TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The longtime music director at a northern Michigan church said he was fired just a few months before retirement after officials learned that he was in a same-sex marriage, a dismissal that has angered members and led to sidewalk protests by the choir.
“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,” said Bob Holden, a chorister at St. Francis Church in Traverse City.
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman.
“We take employee privacy very seriously and are not able to disclose details about individual personnel matters,” the Diocese of Gaylord, which oversees St. Francis, said in a written statement.
In a time where there is so much controversy in the world, the church needs to be a place of peace, and instead it’s turmoil after turmoil,” church member Toni Stanfield said.
Persons:
“, ”, Bob Holden, Francis Church, “ I’m, ” Holden, Fred Szczepanski, Michael Lingaur, Szczepanski, Pope Francis, Francis, Toni Stanfield
Organizations:
Catholic Church, Gaylord, Sunday
Locations:
CITY, Mich, Michigan, Traverse City, Traverse, Nevada