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08/11/07-08/13/07

Texas church cancels funeral for gay man

A Texas church that agreed to host a man's funeral reneged on its promise after learning that the man was gay, according to The Dallas Morning News. Cecil Sinclair's funeral was to be held Thursday at the High Point Church in Arlington, Texas.

Sinclair was diagnosed with a heart condition six years ago and died Monday at age 46. His brother, Lee, is a member of High Point Church. The pastor at the church is the Reverend Gary Simons, brother-in-law of nationally known preacher Joel Osteen.

Members of the High Point Church prayed for Sinclair after his diagnosis. When he died of an infection from a surgery intended to sustain him for a heart transplant, a member of the church staff was immediately sent to minister to the family, the article said.

Church officials planned a 100-guest meal and a slide show to commemorate Sinclair's life. Some of the photos his family selected, however, proved too controversial for church members.

"Some of those photos had very strong homosexual images of kissing and hugging," Simons told the Morning News. "My ministry associates were taken aback."

There was also a dispute in the officiating and sequence of the memorial service, which Sinclair's mother, Eva Bowers, said could have been rectified.

In the end, the nondenominational church said it would not hold the funeral because Sinclair was gay, which went against High Point's doctrine.

"Can you hold the event and condone the sin and compromise our principles?" Simons said in the article. "We can't."

According to the article, he was a Navy veteran who served in Desert Storm and a singer in the Turtle Creek Chorale. (The Advocate)

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