Salvation Army disavows anti-LGBTQ stance after close call with pop star Ellie Goulding – The Dallas Morning News

The Salvation Army was caught off guard this week when pop singer Ellie Goulding nearly called off her halftime performance at the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game because of her concerns that the charity that sponsors the show had an anti-LGBTQ bias.

But it wasnt the first time the evangelical Christian organizations North Texas leaders have heard those concerns, and the Salvation Army ultimately set Gouldings worries to rest and announced the show would go on as planned.

Maj. Jon Rich, one of the Salvation Armys area commanders, and Blake Fetterman, executive director of the Salvation Armys Carr P. Collins Social Service Center, spoke with The Dallas Morning News about what went on behind the scenes after Goulding voiced her concerns and about the services they provide to LGBTQ people in need.

When Goulding threatened to call off her performance, what was the local response from the Salvation Army?

Local leadership for the Salvation Army initially routed inquiries about the halftime show to national staff, said Rich, the commander for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

He said hes convinced that there was a silver lining to Gouldings concerns.

It brings attention to how inclusive we are as an organization and serving everyone no matter who they are, what their sexual orientation is, what their station in life is. We serve without discrimination, Rich said. It's our international mission statement that we serve human needs without discrimination.

What happened behind the scenes that cleared the way for the performance to proceed as planned?

Rich said Salvation Army leadership was taken aback by Gouldings initial statement.

We jumped into action to say, Wow, we really need to respond to this and help Ellie feel good about representing this national Kettle Kickoff in support of all the people that we serve all year long, he said. Our team at national met with Ellie's team and really talked through and helped her understand our non-discrimination policies the way that we truly are have open arms for anyone who's in need regardless of their situation.

Is this idea that the Salvation Army is not LGBTQ-friendly a sentiment that you have dealt with before?

Absolutely, Rich said. The Salvation Army is a huge organization: 130 countries, thousands and thousands of officers and employees, and then millions and millions 23 million in the United States alone we serve every year.

Sometimes, he said, someone within the organization says or does something that doesnt represent the values of the Salvation Army.

Unfortunately, these things happen, he said. Then these stories take a life of their own and it's really hard to get out from under that false narrative at times.

A national statement also referred to myths that can perpetuate in a large organization. But there are specific instances of anti-LGBTQ bias among people within the Salvation Army, like the Australian officer in 2012 implying that gay people should be put to death. So how do you grapple with those instances?

I don't know the whole context of what happened and why that person said what they did, Rich said. But I do know as soon as it came out on a national basis and international basis, that statement was disavowed in terms of the way that it was portrayed.

The Australian officers statement in no way represents who we are or how we love all people and include all people who are in need, Rich said.

It's certainly not Salvation Army ethos, he said. It's not Salvation Army just the spirit of who we are. It just went counter to all of that. And so it's isolated, but it makes international news, right? Because of our brand and because we're such a huge organization, one person could say something and cast a cloud over the whole thing. Well, the way you get rid of those clouds, I think, is shine a light on what we're doing every single day in a place like Carr P. Collins here in North Texas. And that makes all the difference.

Theres also an older 2014 article about a transgender woman who received emergency shelter at the Collins center but was told she could not be part of a two-year program because she hadnt had gender-affirming surgery. How would a trans person be treated if they were to arrive at the center today looking for shelter or other services?

When someone comes to a Salvation Army shelter, Fetterman said, we provide shelter in accordance with how they self-identify."

"Whether theyre pre-op or post-op or having hormone replacement therapy or not is not a factor in how we serve and how we shelter.

Fetterman, the executive director of the center on Harry Hines Boulevard, said the organization is always evolving.

She said the notion that the Salvation Army is anti-LGBTQ can sometimes hurt the most ... those that need our help but are afraid to come and access care because theyre concerned about how theyre going to be treated and if theyre going to be accepted.

What does the Salvation Armys nondiscrimination policy entail?

The Salvation Army serves all those in need without unlawful discrimination or harassment based on age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic in accordance with our capacity to help, according to a statement on its website.

Fetterman said Salvation Army staff has regular, ongoing training on cultural sensitivity and preventing implicit bias.

What about its hiring practices?

The same policy of nondiscrimination goes for the Salvation Armys hiring practices, Fetterman said.

What would you all point to when showing how the Salvation Army has evolved on LGBTQ issues over the years?

Rich said it took the Salvation Army a while to figure out whether to offer same-sex couples health benefits when the question first came up a few decades ago.

Now, nationwide we offer health benefits to same-sex couples, no questions asked, he said. And I think ... you dont find that a lot in faith-based organizations. But we think everyone should have access to healthcare. So why wouldnt we do that?

Fetterman described a more thoughtful approach to the needs of trans people in the Salvation Armys shelters. In 2014, the mens shelters had to be gutted for renovations, she said.

When we were piecing it back together, the design team we were working with showed us the showers, she said. They were buying for the men's bathrooms, and they showed us the shower stall doors and they were waist down. We said, No, we cant do that.

Wanting to ensure better privacy and specifically thinking about the needs of a transgender man the staff insisted on doors that covered shoulders to knees.

Its things like that that are really important so that somebody will feel safe accessing shelter here, she said.

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