Jim Domen. (Screen capture via abc7)
“Former homosexual” and founder of Church United, Jim Domen is rallying a pocket of California Christians to pledge to open their churches May 31 – Pentecost Sunday – in open defiance of governor Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home orders.
Domen claims he spent three years as a gay man before changing his mind “because of his desire to pursue his faith in Christianity” He now identifies as a “former homosexual“, has a wife and three children and actively lobbies for conversion therapy.
The southern California pastor led a throng of religious and spiritual leaders Thursday (May 14) to rally in a car parking lot of Oakland’s Acts Full Gospel Church, abc7 reported, calling for the reopening of their places of worship even though as the state’s ticking coronavirus death toll reaches 75,000 at the time of reporting.
‘Former homosexual’ pastor: ‘Churches are essential’.
Dubbed the “Open The Doors Prayer and Press Conference”, organisers spilt onto the vacant lot – empty due to the overwhelming majority of Californians carrying out social distancing rules to protect the state’s most vulnerable and agreeing with the equally overwhelming views of public health experts to follow said social distancing rules.
Speaking at the conference, footage uploaded to Facebook showed, Domen claimed to stand for “pastors” who represent a “minimum of 100 churches” who are urging decision-makers to include worship spaces as part of a “phase two” of reopenings.
“The church is essential,” he said, “the people of God are essential.”
“How can we not be essential?”
Around 40 members of the clergy attended the conference, some wearing face masks, some not. They vowed to defy regulations and open churches May 31 to coincide with the day the Christian Church was born 2,000 years ago.
Jim Domen filed lawsuit against Vimeo after the service banned his traumatising conversion videos.
Earlier this year, the minister filed a $75,000 lawsuit against video platform Vimeo after the service banned his sermons on conversion therapy.
Last year Vimeo flagged his account for posting five conversion therapy videos, which were part of his work with Church United to “counsel others that are on their own journey toward a heterosexual identity through a biblical perspective and a Christian worldview”, the lawsuit claimed.
Judges later threw out his claim.
So-called ‘conversion therapy’ refers to the dangerous and discredited practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. All efforts to do so have been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organisation for decades.