News

Michigan church fires its long-time music director after discovering his gay marriage – before parishioners’ surprising reaction

The beloved longtime music director at a northern Michigan church was fired just a few months before his retirement after officials learned he was in a same-𝑠e𝑥 marriage.

Fred Szczepanski said he was fired on October 18 from St. Francis Church in Traverse City for marrying his longtime partner Bill Thompson in a same-𝑠e𝑥 ceremony in Nevada in 2020.

Szczepanski – who had been the church’s music director for 34 years – was confronted by Rev. Michael Lingaur after church leaders received a letter from an unnamed person, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

In a letter to parishioners of St. Francis Church in Traverse City, the diocese said his gay marriage violates the ministerial agreement condition of his employment.

‘A public act of same-𝑠e𝑥 marriage is a formal recognition that a relationship is more than friendship, and thereby jeopardizes a ministerial agreement for employment,’ the diocese said.

‘Marriage is a permanent, faithful and exclusive covenant between one man and one woman.’

Outraged congregants protested Szczepanski’s firing on October 27, carrying signs outside the church that said: ‘Love Not Hate,’ ‘God Includes, Not Excludes’ and ‘Fired Not Retired.’

Choir members on October 20 wore black, left their seats empty and refused to sing, the Record-Eagle reported.

‘He got fired because he’s gay,’ said choir member Bob Holden. ‘He’s extremely talented, he’s perfect on the piano, he has perfect pitch and because of him, I look forward to going to church every week. I’m divorced. Do I get thrown out next?’

Liz Yarch, a former member of the choir, said she had resigned over the firing.

‘Some people were told Fred retired, but last I checked, people who have served for over 30 years get a retirement party,’ Yarch said. ‘Fred was fired for his personal life and I find that cruel.’

Szczepanski said when he confirmed his marriage, Lingaur told him his services were no longer required and said he was not allowed to take communion during St. Francis worship services.

Dave Martin, a member of the church’s pastoral council, told the Record-Eagle he received a copy of the letter, that it had an out-of-state postmark and was written by a person he did not name, but who had a seasonal connection to St. Francis.

Szczepanski was reportedly intending to retire in January, but now his husband has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of insurance, legal fees and bills.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Grand Traverse has embraced Szczepanski and said they had over 245 people join their service on November 3 to ‘affirm and stand with Mr. Fred Szczepanski.’

In January, St. Francis’s former leader Rev. Don Geyman was named in a report on clergy 𝑠e𝑥 abuse and misconduct by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.

The report included 𝑠e𝑥ually charged text messages Geyman reportedly sent to a woman he had previously counseled.

Diocese of Gaylord Bishop Jeffrey J. Walsh replaced Geyman with Lingaur in July, and Geyman was transferred to  St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rogers City, according to the Diocese’s website.

Related Posts

Father of British ex-soldier, 22, who was ‘captured by Putin’s forces while fighting for Ukraine on Russia soil’ says he’s terrified he’ll be tortured in captivity after he was paraded on TV

A British former soldier has been captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine in Kursk, his family confirmed tonight. The soldier, James Scott Rhys Anderson, was paraded in front of the cameras and a short video clip published by Kremlin-backed sources online. The 22-year-old’s father told the Daily Mail he was in ‘complete shock’ to discover his son’s fate and said he fears he will be tortured.

I accidentally threw away my boyfriend’s £569MILLION Bitcoin fortune. It wasn’t my fault, but I hope he finds it… because it will finally shut him up!

A woman has revealed how she accidentally threw away the ‘key’ to her boyfriend’s £569million Bitcoin fortune, as he fights for the right to search a huge landfill in an attempt to find it. Halfina Eddy-Evans, speaking for the first time about her ex-boyfriend James Howells’ cyber nightmare, admitted taking the hard drive to the tip in Wales but claims she did so at his request. Howells claims he mined the Bitcoin himself in 2009 and then forgot about it. But after discovering the 8,000 coins are now worth around £569m he is fighting for the right to search the landfill run by Newport Council.

Inside the insidious Democratic plot to keep Biden in office using harassment tactics out of a spy novel

Democratic allies of Joe Biden plotted a secret harassment campaign to keep a third-party challenger out of the 2024 election in order to ensure his victory, even as polls showed voters wanted another option and there were concerns about the president’s health. Their plan included ‘bird dogging’ members of Congress who would support such an option by sending activists to confront them at their offices. It also details a target harassment campaign against No Labels founder Nancy Jacobson and her husband, Mark Penn, a longtime Democratic operative. The plan was to send clowns to block their Georgetown home and drive their neighbors crazy with early morning noise.

La TRISTE PÉRDIDA de Silvia Pinal La ÚLTIMA DIVA del CINE de ORO MEXICANO

Silvia Pinal, la icónica actriz del cine de oro mexicano, fue hospitalizada de emergencia el 22 de noviembre de 2024 debido a problemas de salud. La hija de…

DE ACTRIZ a VIVIR EN LA CALLE Cynthia Klitbo y su TRISTE HISTORIA

La actriz mexicana Cynthia Klitbo revela que ha sido víctima de un robo cibernético, lo que la ha dejado en una situación económica crítica. Klitbo confiesa que le…

DE ACTRIZ a VIVIR EN LA CALLE Cynthia Klitbo y su TRISTE HISTORIA

La actriz mexicana Cynthia Klitbo revela que ha sido víctima de un robo cibernético, lo que la ha dejado en una situación económica crítica. Klitbo confiesa que le…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *