A poster on an Oakham Town Council (OTC) notice board has proven controversial this week.

A Rutland resident, Martin Brookes, has objected to the an 'Alpha' poster being displayed on a council notice board. 

The Alpha website says that "the Alpha Course is created to outline the core principles of the Christian faith that all denominations agree on. We believe that what unites us is infinitely greater than what divides us. The Alpha Course is an effective form of evangelism when run by and through the local church."

On 21 August, Martin Brookes, a Rutland resident and former town councillor, wrote to OTC sharing his concerns.

He wrote: "Could you please consider removing the Alpha Course posters displayed within the publicly funded notice boards around the town.

"At least one poster outside the Library has been displayed for most of the year. 

"If you do decide to remove the posters at your next meeting, please also consider not displaying them in the future. 

"I personally find the displaying of the posters very offensive."

He dubbed the course "exclusive, discriminatory" and "manipulative and coercive", adding that "it concerns me that the Baptist church who supplied the posters welcomes this course, when the Baptist Union of Baptist churches are considering conducting same-sex marriages, and people in committed same-sex relationships may become accredited Baptist ministers." 

He claims that the church advocating the course was Oakham's All Saints' Church.

Mr Brookes continued: "Perhaps Oakham Town Council can stick to permitting the promotion of events rather than the religious teachings of the church in the public notice boards. I don't stop to look at the church notice boards, so whatever is displayed there is not offensive to me, It is when displayed in the public notice boards it becomes offensive."

Following the objections of Mr Brookes, Oakham Town Council has removed the poster from its notice board on 24 August as it was "out of date", although members of the council appear divided on the course of action taken.

Cllr Paul Ainsley said: "As a council, we should not be promoting any religious doctrine over another as we were elected to represent all our ward members independently of our own often strong personal beliefs."

Cllr James Hall responded: "Do we want to stop providing publicity for all church related activities and those from all 'denominations', jumble sales, coffee mornings, etc.?"

Subsequently, Cllr Chris Nix joined the discussion, adding: "Whilst I agree with Paul that we, as a council, should not be putting forth our own strong beliefs, and I understand that we live in an increasingly multi-faith, multi-sexual society, I believe that there is merit in remembering that as a country, England is of Christian heritage, which we could be expected to support. 

"However, religion, in this instance, is not the important matter.

"As much as we have a duty not to willingly misrepresent our constituents through pursuit of our personal views, we also have a duty to stand up against instances of bullying masquerading as virtue. It is absolutely farcical that the display of one poster for a faith-centred support group (regardless of the faith) can be twisted into the suggestion that the council is willingly supporting a homophobic agenda. 

"Furthermore, does this mean that allocating our advertising space, and actually donating £500 for the support of this year's gay-pride event, mean that we are peddling an exclusively homosexual outlook to the disadvantage of our straight constituents!? I think not…

"The weaponisation of 'taking offence' and perceived victimhood is a growing, destructive force, which is eroding the fabric of normal social discourse worldwide, and it is upsetting to see it rearing its head so close to home. To show weakness in the face of this particular instance of weaponised victimhood would be a serious dereliction of our duties as a council, and I believe that we should develop a robust appreciation of our own freedoms of expression with regard to our choice of published information. 

"To unquestioningly comply with this type of insidious, pseudo-virtuous demand without proper consideration is, in my opinion, bare-faced cowardice. 

"I hope that we can avoid crumbling in the face of adversity at the next challenge."