CHICAGO (WBBM/CNN) – A longtime parishioner at a Chicago church says the congregation took away her membership after she married her female partner.
A group of LGBT activists gathered outside the Apostolic Church of God Sunday to speak out after the parishioner lost her membership.
"Her grandmother was a member; her mother was a member and she was a member for 30 years. All of this ended last week because she made the decision to marry her partner,” said Pastor Jamie Frazier, a community activist.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said via telephone she felt hurt after “Pastor Bryon Brazier publicly shamed me and humiliated me during last Sunday’s sermon.”
The sermon was also posted on Facebook but later removed. The group Chic Chic’s Social Club recorded it.
“A prominent member of this church married a woman of the same sex,” Brazier said in the sermon. “I spoke to her earlier, late last week, and explained the church’s position on gay marriage, which she knew. She understood, and she accepted that she could no longer be a member of the Apostolic Church of God.”
Maxwell Brown, Chic Chic’s Social Club’s president, helped organize the protest against the church.
"We felt it was embarrassing to the member,” Brown said. "This cannot be tolerated. Do not discriminate against anyone because God loves all people, and love is love."
The pastor told the congregation the woman is welcome to visit the church at any time, even though she will no longer be a member. To that, the woman says no thanks.
Copyright 2017 WBBM, Apostolic Church of God, Chic Chic’s Social Club via CNN. All rights reserved.
