Letter to Bishop Kiesey of the Michigan Area

Recently, a small church in Michigan, Cassopolis United Methodist, had their church Pastor, Rev. Benjamin Hutchison, taken away from them. Was it because of poor attendance, hardly, he had quadrupled the membership since being appointed. He saved the church from dying according to many members. His crime, he was in a long-term committed relationship with another man. Just after that, nearly 30 United Methodist pastors joined in a celebrating a wedding ceremony for Rev. Hutchison and his husband, and now, to further hammer home her distaste for love, Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey has picked out nine of them for prosecution under church law. Here’s my letter to Bishop Kiesey:

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When A Methodist Pastor Withdraws the Welcome to Gays and Lesbians

For over 10 years I’ve been a member of Palma Ceia United Methodist Church here in Tampa. In 2011, at the urging of a large group of members, the Administrative Council of the Church adopted a statement of welcome to all, which was to be placed on our website. Unfortunately, we were recently appointed a new pastor who’s animus towards gay people has caused to him to withdraw that welcome and remove the statement from all public display. In fact, he’s gone so far as to have our listing removed from a website that does nothing more than provide a geographic directory of gay-welcoming churches. He did it without any consultation with the Council, and has acted in some questionable ways.

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