United Campus Ministry will host a speaker and worship service at 7 p.m. tonight in Galbreath Chapel to show support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students who struggle for acceptance in their churches.
The ceremony has been a part of Ohio University's annual Coming Out Week for the past five years, said LGBT coordinator Mickey Hart.
Rev. Mike Castle, a gay clergy member, will deliver the sermon. As a former Southern Baptist minister, Castle has faced discrimination in his career. The church revoked his ordination in 1995 when fellow ministers heard that he identified himself as a gay man, according to an e-mail from Castle.
The following year, his ordination was reinstated by the United Church of Christ where he served as a founding pastor for Cross Creek Community Church in Dayton, Ohio; the congregation is approximately 50 percent LGBT.
Castle will speak both about his own experiences and encourage acceptance for the LGBT community in all Christian denominations.
The service also will include student readings, periods for reflection, a forum to give students the chance to share their own stories and will conclude with a candle lighting ceremony, Hart said. The service is open to the public.
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Emily Patterson
