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Editor, Asbury Park Sun,

It is with a saddened heart that I write this editorial, particularly in light of the many text, emails, phone calls, and messages that have been sent to me personally and to my church.

I have been an active community leader and supporter of the entire Asbury Park Community for over 12 years. I have and continue to support community initiatives, give donations, serve with my time and finances to the city in various capacities. However, I have had to watch as people have attempted to discredit my character, the character of my church, and who we are as a people – as Christians. Our mission is and has always been clear – to Love God, Love People, and Serve our Community.

Let me be clear in that I do not support anyone, in any way, promoting hate in our community. When I agreed to put in the application for the festival my desire was simply to take the message of Jesus Christ outside the four walls of the church and be a blessing to the community on a larger scale.

I apologize for not having all the information and for not doing due diligence on who the speaker would be. I considered canceling the event up to the last moment but I do recognize that we are all entitled to freedom of speech. I also took into consideration the people that will come and be blessed through the meeting of needs.

I have personally spoken to Mr. Shuttlesworth and expressed my concerns and disappointment over my own findings. I offered to him two suggestions: an option to bring in another pasor or to let our local pastors preach during the six day event. He declined those suggestions and wanted to remain the sole speaker.

Therefore, I and my church, after doing our own research, have withdrawn our participation in the Festival of Life and will not be present during the six-day event. I ask that the community would stay peaceful and respectful of each other.

Rev. Lyddale Akins

Lead Pastor of Triumphant Life Church

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]

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