A gay-friendly Christian choir called "The Ripple Effect" is attempting to heal the small town of Walkerton, Indiana, which has been torn apart since the owners of Memories Pizza declared that they would discriminate against the LGBT community.
The pizzeria closed after allegedly receiving "death threats" that turned out to be overblown online rhetoric, but that has not stopped its owners from pocketing nearly $1 million from a GoFundMe page set up for them.
Although the intent behind performance by "The Ripple Effect" was not to condemn the behavior of the O'Connor family, the contrast between O'Connors' actions and those of the choir could hardly be more stark.
Some of the members of the choir are gay, and WSBT's James Fillmore said that "the issue is tearing Walkerton apart, so they wanted to do something to try and fix it."
Standing in front of a giant rainbow flag, the choir's director, Sherry Klinedinst, told WSBT that "we are not here to condemn or condone the establishment -- we're here to show them and the community that we can show love in spite of our differences."
Gail Bannister, who is both a Christian and a lesbian, said that she was singing in front of the closed pizzeria because it allows her to show the community that people can live together despite their differences.
"We just have different opinions," she said, "but that's OK. We're supposed to have different opinions. That's what diversity's all about."
Some residents watched the choir from across the street, but the only interaction they had with members of the community was when a man walked up to them and told them they needed to get jobs.
Watch the entire report via WSBT-TV below.
