Update: Protest hits snag: Pastor backed by [some in] gay community

According to Canada’s National Post: “A small-town Pentecostal pastor has formed an unlikely alliance with members of the gay and transgendered community who say he is being harassed and threatened by social activists who have staged a massive protest, after he complained to a coffee shop manager that a couple he thought was a young boy and girl, but turned out to be two women, were making out in front of his children.”

Original story:

Canada-based coffeehouse chain Tim Hortons is again facing criticism of its franchise practices, after a rural Ontario store threatened to call the police on a lesbian couple who were drinking coffee, cuddling, and occasionally kissing at the store three weeks ago.

According to the London Free Press:

Rev. Eric Revie, an assistant pastor at Glad Tidings Community Church in Blenheim (Ont.), said he had complained to the manager about the “sexual activities of a couple that he thought were male and female. …

The chain later issued a statement saying sexual orientation had nothing to do with the manager asking the couple to leave.

“The guests’ behaviour went beyond public displays of affection and was making other guests feel uncomfortable,” said the e-mail statement sent to The London Free Press.

“The management has apologized to (the couple) and invited them back to their restaurant. We apologize if (they) were offended by the misunderstanding that occurred at our Blenheim restaurant last month on behalf of the owners and management. It was not the manager’s intention to offend or target anyone based on their sexual orientation.”

In August 2009, Providence Daily Dose broke the news that the coffee chain’s Southern New England division (since disbanded) was sponsoring a Rhode Island antigay picnic and fund-raiser on behalf of the National Organization for Marriage. Truth Wins Out and Change.org quickly spread the word; 100 people protested the picnic; and thousands of Change.org petition signatures prompted Tim Hortons and a caterer, Blount Fine Foods, to withdraw sponsorship of the NOM event.

Most local Tim Hortons stores are owned by independent franchisees, however, Tim Hortons’ Standards of Business Practices require that local franchise owners and managers maintain the company’s ethical standards. That didn’t happen in 2009, and whether that happened in Blenheim depends upon one’s definition of acceptable public affection.

A protest, Occupy Timmies, is planned for this Thursday at Tim Hortons stores across North America.

Hat tip: The New Civil Rights Movement

The antigay National Organization for [Heterosexual-Only] Marriage is being persecuted by homosexuals, and NOM wants you to know it — because you’re next.

Tim Hortons and Blount Fine Foods were misled about the full purpose of NOM’s antigay cookout and rally in Warwick, R.I. on Aug. 16. When the companies were contacted by thousands of alarmed consumers, the companies revoked their sponsorships.

NOM was going to charge adult diners $10 and kids $8 to eat donated food. Now food may have to be purchased by NOM.

As a result of Tim Hortons’ decision, NOM Rhode Island organizer Christopher Plante tells Xtra.ca that coffee will no longer be served at this weekend’s event. “Time is of the essence,” he says. “Finding another sponsoring vendor is out of the question.” The rally also may be unable to serve Blount’s donated New England chowders.

No free coffee. No free soup. If that’s not life-threatening persecution, what is?

“It’s stressful, it’s sorrowful, it’s saddening,” Plante told The Advocate. “The marriage equality folks are making this a boycott threat. That’s sad. It has become our job now to remind Rhode Islanders that this is what’s to come.”

Wow. Are you as afraid of the future as we and Christopher are?

“This is not about Tim Hortons,” Plante told Xtra.ca. “This is about the organized approach to squash all private and public comments on marriage.” Take that, you… umm… no-good, anti-coffee, marriage-loving-gay-couples!

The NOM rally included Christian singers and a worship service, and its marriage ceremony was to exclude LGBT couples. Nevertheless, Plante maintains that the rally was apolitical and non-religious — and therefore worthy of the food companies’ sponsorship.

That sounds reasonable: When was the last time a conservative worship service and Christian concert were considered “religious”?

A coast-to-coast effort to correct a mistake by Tim Hortons began with a tip by one attentive man in Warwick, R.I., who tuned in to Christian radio and alerted friends online.

