Staff and wire reports
A Salisbury church is cancelling its Wednesday night service so members can show support for a restaurant chain whose president angered gay rights activists recently when he said the company opposes same-sex marriage.
Leaders at Cornerstone Church, located at 315 Webb Road, expect more than 400 members to gather at Chick-fil-A on East Innes Street this evening to show their support and eat dinner, the church said in a press release.
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy got praise and criticism earlier this month by saying the company backs “the biblical definition of a family.” He later added, “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.’ ”
Gay rights groups urged a boycott and the mayors of several large cities have spoken out against the chain.
Christian conservatives promised to buy chicken sandwiches and waffle fries today on what they’re calling “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.” Some gay rights activists are calling for a same-sex “kiss-in” at Chick-fil-A restaurants on Friday.
The restaurant chain — with more than 1,600 stores, mostly in the South — has long been associated with conservative values and the Cathy family has never hidden its Southern Baptist faith. Since Dan Cathy’s father, Truett, opened the first Chick-fil-A in 1967, the restaurants have been closed on Sundays, and the company refused to reconsider during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, sacrificing profits.
It also boasts that the Chick-fil-A Bowl is the only college football bowl game with an invocation.