ELIAZBETHTOWN - A lone Juggalo stood in the doorway of Peters Creek Baptist Church Tuesday night waiting for his chance to defend the Insane Clown Posse's right to play a concert in Hardin County.

Bryan Chatelain, 27, of Raleigh, listened to a group of more than 50 people voice concerns over ICP's four-day musical event, "The Gathering." The concert is scheduled to take place Aug. 9-12 at a privately owned site near Cave-In-Rock in Hardin County.

The band and its label, Psychopathic Records, have hosted the event for eight years at other venues across the nation.

The Shawnee Ministerial Alliance hosted Tuesday's meeting to address concerns about the group and its followers.

"I don't know if we can stop them from coming," said Howard Lyon, pastor of Peters Creek Baptist Church. "But we're concerned about the morality of our community. I'm concerned about what this is going to do to our children."

Many of the attendants said they are not opposed to the Juggalos or Juggalettes, nicknames given to fans of ICP depending on gender. Greg Degraves, pastor of Levee Pond Church in Cave-In-Rock, however, said he is opposed "to the force that drives them."

He explained that "those clown freaks" and their lyrics do not represent Christianity.

When Chatelain commented, the crowd quickly asked Chatelain who he was.

"My name is Brian," he told the group. "I belong to the Juggalos."

"Brian, do you listen to ICP?" Degraves asked.

"Yes," he answered.

Degraves then asked whether Chatelain thought ICP's lyrics were Christian like.

"They are taken out of context," Chatelain quickly responded. "These are entertainers, musicians. Music and real life are two different things."

Chatelain, who referred to those opposed to ICP's concert as "silly geese," drove from Southeastern Illinois College to represent the Juggalo community.

"The fact that I am being targeted as a threat to the Hardin County community is unjustifiable. I, like many others, only want to vacation in the Hardin County community together with many other Juggalos to celebrate our lifestyle of music, face paint and flavored soda," Chatalain wrote in a written statement that he hoped to read to the group.

In addition to church and community members, representatives from the Illinois State Police District 22 headquartered at Ullin also attended the event.

Capt. Harry Masse, District 22 commander, said while the Hog Rock campsite would be policed by 30 members of the Cincinnati Bengals football organization, Hardin County Sheriff's Department and state police also would be patrolling the area.

"We are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best," Masse said. "I don't want to get into tactical plans. It's like poker. You don't want to show your hand."

Degraves said "If you don't go to church, you won't understand" what he is opposed to, which he said is the spiritual aspect.

While many in the audience declared they didn't want the festival to even take place, Marty Kaylor stood up and said, "I've got one question: WWJD. What would Jesus Do?"

"He'd stand up against it," Degraves said.

"No, he'd be in the middle of it preaching," Kaylor said.

bethany.krajelis@thesouthern.com / 529-5454 ext. 5138

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CORRECTION: Quote clarified: In Wednesday's story, "No clowning around: Church hopes to stop the insanity," Greg Degrave's quote was taken out of context. To clarify, Degrave was reading an excerpt from a July 5 comment left on the Southern Illinoisan's Web site when he used the term "clown freaks." Degrave did not personally refer to anyone by that term but was reading from a reader comment.