This anti-gay church might get turned into a shelter for LGBT youth. Hell yes.
This is what karma looks like.
To say the Atlah Church in Harlem, New York isn't gay-friendly is probably an understatement.
All GIFs via "The Daily Show"/Comedy Central.
The church has made a name for itself thanks to its ridiculously offensive marquee signage and bombastic homophobe pastor, James David Manning, who, by the way, really loves a good conspiracy theory...
...I mean, he really loves a good conspiracy theory.
So ... anyway...
The church recently found itself in a financial pickle because, yes, even churches have to pay their bills (though Manning disagrees).
As of January 2016, the church owed more than $1 million to creditors, mostly over unpaid water and sewage bills, Manning had told DNA Info last month. That little bit of chunk change means the church is teetering on the edge of foreclosure.
The pastor argued his church shouldn't have to ante up because it's a tax-exempt organization, which, as the courts and "The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams put it in a segment this week, is complete "bulls**t."
Learning that a church promoting so much bigotry could soon close up shop is pretty great. But learning about the group that hopes to take its place is truly the icing on the cake.
If the church forecloses, it will be auctioned off. And the Ali Forney Center, which helps homeless LGBT youth, hopes to move in.
You might call that ultimate karma.
The nonprofit, which claims to be the largest agency in the country dedicated to aiding homeless LGBT youth, helps about 1,400 young people each year through its housing facilities and a drop-in center. Ali Forney has multiple initiatives that benefit struggling LGBT youth, like education and job prep, transitional housing services, and programs specified to help transgender kids in need.
The center is championing a worthy cause: Young LGBT people are affected far more than their straight cisgender peers when it comes to homelessness, and family rejection and discrimination are the culprits. One study found up to 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
It's that sort of statistic that helped inspire Ali Forney to launch a fundraiser to raise $200,000 in order to buy the church building and make it into a housing facility for kids.
"The biggest reason our youths are driven from their homes is because of homophobic and transphobic religious beliefs of their parents," Carl Siciliano, the Ali Forney Center's founder and executive director, explained in a statement. "Because of this, it has been horrifying for us to have our youths exposed to Manning's messages inciting hatred and violence against our community."
"It has meant the world to us that so many Harlem residents have stood up to support our young people, and are now urging us to provide urgently needed care at the site of so much hatred."
Of course, Williams made sure to point how amazing it would be if the Ali Forney Center ended up moving in.
In her interview with Siciliano during the segment, she wanted to get all the facts straight...
