Texas church saves library's drag queen story hour

A progressive church in Leander, Texas, has stepped in to hold a previously canceled drag queen story hour at the local public library, after the event was previously canceled by city officials.

What are the details?

The Leander Public Library, located 30 miles north of Austin, originally slated the event for last month before calling it off at the behest of the mayor and others who, according to the Washington Post, "castigated the library's staff for choosing 'to wade into social issues water without approval from City Staff.'"

The library was flooded with calls from advocates both for and against holding the event, which includes men dressed in provocative women's clothing reading books to school-age children.

When nearby LGBT-friendly Open Cathedral Church learned of the hubbub, they offered to host the event as a private group, and the story hour has been rescheduled for this coming weekend.

While requests for booking spots at the event have been overwhelming, the library expects protestors to show up, too. The drag queen story hour will be held in a private conference room, and the rest of the building will be closed for security reasons. The Hill reported that the library will, however, have designated areas to "allow for peaceful assembly outdoors."

Similar kids' events have sprouted up in libraries across the county in recent years, purportedly aimed at expanding inclusivity while educating youth. But they haven't all gone off without a hitch. Earlier this year, a library in Houston, Texas, was forced to cancel their program after it was discovered one of the "performers" had previously been charged with sexual assault of a minor.

Anything else?

Open Cathedral Church touts its unconventional teaching of the gospel on its website, where it also declares, "we cherish our differences and celebrate our unity. We are gay, straight, black, and white. We are all loved by God."

The congregation meets at the Christian Camacho Elementary School in order to, as one parishioner explains in a promotional video, "to intentionally remove barriers from those who have been hurt by weaponized religion in the past."