A man in Florida said his church cancelled his husband’s funeral last minute after parishioners discovered that he was gay. Kendall Capers, who lives in Tampa, said Julion Evans, his partner of 17 years, passed away in July after battling against Amyloidosis for four years. The couple was married in Maryland in 2013.

Mourners had already started preparations for the planned funeral when the heads of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church received calls from parishioners. The parishioners said that the local newspaper ran an obituary that listed Capers and Evans as married. Soon, Evans’ mother Julie Atwood was told that organizing her gay son’s funeral at the Christian church would amount to blasphemy.

“I did feel like he was being denied the dignity of death. It was devastating,” Atwood said.

T W Jenkins, a pastor at the church told the media that his faith does not promote gay marriage and he was compelled to cancel the funeral service after members of his congregation started to complain.

“Based on our preaching of the scripture, we would have been in error to allow the service in our church. I'm not trying to condemn anyone's lifestyle, but at the same time, I am a man of God, and I have to stand up for my principles,” he said.

Capers said his family hurried to arrange another funeral but with less than 24 hours left until the scheduled time, most of the mourners could not make it to the new venue. Capers said that he was disappointed with the church and did not understand their stance. He was outraged at them for refusing the funeral last minute, as there was not enough time to arrange an alternative plan.

“If you agree to something, three and four days later, agree to it and stick to your plan, don't change at the last minute because your church constituents are calling you, or the church members are calling you to complain. Stand your ground. I know there are other people that are probably going to be in the same shoes Julion and I were in. I feel like it's a wrong doing, and nobody should be in those shoes,” Capers said.

Photo Credit: Jackson Free Press