A Facebook post claiming a choir performance at Pine Centre Mall that ended earlier than scheduled late Friday afternoon to kick off the Salvation Army's annual Christmas kettle campaign was shut down due to "material being performed that was offensive" is being downplayed by both the church and the mall.
In his original post on Facebook, which Rod Walker subsequently took down, he wrote in part "MALL ADMINISTRATION, accompanied by SECURITY, came out. Some things were said about material being performed that was offensive to some. Salvation Army was asked to leave, and the music ceased. KICKING THE SALVATION ARMY OUT OF THE MALL. IN PRINCE GEORGE, CANADA!!"
Walker's post spread quickly through Facebook, as numerous people shared it with their social media friends and commented on it.
Walker told the Citizen in an interview Saturday that he stood behind his Facebook post. Walker, according to his post, arrived at the mall as the event was ending and said one of the performers told him they were asked to leave the mall because the group performed Go Tell It On The Mountain.
Salvation Army Captain Neil Wilkinson said he was not escorted out of the Pine Centre Mall by security, contrary to comments made on the original Facebook post.
It was Wilkinson's choice to end the performance and leave early.
Everything went well as the Bel Canto Choir performed without amplification, Wilkinson said. Then another group started to perform with electric guitars and an amplified microphone.
"We are partly at fault," Wilkinson said. The performers were not supposed to have any kind of amplification during their performances.
The music selection was also an issue when the group sang Mary's Boy Child and Go Tell It On the Mountain, he added. The music is Christian and there were complaints made to the administration of the Pine Centre Mall about it.
"That's when I decided to shut it down," Wilkinson said. "The Salvation Army does not bare any ill will. We are very grateful for all our community partnerships. This is the first time we were asked not to sing religious music. The Salvation Army is a spiritual organization. We are Christian and being Christian is part of who we are."
"This is just a misunderstanding and miscommunication amongst all parties - no children were removed from the property," Rachel Olson, Pine Centre Mall's marketing director, said. "No kettles were removed from the property."
Olson said there was not an agreement in place with the Salvation Army and that meant they did not know what the expectations for their performance at the mall would include. There is an agreement in place for the kettle campaign and it will continue as scheduled, she added.
"We've spoken to the Salvation Army and we're all good," Olson said. "Things just got blown up. The kettles are still here, no children were involved - nothing crazy like that. That's not what happened. The Salvation Army and Pine Centre Mall have an amazing relationship that goes back years and they will continue to be here and we will continue to support them in all the ways that we can."
