A Methodist church in Alabama is screening an episode of the PBS children’s show Arthur that drew headlines for featuring a same-sex wedding.
Next week (15 June) First United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, will throw a free ‘wedding party’ to coincide with the screening of the episode which Alabama Public Television refused to air.
‘Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone’ aired on 13 May, but APT instead.
With wedding cake and sparkling apple juice on the menu, church organizers, Sidewalk Film Festival, and Shout LGBTQ Film Festival are hosting the screening.
At 10am, church doors on 518 19th Street N in downtown Alabama will open. Two other ‘surprise cartoon episodes’ will follow the screening as its
Moreover, nearly 100 people from the state are set to hit the event, and nearly 500 have listed that they are ‘interested.’
In the , Mr. Ratburn, Arthur’s teacher, marries his male partner, Patrick, an aardvark chocolatier.
Following the broadcast, people both praised and lambasted the show for its warm-hearted and innocent representation. Unsurprisingly, many conservative commentators , calling it a ‘culture war’ among other things.
However, Alabama so far is the only known state not to air the episode.
Mike Mckenzie, director of programming at APT, said PBS sent out a statement to broadcasters before the episode aired. APT decided to air a re-run of the series instead.
