A Marietta choir director has filed a federal complaint saying he was forced to resign from his job because church members complained about the fact that he is gay.
Ira Pittman had worked at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church for more than 20 years. His complaint — which was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and shown to WABE — comes as the United Methodist Church is in the midst of a debate about possibly changing its rules on LGBT exclusions. The church’s international gathering, the General Conference, in which changes to doctrine are decided every four years, is this month.
Pittman said, other than telling a handful of trusted co-workers, he had kept his sexuality — and his partner, Bill, of 16 years — hidden and separate from his life at Mt. Bethel.
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