Bigoted Samaritan’s Purse at Cathedral Triage Center
Franklin Graham operating medical tents at St. John the Divine and in Central Park
BY MATT TRACY
The Cathedral Church of
St. John the Divine, an
Upper West Side house
of worship with a long
history of being LGBTQ-friendly, is
turning its towering building into
an emergency fi eld hospital after
its leaders offered the space to the
adjacent Mount Sinai Morningside
Hospital, as fi rst reported by The
New York Times.
But there’s a catch.
Mount Sinai had already partnered
with Samaritan’s Purse, an
anti-gay organization led by rightwing
religious leader Franklin Graham,
on the makeshift tent hospital
that appeared in Central Park
last week. Samaritan’s Purse will
also be involved in the fi eld hospital
at St. John the Divine, which will
have nine tents capable of treating
at least 200 people at once. It is not
clear whether the hospital, which
is intended to relieve a healthcare
system that is over capacity during
the coronavirus era, would be
populated with individuals suffering
from that virus. But offi cials
at the church told The Times, in
a story that appeared on April 6,
that “the way people were talking
today” indicated that it would indeed
be populated with coronavirus
patients.
Isadora Wilkenfeld, manager of
the cathedral’s programming and
communications, told Gay City
News in a lengthy email that the
“Cathedral did not enter lightly
into this potential agreement” and
would “never act or allow the Cathedral’s
name to be used in a way
that brings harm” to LGBTQ colleagues,
neighbors, friends, and
congregants.
“In this moment of crisis, however,
we are working to do everything
in our power to aid victims of the
pandemic and the doctors, nurses,
and other medical personnel putting
themselves in harm’s way to
keep us safe,” Wilkenfeld added.
“We are fi ercely in support of our
LGBTQ colleagues… We know the
decision to partner with Mount
Sinai, and through them, Samaritan’s
The LGBTQ-friendly Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine will soon be an emergency fi eld hospital for
Mount Sinai, but the homophobic humanitarian aid group Samaritan’s Purse will also be involved.
Purse, is painful to many in
the Cathedral community, and we
regret that deeply.”
She continued, “The Cathedral
is committed to making sure there
is no discrimination of any kind
during this partnership, and will
continue to be a strong advocate
for LGBTQ rights now as it has
been in the past and will be in the
future.”
In an April 3 Facebook post, St.
John the Divine hinted at the possibility
of turning its space into a
hospital but did not elaborate on
complete details at the time because
the plan had yet to be solidifi
ed.
“In response to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, the Cathedral
is in conversation with New
York City institutions and agencies
about providing space for beds and
urgent medical care and pledging
the use of all Cathedral resources
to help support the city throughout
this health crisis,” St. John the Divine’s
Facebook post stated.
The juxtaposition of Samaritan’s
Purse — a conservative nondenominational
Christian evangelical
humanitarian group — and an
LGBTQ-friendly Episcopal church
working together is a sign of the
REUTERS/ AMR ALFIKY
dire health crisis that has pummeled
the city and strained hospitals
throughout the fi ve boroughs.
By April 8, nearly 77,000 people
had tested positive for coronavirus
in New York City alone and more
than 140,000 cases were tallied
statewide.
In more stable times, the two religious
groups would have no reason
to partner up. St. John the Divine
performs marriages of same-sex
couples and has welcomed LGBTQ
clergy — a far cry from the actions
and rhetoric of Franklin Graham
and his Samaritan’s Purse, which
requires workers to sign a statement
of faith that rejects queer
relationships and dismisses the
existence of transgender and nonbinary
people.
“God created man and woman
as unique biological persons made
to complete each other,” reads the
statement on Samaritan’s Purse’s
website. “God instituted monogamous
marriage between male and
female as the foundation of the
family and the basic structure of
human society. For this reason, we
believe that marriage is exclusively
the union of one genetic male and
one genetic female.”
Volunteers at the Central Park
HEALTH & HUMAN RIGHTS
emergency hospital were being
asked to agree to that statement
of faith and in a March 29 tweet,
Graham called for Christian medical
professionals to come forward
to help in the effort.
Further proof of Samaritan’s
Purse’s intentions to use its work
to spread homophobia was evident
in their 990 tax documents from
2018.
“As a Christian ministry, we believe
that marriage, between one
man and one woman, was created
by God,” the organization stated in
those tax documents. “Samaritan’s
Purse acknowledges the unique,
distinct, and elevated role of marriage
and the family, and we desire
to affi rm God’s design for marriage
and the family as it pertains to
carrying out our mission and ministry.”
Despite Samaritan’s Purse’s
alarming mission, New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city
and Mount Sinai were reassured
by the organization that it would
abide by the city’s nondiscriminaton
laws. That only came after out
gay State Senator Brad Hoylman
of Manhattan, in conjunction with
out lesbian attorney Roberta Kaplan,
on April 1 called for all medical
institutions and professions to
attest in writing to such a commitment.
“New York City must require every
doctor or volunteer working at
Graham’s Central Park fi eld hospital
— along with anyone providing
medical services in a place of
public accommodation — to sign a
statement affi rming their commitment
to following New York City’s
Human Rights Law,” Hoylman
stated.
Wilkenfeld also noted in her
email to Gay City News that
church offi cials are working to ensure
that all staff and volunteers
“are held to the highest degree of
non-discriminatory behavior,” and
confi rmed that Samaritan’s Purse
signed a written pledge to treat patients
equality.
Patients are expected to begin
arriving at the hospital within the
coming days.
GayCityNews.com | April 9 - April 22, 2020 11
/GayCityNews.com
