the BLM movement, which they called a “Marxist front,” and transgender people. They have also admitted to aspiring to make Moscow a “Christian town.” Don’t believe me? It’s literally the second sentence of their mission statement.
So, how does this relate to their protests in late September? The protests themselves weren’t a big deal. A few people were arrested and cited for violating COVID-19 orders and a small altercation broke out, but that was the worst of it. The reactions to the protests, however, could be dangerous.
According to a press release, Lambert said Moscow city workers, primarily those in City Hall, received threats from other far right radical groups, as well as angered anti-maskers across the nation. These groups are threatening to come to town and hold a larger protest. The threats were credible enough to warrant canceling the Sept. 26 Moscow Farmers Market while Idaho State Representative Chad Christensen hosted a protest the same day.
This raises the question—was this their plan all along? Is Christ Church trying to make a name for themselves on the national stage? According to law enforcement, they gave Christ Church every chance to not be in violation of COVID-19 orders, including painting dots on the parking lot six feet apart in promotion of social distancing. But their aid was ignored by the church and during the protests they intentionally grouped close together. It seems they wanted to be arrested to gain attention from headlines.
Right now this is all speculation, but groups like this shouldn’t be ignored. By their own admission, they have big plans for our little town. I have been impressed by Moscow’s welcome atmosphere and acceptance of people from all walks of life. The University of Idaho seems like the most welcome place after scouring New St. Andrews social media. We shouldn’t let intolerance take over Moscow, that’s not what we’re about.
Ben Kendall can be reached at [email protected].
Marty Lunt
I have been watching this group since 2010 when I wrote a paper at the U of I about Christ Church and how they are trying to take over Moscow. I am concerned for our lovely little town. The hatred and disrespect for others is very concerning not to mention the pedophiles that are part of this church. Somehow we need to have them removed but how??? City of Moscow be aware this group is out of control!!