Almost a third of Bermuda?s churches will boycott a multi-denominational service at the National Sports Centre because they believe it will unfairly target homosexuals by expressing the view that the Human Rights Act does not need to be altered to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

United by Faith, a group made up of roughly 70 percent of Bermuda?s Churches, has organised the October 15 service and group member Andre Curtis said thousands of Christians are expected to attend. ?Speakers will touch on gangs and violence, the human rights amendment and the role of the church in today?s society,? he said.

The service comes only months after a bid by Government backbencher Renee Webb to have the Human Rights Act amended to protect people from being discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation was defeated in Parliament sparking public protest.

Explaining why the service will focus on the two topics, Mr. Curtis said: ?Violence is destroying our young people and by extension our society. We believe the Human Rights Act sufficiently covers all humans and does not need to be amended.

?Churches have been divided far too long. We need to get together to see what we can do to improve the quality of life for all Bermudians.?

All of Bermuda?s churches were asked to attend the service, however, the Anglican Church declined. In a letter to the Anglican Church faithful, The Bishop of Bermuda, the Rt. Rev. Ewan Ratteray said: ?Part of the agenda for this service seems to be to target particular members of our society, homosexuals, in a way that is deemed to be inappropriate.?

Mr. Curtis is the chairman of the Tourism Board and also heads Government?s ?Faith Based Tourism? initiative which encourages churches to bring large groups to Bermuda for conferences and events at considerable savings by enlisting the assistance of hotels and airlines to cut costs.

Mr. Curtis admits he and other religious ministers are involved in both the Faith Based Tourism and United by Faith, however he said there is no conflict of interest.

?The Faith Based Tourism initiative is in no way connected to the October 15 service,? he said.

Bishop Ratteray criticised Government for supporting the service, saying: ?We are more than a little disturbed by the support being lent to this effort by a Government department, (viz.) Tourism.?

The Bishop said the Faith Based Tourism initiative was originally an excellent idea, but: ?This innovative concept would appear to have lost its primary purpose and has taken on a totally different agenda.

?This has led to the event planned for October 15, which I believe, at best can be described as to be ill-advised.?

The October 15 service will be held just weeks before the convening of Parliament in November and Progressive Labour Party backbencher Renee Webb has already stated her intention to retable the Human Rights Amendment Act during this parliamentary session.

Ms Webb?s first attempt to get the bill passed failed when it was thrown out at the committee stage having been subjected to a conscience vote which did not bind MPs on party lines.

Ms Webb was glad some churches have decided to boycott the October 15 service.

?I am pleased to note that there are religious leaders who understand the importance of promoting equality in our society and that to target the homosexual is not only unconscionable, it is tragic, particularly when it would appear that the homosexual is being targeted while liars, cheaters and adulterers, all of whom attend churches up and down this country are being ignored,? she said.

?What is clear is that all persons should be treated as equals. The hypocrisy taking place in Bermuda in the name of religion is a travesty.?

Ms Webb added: ?Religious leaders are very selective in what they deem (an issue). It is a pity they have not put adultery on the agenda.

?Adultery is more prevalent in Bermuda then homosexuality and adultery is one of the Ten Commandments. So perhaps they should put the Ten Commandments on the agenda.?

Churches that support the multi-denominational service include: The AME Churches of Bermuda, The Seventh Day Adventist Churches, New Testament Churches of God, First Churches of God and the Salvation Army.