''You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality.''
From an insert of the Wasilla Bible Church's bulletin. The Alaska church has been the choice of newly nominated Republican Vice President Sarah Palin, who has reportedly attended services there for 6 years. Palin's personal stance on promoting ex-gay therapy is not yet publicly known, but her staunchly conservative statements and her intentions to remove legal equality for gay relationships have become apparent over the last two weeks. (Washington Post)
''Obviously things are crazy in the town of Wasilla. The response is somewhat mixed. There are a lot of people who just want to support an Alaskan. Which is frustrating, but it's how Alaska works. It's such a sheltered place, people support their own.... We have, like, three churches. It's fairly well-connected. ... I went to dinner with these people because my friends were their kids. These were the ones talking about how awful faggots are, and reading the Book of Revelation to their kids. That's what really changed my mind about religion -- parents being taught fear.''
Wasilla, Alaska native John Baldwin Gourley, a singer-guitarist of the indie rock-band ''Portugal. The Man.'' Gourley is quoted as stating that he grew up in the town of Wasilla which was host to former Mayor Sarah Palin, and he says that her religious views worrying. (LA Times)
''At the 11:15 a.m. Sunday service, hundreds sit in folding chairs, listening to a 20-minute sermon about the Book of Malachi and singing along to alt-rock praise songs. The only sign of culture warring in the whole production is an insert in the day's program advertising an upcoming Focus on the Family conference on homosexuality in Anchorage called Love Won Out. The group promises to teach attendees how to "respond to misinformation in our culture" and help them "overcome" homosexuality.''
Portion of an article in Time magazine about Sarah Palin's "rough record." The article notes her reported threats to a librarian for not supporting Palin in her quest to begin banning books at a public library, and also her ability to avoid questions about her hard-line stance on controlling women's reproductive choices by focusing public discussion on other issues. (Time)
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