Nolan Cranford

My 10-year-old son Jesse had big plans Easter morning. His desire to rise early was not to go searching for the Easter basket the mystical bunny was likely to have left him, it was to make French toast as a surprise for me, his dad. That special pleasing Dad bond is an important one for many young boys. Jesse was not alone in that objective. Three thousand miles away, another boy, Nolan Cranford was preparing to please his dad. Unlike my son, Nolan’ endeavors did not involve syrup and buttery niceness. The way to his dad’ heart was to shout at exiting Church goers and condemn them to hell…

In a scene reminiscent of a Westboro (“God hates fags”) protest, parishioners at a gay friendly Methodist church in Winston-Salem, N.C., were the target of a wailing youngster and his faceless, off-camera adult coach, who screamed at them as they left Easter services to tell them they were going to hell and that gays are worthy of death.