Michigan church fires beloved music director of 34 years over same-sex marriage
A Michigan Catholic church’s decision to fire longtime music director Fred Szczepanski after learning of his same-sex marriage has sparked outrage among parishioners.
Szczepanski, affectionately known as “Mr. Fred,” was dismissed by St. Francis Catholic Church in Traverse City after an anonymous letter alerted church officials to his 2020 marriage in Nevada. Traverse City news site The Ticker reports that Rev. Michael Lingaur, who recently assumed leadership at St. Francis, confirmed Szczepanski’s dismissal on October 18, three months before his planned retirement in January.
For 34 years, Szczepanski was a fixture in the community, playing a pivotal role in music ministry and church life. Parishioners say he organized services, planned music for holidays, and reached out to grieving community members. “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,” longtime choir member Bob Holden told theTraverse City Record-Eagle. “I’m divorced. Do I get thrown out next?”
The firing led to demonstrations outside the church on Sunday, where supporters carried signs reading “Love Not Hate” and “Fired Not Retired.” According to reports, choir members staged a silent protest the Sunday before, leaving their seats empty and refusing to sing.
https://www.advocate.com/news/michigan-c...sic-firing
A Michigan Catholic church’s decision to fire longtime music director Fred Szczepanski after learning of his same-sex marriage has sparked outrage among parishioners.
Szczepanski, affectionately known as “Mr. Fred,” was dismissed by St. Francis Catholic Church in Traverse City after an anonymous letter alerted church officials to his 2020 marriage in Nevada. Traverse City news site The Ticker reports that Rev. Michael Lingaur, who recently assumed leadership at St. Francis, confirmed Szczepanski’s dismissal on October 18, three months before his planned retirement in January.
For 34 years, Szczepanski was a fixture in the community, playing a pivotal role in music ministry and church life. Parishioners say he organized services, planned music for holidays, and reached out to grieving community members. “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,” longtime choir member Bob Holden told theTraverse City Record-Eagle. “I’m divorced. Do I get thrown out next?”
The firing led to demonstrations outside the church on Sunday, where supporters carried signs reading “Love Not Hate” and “Fired Not Retired.” According to reports, choir members staged a silent protest the Sunday before, leaving their seats empty and refusing to sing.
https://www.advocate.com/news/michigan-c...sic-firing
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"