Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Honest Mistake? Gay Couple Orders Wedding Programs, Receives Religious Pamphlets on Sin Instead

Screenshot: YouTube
Screenshot: YouTube
Share Tweet
By Will Maule
Author

January 18, 2018

An engaged gay couple has launched a federal lawsuit against a printing company after they claim to have received religious pamphlets instead of the wedding programs they ordered from the firm.

Australian couple Stephen Heasley and Andrew Borg made the discovery when they opened up a package from Vistaprint the night before their wedding in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

Instead of the brightly colored wedding programs they that had on order, the couple were shocked to receive approximately 80 flyers entitled “Understanding Temptation: Fight the good fight of the faith.”

“At first we thought it was simply a mistake, and we had accidentally received someone else’s order. But once we saw the images and actually read a bit of the pamphlet, we quickly realized this wasn’t a simple or innocent error,” the couple told Yahoo Lifestyle via email.

“Both of our initial reactions were ones of shock … utter shock. The wording and imagery was aggressive, threatening, and deeply personally offensive.”

“This was by far the most direct, personal, and aggressive act of homophobia either of us has experienced to date,” they added.

The couple had to rush to make alternative printing arrangements so they could have programs at their wedding. Having paid Vistaprint for $79.49 for 100 copies, they believe the company was in breach of their service contract.

After learning of the incident, Vistaprint’s founder and owner, Trynka Shineman and Robert Keane wrote,

“On January 16th, we learned that a same-sex couple who were married in Pennsylvania in September of last year ordered 100 custom wedding programs from Vistaprint and instead, received pamphlets that they felt were hurtful. To know that any customer could be treated in such a way, especially during a time that should be filled with joy, is extremely disheartening.”

“We have never been more disappointed to let a customer down,” they added.

According to the letter, it was actually a third party which fills Vistaprint orders who sent Borg and Heasley an order that was meant for a different customer.

The pamphlets reportedly contained phrases such as “fight against Satan’s temptation and pursue what is good” and “do not set on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.” The couple believes the literature was sent to them as a form of intimidation.

An image of one of the pamphlet’s the couple received. Source: U.S. District Court for Massachusetts

Shineman and Keane also claimed they have reached out to the couple personally to “express [their] sadness.”

“We share in this couple’s outrage. Vistaprint in no way condones – and does not tolerate – discrimination against any of our customers based on their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation,” they added.

Borg and Heasley explained their reasoning for taking the case to court in a statement obtained by WVCB that read:

“Our goal is to hold Vistaprint accountable for the harm they have caused, to give a voice to others who may have been similarly victimized, to help prevent this from happening to someone else and to send a message that there will be consequences for acts of hate perpetrated against others.”

The lawsuit seeks undisclosed damages as a result of economic, mental and emotional distress.

“Of course they didn’t want to become the face for this but they know what they’re doing has to be done,” said the couple’s attorney, Michael Willemin, as reported by NBC Washington.

“It was supposed to be the happiest day of their life and it was marred by this delivery.”

Latest

  • Entertainment

    Actor Who Lost It All After Christian Stance Rejoices: ‘Give Glory to God’

  • Faith

    ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Opens Up About Struggle With Infertility: ‘We Haven’t Really Shared Publicly’

  • Faith

    Joe Rogan Is Reportedly Attending Church ‘Consistently,’ Christian Apologist Reveals

  • Faith

    Christian College Scores Big Victory After ‘Incredible Attacks’ From Biden Admin, Stunning Claim by Trump Officials

  • Faith

    Digital Babylon: Biblical Wisdom from Daniel for Today’s Social Media Age


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • Actor Who Lost It All After Christian Stance Rejoices: ‘Give Glory to God’
  • ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Opens Up About Struggle With Infertility: ‘We Haven’t Really Shared Publicly’
  • Joe Rogan Is Reportedly Attending Church ‘Consistently,’ Christian Apologist Reveals
  • Christian College Scores Big Victory After ‘Incredible Attacks’ From Biden Admin, Stunning Claim by Trump Officials
  • Digital Babylon: Biblical Wisdom from Daniel for Today’s Social Media Age

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.