Longtime music director at Michigan church fired for same-sex marriage
The longtime music director at a Michigan church said he was fired just a few months before retirement after officials learned that he was in a same-sex marriage.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The longtime music director at a northern Michigan church said he was fired just a few months before retirement after officials learned that he was in a same-sex marriage, a dismissal that has angered members and led to sidewalk protests by the choir.
“He’s extremely talented, he’s perfect on the piano, he has perfect pitch and because of him, I look forward to going to church every week,” said Bob Holden, a chorister at St. Francis Church in Traverse City.
“I’m divorced. Do I get thrown out next?” Holden told the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Fred Szczepanski said he was fired on Oct. 18 by the Rev. Michael Lingaur for marrying his longtime partner in a same-sex ceremony in Nevada in 2020. The church confronted him after receiving a letter from an unnamed person.
Szczepanski had been music director for 34 years and planned to retire in January. His recorded voice greets people who call the parish office.
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