A longtime music director at a church in northern Michigan, he said he was fired months before retiring after authorities discovered he was in a same-sex marriage. The firings angered members and led to sidewalk protests by the choir.
“He’s very talented, he plays the piano perfectly, he has perfect pitch. He’s the reason I look forward to going to church every week,” says a member of the choir at St. Francis Church in Traverse City. Bob Holden said.
“Now that I’m divorced, am I going to be dumped?” Holden told the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Fred Szczepanski said he was fired by the Rev. Michael Ringer on Oct. 18 for marrying his longtime partner in a same-sex wedding in Nevada in 2020. The church, which received a letter from an anonymous person, confronted Mr. Szczepanski.
Mr. Szczepanski had been music director for 34 years and was scheduled to retire in January. His recorded voice greets people who call into the parish office.
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman. Although he opposes same-sex marriage, Pope Francis has said priests can give blessings to same-sex couples.
“We take the privacy of our employees very seriously and cannot disclose individual personnel details,” the Gaylord Diocese, which oversees St. Francis, said in a written statement.
On Sunday, protesters held signs outside the church that read “Love is not hate,” “God includes but does not exclude,” and “Fire, not resignation.”
The Record Eagle reported that on Oct. 20, choir members wore black, took their seats and refused to sing.
Church member Toni Stanfield said: “People are hurting, people are grieving. With so much controversy going on in the world, the church needs to be a place of peace, but instead it’s chaos. “Confusion continues,” he said.
