[quote]Kendall Capers found no hope at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church after the death of his husband, Julion Evans, who died at age 42 from amyloidosis. Evans' family are members of the New Hope congregation in Tampa, Florida, and Capers arranged to have the service there. [b]However, the funeral was abruptly canceled the night before it was scheduled to happen.[/b] The family was informed with [b]a phone call from New Hope that said that it would be "blasphemous" to hold the service at the church[/b], reported KCCI.[/quote] [quote]T.W. Jenkins, the pastor of New Hope, told WFLA over the phone that his church does not believe in gay marriage. "I try not to condemn anyone's lifestyle, but at the same time, I am a man of God and have to stand upon my principles," he said. Evans' family members were devastated by the news, with his mother too upset to speak to reporters on the phone. "Regardless of our background, our sexual orientation, how can you wait that long and put someone in a bind when they're going through a loss?" said Capers. Evans' funeral took place instead at the funeral home which handled his wake.[/quote] [quote][b][i][u]It's not like we woke up and said, 'let's be gay,' someone we were born with and we've dealt with it for me, 40 years, him 42 years, and we make the best possible choices,"[/u][/i][/b] said Capers to WFLA.[/quote] Pretty terrible. You shouldn't be denied the right to celebrate someone's life, period. It's a shame that this is even allowed to happen.