Organizers end gas station boycott after owner cuts ties with ministry
Activists called off a week-old boycott of an Edina business that allowed a controversial youth ministry to fundraise on their property after Murphy Automotive distanced themselves from the ministry Wednesday. The boycott kicked off last week when 17-year-old Gabe Aderhold saw members of You Can Run But You Can’t Hide ministry, which is run by Bradlee Dean , fundraising at the Edina Car Wash.
Activists called off a week-old boycott of an Edina business that allowed a controversial youth ministry to fundraise on their property after Murphy Automotive distanced themselves from the ministry Wednesday.
The boycott kicked off last week when 17-year-old Gabe Aderhold saw members of You Can Run But You Can’t Hide ministry, which is run by Bradlee Dean, fundraising at the Edina Car Wash. Organizers told the Minnesota Independent last week that they’d end the boycott when the business released a clear statement distancing themselves from the ministry.
Murphy’s Automotive posted the statement on its website Wednesday.
“We have supported this organization, along with many others, but not Mr. Bradlee Dean personally. We have taken these accusations seriously and in no way do we hate or promote hatred of any people groups,” the statement reads.
Management at the business researched the issues around Dean, the statement says:
“„“While we find no fault with a Biblically-based Christian message, we do take issue with the lack of respect Mr. Dean personally has shown on occasion when communicating that Christian message he claims to support. Therefore, effective today, we are no longer going to allow the organization that Mr. Dean heads to use our facility.”
Aderhold told the Minnesota Independent that Edina Car Wash owner Timothy Murphy texted him Wednesday to let him know about the company’s decision.
“I was a little surprised actually,” Aderhold said of the statement by Murphy. “But I think he saw where we are coming from so I respect that final decision.”
The Facebook page that launched the boycott recently disappeared from the site without Aderhold’s knowledge. (Facebook hasn’t responded to Minnesota Independent requests for an explanation.) But Aderhold said the next step for organizers was to let the fans of the new Facebook page know the boycott had ended.
Related
MA-Sen: 150 Conservative Bloggers Fan Out, Looking for Scandals
BOSTON -- The mysterious Election Journal blog, which first released the infamous 2008 video of two bumbling New Black Panther Party members waving nightsticks
MA-Sen: 66 to 19
BOSTON -- That, via Alex Isenstadt and Josh Kraushaar, is the number that defined the Massachusetts Senate race more than anything else. From the primary
MA-Sen: A Text Message From Scott Brown
BOSTON -- Having signed up for Scott Brown’s text message service for election day, I just got this text: Are you about to have lunch? It’s a great time to
MA-Sen: Loyal Democrats Grouse About Coakley
BOSTON -- A little while after noon, a steady crowd of Democratic voters streamed into the Cathedral High School Gymnasium to cast votes for their party’s
MA-Sen: Brown Wins
BOSTON -- At 9:20, the first rumors of Scott Brown’s victory in the Massachusetts Senate race started to work around the room. A moment later, Doug Flutie
MA-Sen Photos: ‘Paint the Town Red! Croakley’s Dead!’
Below are some photos of yesterday’s People’s Rally in Worcester, the rally that Brown held to counter-program the Obama rally in Boston. The crush of
MA-Sen: Out-of-Staters for Brown
BOSTON -- A surprising discovery at yesterday’s People’s Rally in Worcester was just how many people had traveled into the state to assist, in whatever way,
Menendez, Lautenberg to Continue BP-Lockerbie Investigation
Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, both New Jersey Democrats, will continue to seek details about BP’s alleged involvement in the release last year of
Net Investors Bullish on Palin’s Prospects for Staying on Ticket
Just for fun, the Internet prediction Website Intrade has opened a contract on whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be withdrawn as McCain’s running mate.
No Experience Necessary
Gov. Sarah Palin’s a middle-class hockey mom, but does that really qualify her to be vice president?