a day ago
Michael Higgins: Musician and pastor Sean Feucht raises Indigenous ire by cancelling himself
Kawartha First Nations, Ont. — Controversial American musician and pastor Sean Feucht, who has been deplatformed and unwelcome at venues throughout Eastern Canada, is now himself under fire for cancelling a prayer service at a First Nations reserve.
Article content
Kawartha First Nations, near Fenelon Falls, Ont., reached out to Feucht last week after learning that six of his concert events in Eastern Canada had been cancelled.
Article content
Article content
Feucht and an entourage turned up around midnight Saturday to inspect accommodation and the venue at the First Nations Treasure Island Resort and were less than pleased.
Article content
'Maybe he heard Treasure Island Resort and thought it was more glamorous,' said Chief William of the Kawartha First Nations in an interview with National Post.
Article content
The resort is more humble than the word would suggest, catering as it does to selling ATVs, servicing people who drive them and offering some accommodation to homeless types.
Article content
'Even if the accommodations weren't the Taj Mahal, we believe worship is about humility, not comfort,' said Deputy Chief Steve Lesperance in a statement.
Article content
However, Treasure Island Resort does have a Christian ethos and was hoping to attract a couple of hundred people to hear Feucht speak, some from as far away as Sault St. Marie, Ont.
Article content
Article content
Feucht had agreed to hold a 9 a.m. prayer service at the resort on Sunday, July 27, but after viewing the accommodation, his Canadian national director sent the First Nations an email at 5 a.m. cancelling.
Article content
In that email, Nichola Shilton said Feucht 'was appalled with the sleeping conditions of the lodging that was provided, especially after a very long few days. He also had two women travelling with him and could not put them through sleeping in those conditions.
Article content
In an email reply to Shilton, Lesperance said they had a clean mobile home ready for Feucht as well as accommodations for 15 crew.
Article content
Lesperance wrote, 'Cassie, Sean's road manager, told me, 'all they wanted was a place to lay their heads and a shower' after sleeping on the bus for the last few days. We delivered exactly that.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
It is ironic that Feucht has risen to fame on the back of his shows being cancelled in Canada, only to cancel on a Christian First Nation that had reached out to help him.
Article content
Article content
A disappointed Chief William believes that Feucht's actions were decidedly less than Christian.
Article content
'We offered to put him up for a week so we could pray here. We would have prayed in the parking lot if necessary.
Article content
'He didn't seem interested.'
Article content
Canadian venues which were supposed to host Feucht suddenly found themselves citing 'safety' concerns after discovering the missionary and musician held strong Christian beliefs on a range of topics, including abortion, gender, and LGBT communities.
Article content
Feucht is also a major supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, which, in the current climate, may have influenced the decision about whether to allow his concerts to go on.
Article content
Article content
Feucht was supposed to begin a series of concerts beginning in Halifax last week at the York Redoubt National Historic Site. But Parks Canada pulled his permit, citing 'heightened public safety concerns.'
