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A West Australian council has inadvertently offered its “tacit” endorsement of a Pentecostal Christian organisation which claims to use faith to heal conditions ranging from asthma to deafness by allowing it to host a three-day festival on public land, according to a resident and former member of parliament.
Revive Festival is a free, multi-day gospel-based event featuring food trucks, live music and worship due to be held at the Geraldton foreshore over the weekend, and is hosted by Potters House.
The City of Greater Geraldton originally approved Potters House to host the small event, but changed its tune when the organisation said it had made a mistake and intended to host a much larger event due to wide community interest. Its original format was eventually approved.
However, former Nationals member Paul Brown lodged his grievances with the council about Revive Festival at a meeting last month, and said he had taken particular issue with advertising from the event’s organisers.
Pamphlets distributed in the community show attendees could “experience your miracle” which, according to the flyers, included healing asthma, arthritis, disease, addiction, back pain and deafness.
This masthead understands a complaint has been made to Consumer Protection WA about the material.
Brown said he was concerned the event could target vulnerable people in the Geraldton community under the guise of treating their health problems, and sign them up to the church’s membership.
Potter’s House has engaged in tithing, which involves a person donating 10 per cent of their gross income to the church for running costs and charity.
“When the council approved this, they had the flyer and the information in front of them,” Brown said.
“It promoted fraudulent medical activities and is trying to exploit the weak and vulnerable.
“That flyer went out to [almost] every house and business in Geraldton.
“The local government has a role here, in it’s their space, they’ve allowed it to occur.”
The Geraldton branch of Potter’s House is also currently subject to civil law proceedings in the District Court of WA.
“We act for a client in respect to a claim for damages arising from allegations of historical sexual abuse,” a representative from Shine Lawyers, acting for the plaintiff, said.
This masthead does not suggest anyone currently working for or involved with Potter’s House is a defendant in this matter.
Brown said while he understood the City of Greater Geraldton’s intention to be inclusive, he found it hard to marry that statement with Potter’s House previously expressing an opposition to same-sex relationships.
“This is tacit endorsement,” he said.
However, Potter’s House strongly refuted Brown’s claims, and in response to questions from this masthead said it was not for the council to determine whether acts of faith were healing or not.
“Our advertising expresses the beliefs of millions, if not billions, of Christians around the world,” a Potter’s House spokesman said.
“Our advertising is a statement of faith, we have seen God heal many over the years, however our advertising gives no commercial guarantee.”
The spokesman strongly denied any allegation the festival was “exploitative”, as the event was about “encouragement, unity and practical support” to the Geraldton community.
He said it would have been inappropriate for the council to deny Potter’s House the right to host the event based on the court proceedings.
“It would be unfair and inappropriate to deny a community event based on allegations from elsewhere that are still being addressed through proper legal processes, which we take very seriously,” he said.
The spokesman said the response to the event had overall been concerning, and claimed some of the church’s promotional banners had been vandalised and destroyed after concerns were aired at the Geraldton council meeting last month.
“It is surprising that a free event, designed to bring our community together and offer hope, and funded entirely at our own expense costing many thousands of dollars, has generated such concern, particularly in a nation that upholds freedom of religion, where Christianity remains the largest religious identification in Australia,” he said.
“At a time when many are facing real challenges, depression, anxiety, economic pressure, and global uncertainty, I believe an event focused on faith, hope, and love should be welcomed and encouraged in Geraldton.
“We warmly invite everyone in Geraldton to attend this free event and experience it for themselves.”
The City of Greater Geraldton said in a statement Potter’s House had ticked all the necessary boxes.
“The city … applies a consistent process to all event applications based on current operational policies and procedures,” a spokesperson said.
“The decision to allow the event to go ahead at Stow Gardens took into account public access to the space and was endorsed by council at the February ordinary meeting.”
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