A Florida woman says she was devastated
that her family church canceled her son's funeral after learning that
he was gay.
Julion Evans and Kendall Capers married
in Maryland before Evans died of amyloidosis, a rare disease that
attacks proteins in the body.
Evans' mother, Julie Atwood, said
Pastor T.W. Jenkins of Tampa's New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
abruptly called off the service after leaning that Evans was married
to a man in his obituary.
“Based on our preaching of the
scripture, we would have been in error to allow the service in our
church,” he
said. “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.”
Atwood said Jenkins told her that it
would be “blasphemous” to hold the funeral at his church.
“It was devastating,” she said. “I
did feel like he was being denied the dignity of death.”