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Wide stance of Christ Church bears watching

William Brock | Force of Nature

It’s been a long summer, full of family trips and outdoor adventure, but now it’s time to settle back into the routine of writing a column. On that note, hearty congratulations to three members of Christ Church who got their hands on $300,000 of public money following a contrived religious stunt next to Moscow City Hall.

Hallelujah, they found a way to monetize their faith.

The incident, which occurred three years ago, was billed as a “psalm sing” to protest the city’s emergency order to wear face masks and practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scores of Kirkers, as they are known, stood shoulder to shoulder, unmasked, lifting their voices in reverential song. It was a display of, er, muscular Christianity, and it was designed to provoke.

The ploy was successful.

Three of the pious songbirds were arrested after jack-booted goons broke down the door of their church and … no wait, that’s not what happened. Let’s try again: The truth is they were arrested during a look-at-me super spreader event at a time when most Moscow residents were hoping to slow the spread of a deadly, yet dimly-understood disease. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 1.14 million Americans — most of them senior citizens; goodbye Grandpa.

The oh-so-wronged trio sued the city, alleging violation of their civil rights. The city ultimately settled and its insurance carrier ponied up the cash.

Never mind that hospitals, health care workers, funeral homes and crematoria were stretched thin during those dark and fearful days of the pandemic. Forget all that, because the right to religious assembly is a secret trapdoor that enables the righteous to scoff at civil society and, maybe, get their hands on a pile of public money. #GoldenLoophole.

Going forward, the larger issue for Moscow residents is the divisive and at times confrontational tactics of Christ Church and its pastor, Doug Wilson. He leads a thriving congregation that, while far from a majority of the city’s population, has become a potent and cohesive political bloc.

I’ve crossed swords with Wilson on this page before so, in fairness, I invited him to join me for lunch this summer. Courtly and patrician, he accepted and we shared a pleasant meal and a frank exchange of views.

Pastor Wilson has called Moscow home for 50 years, so it’s clear he and the church he leads are not going anywhere. He told me his father chose to settle here because, as a small college town in the West, Moscow is a “feasible and strategic” city to “take.” The original plan was for young Doug to establish a similar congregation in Laramie, Wyo., home of the University of Wyoming, but his roots were too deeply embedded for him to leave.

Like him or not, Doug Wilson has left his mark on Moscow. Most of those well-dressed 20-somethings hustling up and down Main Street are students at New Saint Andrews College. Many of them hail from distant zip codes and, soldiers of the Lord, they aim to change the world someday. Closer to home, some Christ Church congregants are dynamic investors and property developers, and quite a few Moscow businesses are recognized as “church” establishments.

Christ Church and its subsidiaries are woven into the fabric of Moscow, so the question for nonadherents is how best to live with them.

In the main, Kirkers have a palpable disdain for alternative lifestyles — particularly homosexuality, bisexuality and transexual gender fluidity. In a nation of 332 million people, a tangled mop that cannot be combed into neat rows, Pastor Wilson and his congregants want straight lines with no kinks.

As their numbers grow, ambitious Kirkers will seek elected office with the goal of embedding their religious beliefs into formal public policy. The embryonic form of this is seen in library board elections and school board elections, but the ambition is to ascend to ever-higher offices. Separation of church and state, anyone?

There are many ways to lead a human life, particularly in a colorful and vibrant community such as Moscow. Elections have consequences, so mark your ballots carefully lest you end up being governed by someone else’s God.

Brock has been a Daily-News columnist for more than 20 years. He has lived on the Palouse even longer.

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