Via 365: Starbucks CEO cancels appearance at church linked to ‘ex-gay’ therapy

Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz abruptly cancelled a speaking engagement at a church that once supported gay conversion therapy.

 

Schultz was scheduled to give a speech Friday titled “How Starbucks Fought for its Life Without Losing Its Soul” during the Willow Creek Association’s Global Leadership Summit in South Barrington, Illinois.

Starbucks denies the cancellation is connected to a Change.org petition launched last week asking Schultz to denounce the church’s connection to the “ex-gay” group Exodus International.  That petition drew more than 700 signatures.

Susan DeLay, a spokeswoman for the church told The Chicago Tribune that Willow Creek’s views on homosexuality had evolved.

“They were one of the few Christian organizations having conversations with people who struggle with being gay,” DeLay said.

Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church says he doesn’t believe homosexuality is a choice but that Scripture calls for gays and lesbians to be celibate.

Earlier this summer, Starbucks launched an investigation into claims that an openly gay barista was fired in New York for discussing his personal life.  The company says they have a “zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.”