Stepping down in style

I went to the final service of the Rev. Benjamin Reynolds yesterday -- a month after he told his congregation at Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church that he was gay. From what I gather, it's been a painful month both for Reynolds and the congregation. Reynolds is being forced out of the pulpit sooner than he planned, and some congregants intimate they were wounded when Reynolds made his announcement.

There were probably some real raw emotions underneath the surface at yesterday's service. As an outsider, though, I didn't see them. What I saw was a combination of a business-as-usual church service with an exuberant, supportive farewell. Reynolds was there to preach. The congregants were there to learn and listen. Sure, there are differences. But, on Sunday, the love the pastor and his congregation feel for each other drowned out any discord.

"Some folks think that why we're parting is (because) one is good and the other is bad," Reynolds said from the pulpit. "The God I serve is God over us all."

You can read more about the service this coming Saturday in the Lifestyle section of The Gazette.