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WATCH: Woman Sues Church Over Gay Marriage, $250K in Donations

Several years before the nation's capital legalized same-sex marriage in March 2010, one historic black church in Washington, D.C., opened its doors to same-sex couples. Pastors Christine and Dennis Wiley performed a 2007 commitment ceremony but the action split the congregation and prompted half to leave.

Last December in a Washington Post op-ed , the Wileys recalled: "One longtime parishioner approached us, shaking. In a voice filled with rage, she asked how we could desecrate the sanctuary with such an ungodly act. She vowed to no longer be a member of our church. She contacted denominational leaders and local newspapers to complain about our 'immoral' behavior."

That woman was Yvonne Moore who not only left Covenant Baptist, where she had worshipped for nearly 40 years: but filed a lawsuit to recoup an estimated $250,000 in weekly tithes. Moore said the 2007 commitment ceremony was "totally disgusting." "I don't believe in that, I'm Southern Baptist," Moore told CNN's Soledad O'Brien.  "The Bible speaks against that. You cannot take that in the church."

The Southern Baptist church has also boasted some charming views on integration, slavery and women's equality over the years. Just sayin'....

Moore dropped the lawsuit but has not returned. Watch the report ON THE FLIP SIDE ...

Prominent DC Pastors Revs. Dennis and Christine Wiley Explain Why They Support Marriage Equality

The Revs. Dennis and Christine Wiley are the husband-wife team at Washington DC's historic Covenant Baptist Church, the black Ward 8 congregation that is one of the most LGBT-affirming in the District. It's also the "first and only traditional black church" in the District of Columbia to perform same-sex unions. Not everyone in the congregation initially welcomed the church's inclusive message, the Wileys write in an op-ed in the Washington Post.

On Tuesday, the D.C. Council voted to legalize same-sex marriage. This historic measure passed 11 to 2, with the two no votes cast by council members Yvette Alexander of Ward 7 and Marion Barry of Ward 8—the ward where our church sits. Both wards are east of the Anacostia River and have the highest percentages of black residents in the city. Both members said that the majority of their constituents, who live in the same communities where many of our parishioners live, do not support gay marriage. 

We have seen the resistance that Alexander and Barry were talking about. We know it has deep cultural and historical roots. But we have also seen that this resistance is not stuck in concrete. After that first ceremony in our church, we were pleased and relieved; many members and guests told us how beautiful the service had been. But not everyone who attended shared this feeling. After most of the guests left, one longtime parishioner approached us, shaking. In a voice filled with rage, she asked how we could desecrate the sanctuary with such an ungodly act. She vowed to no longer be a member of our church. After leaving our congregation, she contacted denominational leaders and local newspapers, including The Washington Post, to complain about our "immoral" behavior. She also took us to court in an unsuccessful attempt to recoup two years of tithes because, in her opinion, we had misled her in presenting ourselves as a "real" Baptist church.

The Wileys add: "The conservative strand of black religion is evident in what Harvard professor Peter Gomes calls "bibliolatry"—the practice of worshiping the Bible rather than worshiping God. It is also found in a "literal" interpretation of the Bible that focuses more on the letter of the text than on its spirit, and concentrates on passages about domination, oppression, hierarchy, elitism and exclusion rather than on the major themes of love, justice, freedom, equality and inclusion that run throughout the Bible.

Background:
WATCH: Fenty Signs Historic Marriage Equality Bill
D.C. Mayor Fenty Signs Marriage Equality Bill
Prominent Black Pastors rally for Marriage
Anti-Gay Ministers Want Referendum on D.C. Marriage
Marriage Equality Debate in D.C.'s Black Community
Anti-Gay Black Pastors Threaten to Unseat Council
D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' SSMs

Prominent Black Pastors, 100+ D.C. Clergy Rally for Marriage Equality

More than 130 clergy "representing dozens of churches and at least two synagogues" in the District of Columbia rally to support marriage equality and release a joint statement called a "Declaration of Religious Support for Marriage Equality", reports the Washington Post and Washington Blade.

The Blade reports: "The declaration was released at Covenant Baptist Church, a mostly black congregation in the Ward 8, a section of the city that same-sex marriage opponents say would vote against a same-sex marriage law should it be placed on the ballot in a referendum. Nearly 50 of the signatories to the declaration [stood] at the pulpit behind the church's husband and wife pastors, Revs. Dennis and Christine Wiley (left). 'The black church and the black community have been characterized by some as being united in opposition to same-sex marriage,' Christine Wiley said. 'This could not be further from the truth,' she said. 'Black people are not monolithic. We are diverse just like all other human beings.'"

Other supporters included: Rev. Louis Leon of St. John's Episcopal Church at Layfayette Square across from the White House, known as the Church of the Presidents; Rev. Abena McCray of Unity Fellowship Church and Bishop Rainey Cheeks of Inner Light Ministries. Both have mostly black gay congregations.

A number of the District's leading black pastors, lead by the publicity-hungry gay-bashing Bishop Harry Jackson, filed papers requesting a voter referendum to overturn the new Washington D.C. law that recognizes legal same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Jackson says the District's majority black population will reject marriage equality.

It's great to see these pastors are pushing back on the meme that most blacks are homophobic and will not support marriage equality or gay rights. When will the many members of the District's huge black LGBT population stand up and speak out?

130 Sign Marriage Equality Declaration [Wash Blade]
DC Clergy Gather at Covenant Baptist [WaPo]

Some Background...
Anti-Gay Ministers Want Referendum on D.C. Marriage [R20]
Marriage Equality Debate in D.C.'s Black Community [R20]
Anti-Gay Black Pastors Threaten to Unseat Council [R20]
D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' SSMs [R20]
Marion Barry Reneges on Marriage Equality [R20]
Mayor Fenty Defends Council's Gay Marriage Vote [R20]