For the first time since the pandemic, the Los Angeles Dodgers are hosting a Christian Faith and Family Day at the ballpark on Sunday, July 30. On July 26, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, posted a video about the event, inviting people to attend.
Christian musician Jeremy Camp will perform at Dodgers Stadium, and actor Chris Pratt, an outspoken Christian, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. After the game, Kershaw and some teammates will be “sharing our testimonies about our faith and just getting to share the Word,” he said.
Join us this Sunday for Christian Faith & Family Day at Dodger Stadium with special pre and postgame performances by Jeremy Camp! Stay after the game for player testimonies and a chance to receive an exclusive hat, while supplies last. For tickets, visit https://t.co/Us9TFkfqJm. pic.twitter.com/oLag91BHMP
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 27, 2023
Clayton Kershaw: Dodgers’ Faith Night Is a ‘Great Opportunity’
In late May, Clayton Kershaw announced the “relaunch” of the Christian Faith and Family Day, tweeting that the team is “grateful for the opportunity to talk about Jesus and determined to make [the event] bigger and better than it was before COVID.” The Dodgers’ previous Christian Faith and Family Day was held in 2019.
This year’s faith-focused event follows controversy surrounding the team’s Pride Night in June. The Dodgers extended, then rescinded, then re-extended an invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBTQ advocacy group whose members dress in drag as nuns. Backlash from religious organizations was swift when they learned the Dodgers would be honoring the Sisters with a community award.
Kershaw, who decided not to boycott the Pride Night game, said in May that the Dodgers were always planning to hold a Christian event this year. But he indicated “the timing of our announcement was sped up” because of the Pride Night debacle. The pitcher, who said he doesn’t agree with making fun of other people’s religion, called the Christian event “a great opportunity to see the platform that Jesus has given us and how to use that for his glory and not ours.”
Catholic Group: Faith Night Is a ‘Band-Aid on a Gaping Wound’
Not everyone is happy about the Dodgers’ Christian Faith and Family Day. Brian Burch, president of the advocacy group CatholicVote, called it a “public relations stunt” that doesn’t make up for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence situation.
In a statement, Burch called the faith event “the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound,” saying it “in no way diminishes the harm and hurt caused by [the Dodgers’] plan to honor a vile anti-Catholic organization.”
