Pastor Willy Rice of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, said he was “shocked” and “stunned” after anti-ICE protesters disrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, this past Sunday. Rice described the incident as crossing a “Rubicon of sorts.”
On Jan. 18, a group of anti-ICE protesters deliberately disrupted a worship service at Cities Church, a church plant in St. Paul supported by the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Send Network. The protesters entered the church as the congregation—including men, women, and children—was worshiping.
Speaking with ChurchLeaders, Rice said, “It’s shocking because obviously we’ve seen protests. We’ve seen what’s going on in Minneapolis and it’s almost like a rerun of what we saw in 2020—you kind of see some of the same actors, some of the same modus operandi going on.” But, he said, “I don’t ever remember a group like this targeting a church…coming into a church.”
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Rice said he believes there is nothing wrong with a Cities Church pastor working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which protesters have claimed was their motivation for disrupting the service.
‘I Was Shocked,’ Willy Rice Said as He Described Hearing the News
For protestors to “go in a church, in a worship service, to scream profanities, to scream at children and women” is just “so disturbing,” Rice said. “I was shocked. I was stunned. And I thought, ‘Okay, we’re in new territory here.’”
Rice commended Cities Church Pastor Jonathan Parnell and leadership for how they handled the situation, admitting he might not have been as composed.
“I was stunned by how composed their pastor was,” Rice told ChurchLeaders. “I don’t know that I could have done that good. I think I might have lost my cool.”
Following the incident, Rice said the security team at Calvary Church met this week to review its processes in the unlikely event the church would ever encounter a similar disruption. He encouraged churches to have the right people prepared and trained to handle situations—those who can remove individuals from services without “violence” or “altercation.”
“Lord bless” Pastor Parnell, Rice said. When Don Lemon, a former CNN host who followed protesters into the church, approached the pastor for an impromptu interview, Rice said, “[Parnell] answered kindly but firmly and gave a positive witness.”
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Pastor Willy Rice of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, said he was “shocked” and “stunned” after anti-ICE protesters disrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, this past Sunday.Click to Post
