A New Brunswick man who was dismissed as a church volunteer to “avoid any potential uproar” over his sexual orientation says he’s been overwhelmed with support since going public with his story.
Colin Briggs, a 20-year-old student at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, was told two weeks ago that he could no longer volunteer with children at the Crosspoint Wesleyan Church. The decision was made “solely because I was gay,” Briggs told Canada AM Tuesday.
Briggs said he was shocked when the lead pastor, Mark Brewer, delivered the news, but was initially hesitant to discuss it publicly because he didn’t want to bring negative attention to the church.
Briggs ultimately decided to talk to a reporter at his university’s campus newspaper, The New Brunswick Beacon, and the story struck a nerve with the community.
Brewer is quoted in the campus paper saying that it was best for Briggs to stop volunteering to “avoid any potential uproar that may be caused if families were to find out an openly gay male was working in the children’s ministry.”
Canada AM requested a statement from Crosspoint, but the church declined to comment on the reason for Briggs’ dismissal.
Briggs said there has been “nothing but support coming my way,” since the story was published.
“It was very important for me to tell my story because I know that a lot of people are going through similar things and I know I struggled coming out in the first place because I didn’t want to be rejected by the church and people who I really care about in the church,” he said.
Briggs said he came out as gay a year ago, but continued to volunteer at Crosspoint without any problems. He and other volunteers entertained kids at the church with songs and Bible stories, he said.
But two weeks ago, Briggs said Brewer and an assistant told him he was no longer allowed to volunteer.
“I do know it wasn’t his decision alone,” Briggs said. “I know there are a lot of people behind it, but he said that for the good of the church and with my best interests in mind, it would be best if I didn’t volunteer because it could cause an uproar in the church for people with more traditional values.”
In a video of one of his sermons posted online, Brewer tells his congregation that “unfortunate judgements” have been made about him and the church.
“We recently asked one of our children’s ministry volunteers to step down from their position in the church,” he says in the video, before adding that “all people are welcome through the doors of Crosspoint Church.”
Briggs said his faith is a “personal thing” and that he’s not going to take any offense from the church. He told Canada AM that many church members have also been supportive of him.
Although Briggs has not been barred from attending services at Crosspoint, he said he’s “taking a little break from the church” for now.
