One of the most active churches on Chicago’s South Side is caught up in controversy and protest after kicking out a long-time member following her wedding ceremony to her partner, a woman.

“Her grandmother was a member, her mother was a member and she was a member for 30 years. All of this ended last week because she made the decision to marry her partner,” said Pastor Jamie Frazier, a community activist, according to CBS Chicago.


WGN reports that nearly two dozen protestors gathered outside of the Apostolic Church of God on Sunday to protest the church leadership’s actions, namely Pastor Byron Brazier.

“It was done with great grief, but it was in faithful observance to the scriptures and to the body of Christ,” Brazier said to his 20,000-plus congregation on Sunday about the anonymous member being “disfellowshipped.”

The apostolic church is one of the many that has members who view homosexuality as a sin that should be “treated.” Brazier was perfectly fine allowing the woman to continue as a member of the congregation as long as he felt she could essentially be “fixed.” But her decision to begin a permanent union was apparently asking too much.

“In this particular case, this member vowed to be in a marriage ‘until death do us part,’ and she made a permanent decision. When that takes place there must be an equally permanent remedy, and that remedy is that she can no longer be a member of the Apostolic Church of God,” Pastor Brazier said.

Brazier’s opinion is one shared throughout much of the church and is a major point of contention. Hopefully this wide gap will close over time and people will be allowed to worship as they want.