by our hurting gays even in death.
How un-Christ-like is that? You find out that a valued employee and Navy veteran, whom you promised to the family to provide a memorial service for, is gay, and you cancel the memorial 24 hours before it is to happen?
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Gary Simons, said no one knew Sinclair, who was not a church member, was gay until the day before the Thursday service, when staff members putting together his video tribute saw pictures of men "engaging in clear affection, kissing and embracing."
‘It’s not that we didn’t love the family’
Simons said the church believes homosexuality is a sin, and it would have appeared to endorse that lifestyle if the service had been held there.
Oh, fuck you, you sanctimonious jackass. I'm so fucking sick of this "lifestyle" talk. This guy's "lifestyle" involved showing up at Gary Simons' church and doing his job, sharing time with his family, eating dinner, watching TV, you know...blasphemous stuff like that. The only time he strayed from behavior Gary Simons (unless he's been Haggarded, too) shares is when he wanted to have private, consensual sex with his partner. Or, when, you know, he "engaged in clear affection, kissing and embracing". The horror - expressing his love with his loved ones! Wouldn't want to "endorse" that, would we?
1 John 1:5 - 2:12
And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. Beloved, no new commandment write I unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning: the old commandment is the word which ye heard. Again, a new commandment write I unto you, which thing is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shineth. He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.
The point to John's words in this context is that the followers of Jesus should walk as he walked - Jesus loved, served, and spent time in the company of all manner of sinner. It's also that if you claim to love Jesus, but hate your brother (and we are all brothers as we are all children of God), you've left the light of the lord. This is the book you believe in, you follow it or you don't. This "endorse the lifestyle" nonsense is unchristian, unbiblical, and is pure nonsense to provide cover for bigotry, fear and hatred.
And Gary Rivers can claim all he wants that he "loves the family" or this isn't about hate, but refusing a man's memorial in his death is a hateful act. I can 100% guarantee you if a murderer or rapist dies and their family wants a memorial service at this church, they'll get it. So fuck you and your sanctimonious, unchristian refusal to provide this man one last dignity as he leaves this earth.