Today In Christian Love: Pastor Cancels Funeral Of A Gay Man Because, Well, Gay

Julie Atwood was standing beside her son's casket when the call from New Hope Missionary Baptist Church came in. The pastor, T.W. Jenkins, was calling to say the service for Julie’s son, Julion Evans, scheduled for the very next day, was cancelled because Jenkins had learned, through other parishioners, that not only was Julion Evans a gay man but that his obituary had listed another man, Kendall Capers, as his husband; Jenkins told Atwood that it would be "blasphemous" to hold services for a gay man at his church.

Julion Evans was survived by his husband, his husband, Kendall Capers, his partner of seventeen years, and his legal spouse since the t married in Maryland last year.

“Pastor” Jenkins, left, claims he doesn’t condemn anyone’s, ahem, lifestyle, but since his church is anti-gay—he preaches against marriage equality—he could not, in good faith … sarcasm … perform the burial. At the same time, he didn’t mention if his church had buried any others who had lived a life in contradiction to his interpretation of the Bible.

The Evans family, because of Jenkins’ bigotry and homophobia and lack of Christian love, had just a day to make new funeral arrangements, and, with such short notice, some mourners showed up at New Hope and missed Julion’s funeral altogether.

For Kendall Capers said that was the worst part. He said he would have understood Jenkins and his position, but once they agreed to the funeral, to cancel at the last moment is, as he says, “disrespectful” and “wrong.”

And very un-Christ-like. As the story went viral — appearing on sites like  The New Civil Rights Movement, Bilerico, the Huffington Post, Gawker, and other LGBT and progressive news sites — people took to social media to express their dismay and disgust for the way “Pastor” Jenkins and New Hope treated Julion Evans, his husband, and his family.

"Right-wing Christians like these kinds of 'Christians' claim there's a war on Christians in this country. There isn't a so-called war, but if there were it would be because of actions exhibited by these kinds of churches."

"Well, you are a shining example of why I no longer believe in God...if a loving God existed, He would not allow people like you to use His name to harm others."

"The pastor of this church isn't standing on principles he is standing on judgment and bigotry. I ask him to contemplate and meditate on this question... Would Jesus approve of this? Would this be the actions of the Savior? I think you need to bow in front of the Lord and pray... pray for true guidance from Jesus. This family chose this church for a reason so where is the compassion of community? If I were a member of this congregation I would find a new church."

"And this is the cancer within your religion. You teach only hate. And praise yourself for doing so."

"I think you may have forgotten Matthew 24:40. When did Jesus EVER turn his back on someone in need? The way you treated that bereaved family, you treated Jesus himself."

"Shame on you for cancelling that young gay man's funeral. I'm sure God would be so proud of you for being so judgmental. And organized religion wonders why so many people are slipping away?"

For its part, the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church took down most of their website, including their contact information because, you know, bigots hide.

I wonder how many funerals of people who ate shellfish were cancelled by Jenkins and New Hope? Or what about people with unkempt hair, or people who touched an unclean animal? People who ate fat? And what of women who went to church within 33 days after giving birth to a boy … or 66 days after giving birth to a girl?

People who steal? Lie? Mix fabrics in their clothing? Trimmed their beard? Had a tattoo?

Funny, I bet the good “pastor” performed the services at funerals for many people who’ve sinned, but he just picks and chooses which ones he thinks are okay and which ones he thinks are so wrong that he can turn his back on a family the day before they bury their child, brother, cousin … husband.

sources:

WFLA

NCRM: Pastor Calls Mother To Cancel Her Son's Funeral

NCRM: Church That Canceled Funeral  Flooded With Negative Reviews

From The Delusional File

At the sparsely-attended March for Marriage march in Washington last week, National Organization for Marriage [NOM] president and Delusional-in-Chief, Brian Brown really took to some word-twisting, er, paraphrasing, er, plagiarizing,, er, stealing, when he said:

"We know that some day, whether it's one year, ten years, twenty years, or decades from now, people will look back at this time and remember those of us who stood up for the truth."

I’m pondering what the ‘truth’ might be? That Brown is a secretly self-loathing gay man who has created this behemoth of bigotry to keep his little secret?

Or … he’s just delusional.

Not to be outdone, however, Gary Bauer, a former failed presidential candidate from the party of WTF, as well as president and Delusional-in-Chief of the Family Research Council, spoke at the Road to Majority summit today about President Obama's "secular" political agenda. He said Obama is "obsessed with this [gay rights agenda]" and he has threatened to drop aid to "third-world countries...if they don't adopt his views", like imposing sanctions on Uganda for human rights abuses, but it was when he said this that he crossed the line from crazy to downright delusional:

"He's repealed 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' for homosexuals and replaced it with 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' for Christians! … If Obama succeeds in turning us into a secular, humanist nation, ripping us out of our Judeo-Christian roots, then the country, the republic will be destroyed."

God will smite us all, where, maybe I guess just the Christians, because Obama, and let us not forget, the majority of Americans now, believe in marriage equality. meanwhile i'm still trying to find the Christians who are being told not to talk about being Christian.

And lastly we have Jeremy Schwab, the ‘ex-gay’ Texas Republican delegate behind the party’s “Reparative Therapy” plank, who is speaking out — because the crazies love to be heard — saying he’s surprised with all the media coverage of the issue:

"There are counselors out there who help us overcome same-sex attraction by finding need fulfillment in other ways in our lives and by addressing emotional wounds, and that has reduced the same-sex attraction significantly."

Schwab says he was way gay for twelve years, but learned to suppress, he uses the word reduce, his homosexual attractions though prayer, counseling and emotional healing but he’s not fond of calling it reparative therapy because it isn’t about “repairing” anyone who’s broken.

It’s just brainwashing someone, though prayer and counseling and emotional healing, to think they are something that they are not. Jeremy Schwab is not an ‘ex’ gay; he’s a self-loathing gay man who is so afraid of living his truth that he’s chosen the path of the lie.

Or of the delusion.