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Fort Hays State University’s LGBTQ+ inclusive Ash Wednesday event draws attention and backlash, highlighting the tension between religious observance and the push for inclusivity.
An inclusive celebration of faith and diversity at a Kansas university has sparked outrage in right-wing circles, including drawing ire from the hate account Libs of TikTok.
Fort Hays State University in Hays is at the center of the controversy following its “Glitter Ash Wednesday” event this week. The initiative merges traditional Christian observance with a message of inclusivity towards the LGBTQ+ community, allowing participants to choose between traditional ashes or a blend of ashes and glitter to be smeared on one’s forehead. The event, designed to open a space of welcome and acceptance, has ignited a firestorm of debate, highlighting the ongoing tension between maintaining religious traditions and fostering inclusivity.
The Episcopal News Service detailed the origins of “Glitter Ash Wednesday,” conceived by the Rev. Elizabeth Edman and the faith-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group Parity, aiming to add additional meaning to the traditional ashes symbolizing mortality and repentance.
“I didn’t want to do something that could be interpreted as frivolous and disrespectful,” Edman told the outlet.
“It’s not just about inclusion and tolerance. It’s about more than that," she added. “It’s about upending power structures that do violence to people, and particularly that do spiritual violence to people.”
Organizers said this initiative found a parallel at FHSU, where the student group US4U hosted the event to promote love and inclusion, reflecting the inclusive message of Jesus Christ.
However, the event quickly garnered national attention and controversy, particularly after the anti-LGBTQ+ Libs of TikTok account on X, formerly Twitter, called attention to it. This spotlight elicited a wave of outrage from the account’s followers, further polarizing opinions and sparking heated debates across social media platforms. Critics condemned the event, using terms such as “disgusting,” “sacrilege,” and “evil” to express their dismay, the Hays Postreports. Despite the backlash, organizers and supporters emphasized the event’s aim to embody love, acceptance, and the spirit of inclusivity that they believe should characterize religious observance.
Cheryl Duffy, US4U adviser, underscored the initiative’s goal to challenge traditions of exclusion, emphasizing that the event sought to open the tradition of Ash Wednesday to everyone, mirroring Jesus’s teachings of love and inclusion, the Hays Post reports.
"There is a tradition of exclusion, and we don't feel it really reflects what Jesus was about," Duffy said. "Jesus was about love and inclusion, and we want to open up that tradition to everyone. Ash Wednesday is a meaningful, inflective day. We want everyone to be able to experience that."
The use of glitter, symbolizing hope and a commitment to visibility and work, was intended to capture the relationship between death and new life, making a significant statement about including the LGBTQ+ community in religious spaces.
Pastor Ben Houchen of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Hays, who administered the ashes, called for unity amidst the controversy, reminding the community of the commonality of human origin and destiny.
"This is a day that requires all of us to remember where we come from and where we end up," he told the Hays Post. "That is a thing that should bring us unity. We all experience that. Specifically being able to bring in the unity of the LGBTQ+ community that has so often been excluded from church spaces is a very important thing for us to be able to do."
The event’s publicity and the university’s role in disseminating information also drew criticism, leading to threats from some community members to withdraw support for FHSU. According to the Hays Post, the university’s president, Tisa Mason, responded by clarifying the institution’s stance of neutrality on student organization-led events, emphasizing that using the university brand in announcements does not imply endorsement of the events’ content or the beliefs expressed therein.
