Crystal Cathedral, a Protestant
megachurch in Orange County, California, has asked members of its
choir to sign an anti-gay covenant.
The covenant asks choir members to take
a firm stance against sexual minorities, the Orange County
Register reported Tuesday.
“I understand that Crystal Cathedral
Ministries teaches that sexual intimacy is intended by God to only be
within the bonds of marriage, between one man and one woman,” the
covenant reads.
The document is intended to “clarify
expectations placed on them as ministry leaders,” Sheila Schuller
Coleman, daughter of founder Robert H. Schuller and senior pastor of
the Crystal Cathedral.
Former choir member Ann Moore Waltz
told the paper that she did not agree with the anti-gay statement in
the covenant.
“If you are a Christian group and
people come to you, you should be a good servant, love them and shine
the light of Jesus on them – regardless of who they are,” she
said.
Last year the board of the Crystal
Cathedral filed for bankruptcy protection, citing debts of more than
$43 million.