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

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON: Democratic Elites destroyed our party… its renewal begins with their repentance

Until the day he died in 1995, if you asked my father who he voted for in any presidential election he said ‘Roosevelt.’ It was gospel in our house that Democrats were the party of the people and Republicans were the economic royalists. That was then, and this is now. The majority of Americans don’t necessarily see it that way anymore.

Passenger plane sprayed with gunfire while landing & 2nd jet shot on take-off in ‘world’s most dangerous city’ in Haiti

HAITI’S international airport was forced to shut down after gangs opened fire at a passenger plane. The Spirit Airlines flight from Florida was struck by bullets as it went to touch down Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport. A flight attendant was injured as gangs sprayed the plane – which had come from Fort Lauderdale – with gunfire on Monday.

Kamala Harris gave $500,000 to MSNBC anchor’s nonprofit before network’s fawning interview

Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign delivered $500,000 in donations to Al Sharpton’s non-profit organization, just prior to a glowing interview with the candidate on MSNBC. Harris’s campaign gave two payments of $250,000 to National Action Network on September 5 and October 1, according to campaign finance records first reported by the Washington Free Beacon and confirmed by DailyMail.com. Sharpton publicly backed Harris after Biden endorsed her to succeed him in his reelection campaign. After Sharpton’s organization received donations from Harris, he got a coveted sit-down interview with her just two weeks before the election

Jewish football team ‘chased by knife-wielding pro-Palestine mob’ in Berlin days after horror Amsterdam ‘pogrom’

A JEWISH football team is now under police protection after it was “attacked“ by a knife-wielding pro-Palestinian mob in Berlin. Teens from Makkabi Berlin’s youth team claim they were “hunted down“ by a group of Arab youngsters after a game against local rivals last week. The match was held in Neukölln, a suburb known for its significant Arab and Turkish communities.

Chris Cuomo stuns podcast host Patrick Bet-David by revealing who he voted for

Chris Cuomo admitted he kept his vote in the family on Election Day, writing in his brother Andrew instead of voting for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. The NewsNation anchor confessed ‘I probably shouldn’t tell you’ but gave in when asked by podcaster Patrick Bet-David. ‘I voted for my brother. I wrote him in. I’ll show you the picture,’ he said, as Bet-David asked credulously over and over again.

Watch as yet MORE horror floods smash Spain with torrents sweeping cars like litter just days after more than 200 killed

A FRESH wave of horror floods has smashed Spain yet again with devastating footage showing powerful torrents sweeping cars like litter. It comes while the country is still reeling from torrential rains and storms that wreaked havoc – killing more than 200 people and leaving a trail of utter disaster. Now Spain’s Almeria city has been hit by fresh floods as more regions turn into sight of carnage.

Leave a Reply

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