WATAUGA, Texas – Armed with cold water, umbrellas, sunscreen and pride flags, the group No Hate in Texas set out for another Summer day protesting Stedfast Baptist Church (SBC).
The protesters of the No Hate in Texas group outside the strip mall where Stedfast Baptist Church relocated earlier this year – Image credit: A. West
Last Sunday marked the one year anniversary of the demonstrators protesting this church located in a strip mall in a small Texas town spanning across an area of only 4 miles.
At 10:00am the temperature was 87 degrees and climbing. The participants lined up along the grass surrounding the strip mall parking lot and held up signs that voiced their concerns for the congregates entering the building, as well as their opinions.
Earlier this month, Stedfast’s pastor, Dillon Awes, gave a sermon that included this statement: “Every single homosexual in our country should be charged with a crime, the abomination of homosexuality that they have, they should be convicted in a lawful trial, they should be sentenced to death, they should be lined up against a wall and shot in the back of the head.”
This quote gained national media attention. However, this was not the first time that the words ringing out through the congregation had people sit up and take notice outside of church services.
Pastor Jonathan Shelley attracted an audience when he praised the driver of a truck that careened into a Pride Parade in Florida, June of 2021.
“It’s great when trucks accidentally go through those, you know, parades,” Shelley commented in his sermon. “I think only one person died, so hopefully, we can hope for more in the future.”
As the church gained more media attention, videos surrounding the pastor’s words began to circulate their way through social media and found their way to one of the protestors, Danielle Ponder.
“No Hate in Texas” sidewalk chalk drawing [Image credit: A. West]
Ponder has been attending these demonstrations “since day one,” she explains.
“Me and a group of friends were like, ‘This ain’t right. This ain’t happenin’ right here.’ And we just showed up. We didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know who else was going to be here with us. We didn’t know what was going to come of it, honestly. We just showed up,” she continued, “Signs in hand, you know? ‘First Pride was a Riot.’ ‘Won’t kill this witch.’”
When the congregates showed up for church service the Sunday after the video had been shared throughout social media, Ponder described them as stunned when they saw the protestors.
“I don’t believe Stedfast thought that their words were going to have any consequences. I really think that they just thought that they were going to get away with it, “ she stated.
Within the last month, words have turned into physical actions. On June 12, an SBC member, Ryan Urbanek, was cited for shoving a protester. Two weeks earlier, Ponder and her sister Julie Ponder were chased by Pastor Awes through a residential neighborhood where a friend of Ponder’s resided.
“I was driving through the neighborhood to a friend’s house (me and my sister) and I see his car. His very notable car,” Ponder told TWH. Awes’ car has a very large and distinctive Idaho sticker on the back and the sisters had observed him arriving and departing the church in it. It was only then that the sisters realized they were passing the pastor’s home.
According to the oldest Ponder sister, they did not slow down or stop. However, Awes had recognized the riders in the vehicle.
Danielle, who was driving at the time, said, “He sees me, makes eye contact, jumps in the car and chases me through the neighborhood. Slams his car into the back of my car, chased me through the neighborhood.”
Awes called law enforcement, and though a report was filed, no action was taken, and both the Ponders and Awes were advised by the responding officers to avoid contact with each other.
The two sisters, while terrified during the ordeal, were also thankful for the protection that was afforded to them. Both Danielle Ponder and her younger sister Julie are solitary practitioners of the Craft. Working with the tools available to them, the two said they have done their best to help protect not only themselves through any incident that may happen at a protest but also to protect those around them as well.
Wyrd Dottir sits in the shade with her sign while at the protests. She has continued to help disseminate information and forge this community of people who are now dripping sweat as the temperature has climbed to 95 degrees in just one hour.
Wyrd Dottir and the Ponder sisters at the protest [Image credit: A. West]
Adorned with her Gallehus horn, she begins to recount the beginning of her involvement with No Hate in Texas.
“I’ve been involved, fighting this cult since a year ago tomorrow, when we found out they had shown up in Hurst, Texas,” says Wyrd Dottir. “Eight months, three times a week our group had gone out to protest and we got them evicted.”
SBC was evicted from its former location in Hurst this past February for violating the terms of its lease, which prohibits violence and threats. The landlord of their former Hurst location has filed a lawsuit against the church for damage to the property.
SBC’s bank accounts are currently frozen and under the control of the court due to a separate lawsuit over who has legal control of SBC finances and operation via its board of directors.
Leslye Romero, Ryan Gallagher and Seth Bookout in their legal filing claim they are the legal board members, and have stated their intent to shut the church and its nonprofit down. They also allege embezzlement by former pastor, Jonathan Shelley.
Shelley has filed paperwork claiming that he along with his wife, Keri Shelley, and church member Ryan Urbanek are the legal board members.
If the court finds for Romero, Gallagher, and Bookout, SBC in its current incarnation would cease to exist.
The group No Hate in Hurst changed its name to No Hate in Texas after SBC moved to its new location in Watauga. No Hate in Texas has the goal of getting the church evicted from the shopping center where they currently hold church services and continue to spread their message of hate.
Wyrd Dottir goes on to elaborate on the group’s cause, “We’re here to let the community know that we are not going to tolerate their hate. Their hate that preaches the death of our President and Vice President and multiple members of our senate. Their hate that preaches the death of every single member of the LBGTQ community. Their hate that preaches the death of witches, of children and of gamers. Like seriously. If you’re not with them, they want you dead.”
As the Gythia [priestess] in her Kindred, she explains that part of her religion’s belief is that when you see evil, you speak out against it and you give your enemies no peace. “And we’re going to give them no peace.”
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