“The religious right has presented itself as a majority,” Paul Auger told Xtra.ca. “But when the true majority speaks up, international corporations have to respond to that. People can make change in the world, and that’s a good thing.”

Revised 2 p.m. Aug. 10:

Tim Hortons has issued the following statement:

Recently, Tim Hortons was approached in Rhode Island to provide free coffee and products for a local event, as we do thousands of times a year across Canada and the United States.

For 45 years, Tim Hortons and its store owners have practiced a philosophy of giving back to the communities in which we operate. As a company, our primary focus is on helping children and supporting fundraising events for non-profit organizations and registered charities.

For this reason, Tim Hortons has not sponsored those representing religious groups, political affiliates or lobby groups.

It has come to our attention that the Rhode Island event organizer and purpose of the event fall outside of our sponsorship guidelines. As such, Tim Hortons can not provide support at the event.

Tim Hortons and its store owners have always welcomed all families and communities to its restaurants and will continue to do so. We apologize for any misunderstanding or inconvenience this may have caused.

Please thank Tim Hortons graciously for its statement — but politely ask them to clarify whether any local store owners will provide support to the antigay rally.

U.S. contact
Canadian contact

Tim Hortons was, at first glance, the best-known sponsor of the National Organization for Marriage’s Aug. 16 antigay fund-raiser, cookout and “worship service” in Warwick, R.I.

(NOM hopes to preserve heterosexist laws against marriage in Rhode Island, the only New England state not to offer marriage equality. Various bills are pending in the statehouse to either legalize or prohibit marriage or domestic-partnership rights for same-sex couples.)

Now a TWO commenter points out that another sponsor, Blount Fine Foods of Fall River, Mass., supplies rebranded foods for Legal Sea Foods and Panera Bread.

Please contact Blount Fine Foods and Legal Sea Foods. Politely ask them why Blount is sponsoring an antigay event that undermines the religious and individual freedom of GLBT customers of Legal Sea Foods — and why is Legal Sea Foods doing business with vendors that choose to harm Legal’s valued customers.

Blount Fine Foods
630 Currant Road
Fall River, MA 02720
Phone: (774) 888-1300
Email: info@blountfinefoods.com

Legal Sea Foods
Quality Control Center
One Seafood Way
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 530-9000

Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons is listed as co-sponsor of the National Organization for Marriage’s antigay cookout and worship service on behalf of heterosexual-only marriage Aug. 16 at Aldrich Mansion in suburban Providence. Rhode Island is the last state in New England to oppose marriage equality.

According to Providence Daily Dose:

The event is “free and open to the public,” meaning that we’re all invited! So come on down! You can pay a modest fee for some hot food (some portion of which may or may not go to NOM/RI and their ongoing fight against the threat of marriage equality here and elsewhere), or you can just brown-bag it.

Tim Hortons is Canada’s largest foodservice operation — by some measures, larger than McDonald’s in that country. It is also the largest Canadian coffeehouse chain — Starbucks is No. 2. It has expanded into the eastern United States in recent years, acquiring local chains and amassing a network of 500 U.S. restaurants as it seeks to push aside Starbucks and New England-based Dunkin’ Donuts.

At first glance, Tim Hortons’ sponsorship of the National Organization for Marriage appears to be in violation of corporate policy against support for religious and political causes. According to the company web site:

As a company, our focus is on helping children and supporting fundraising events for non-profit organizations and registered charities.

For this reason, Tim Hortons does not sponsor individuals, those representing religious groups, political affiliates, book endorsements or traveling sports teams. Tim Hortons does not provide cash donations.

So, why the exception? Apparently, the company allows local store owners to bend the rules as they please. As the company says:

Many Tim Hortons store owners are involved in their community and are proud to support a variety of programs and events on both a local and regional level. Nearly 95% of Tim Hortons locations are owned and operated by independent business people, so the final decision to make a donation is at the discretion of the store owner.

Contact Tim Hortons and give them your thoughts about the value of corporate policies that apparently were made to be broken.

Many thanks to Wesli Dymoke and Providence Daily Dose for uncovering this story.