Fla. Church Cancels Gay Man's Funeral

A church in Tampa, Fla., is coming under fire after canceling a man's funeral last month upon learning he was gay, Tampa's NBC-affiliate station WFLA reports.

The family of Julion Evans, 42, who was openly gay, says that officials from New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa refused to hold on July 26 a funeral service for Evans because of his sexuality.

Evans' mother, Julie Atwood, said she was told it would be "blasphemous" to hold the services at the church for her son.

"It was devastating," she told WFLA. "I did feel like he was being denied the dignity of death."

Evans' husband Kendall Capers told the news station they were together for 17 years and tied the knot in Maryland last year. He said Evans died in their home after a 4-year battle with a rare illness called Amyloidosis, which destroys organs.

Capers said their marriage was not a secret as he is listed as "husband" in Evans' obituary.

"Everyone who knew us knew about our relationship," he said. "We didn't keep secrets."

According to Evans' mother, her current pastor agreed to preach at her son's funeral but they needed a large church like New Hope to hold the hundreds of people who came from across the country to mourn the passing of Evans.

Atwood says the church agreed to hold the funeral but things changed after Evans' obituary, which revealed he was married to Capers, was published.

New Hope pastor T.W. Jenkins says he was not aware Evans was gay until members of his congregation saw the obituary and complained. He said he didn't think it was right to have the funeral at the church and told WFLA he preaches against same-sex marriage.

"Based on our preaching of the scripture, we would have been in error to allow the service in our church," Jenkins 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."

Since Evans' family found out New Hope canceled the service at the last minute, they had to scramble to make new funeral arrangements, only having 24-hours to prepare. The family was not able to let everyone attending the funeral know about the sudden change in plans and some mourners showed up at New Hope and missed the funeral.

Capers said people missing the funeral was the worst part of the incident. He wanted the funeral to be held in a church but understood the church's position. He said he was upset they canceled the services during Evans' wake, causing some to miss the funeral. He called the move "disrespectful" and "wrong."

"This is 2014, this is not the 60s or the 70s," Capers told WFLA. "So at the end of the day I just want his wrong-doing to be exposed."