A Detroit-area pastor who recently announced to her congregation that she was gay, and married to another woman, has resigned from her post.
Bishop Allyson Abrams, 43, of Zion Progress Baptist Church in Detroit, married girlfriend Dianna Williams in March, and when she shared the news with the congregation, it shocked and divided many. The coupled tied the knot in Iowa where the marriage was legal.
“I progressed in my theology and came to the point where I would love whichever came to me,” Abrams, who was previously married to a man, told the Michigan Chronicle. “I wasn’t just open to (a specific) gender, I was open to love in whatever way the Lord would bless me.”
Abrams insists that her decision to resign had nothing to do with being forced out by church members.
“It really hurts me because I don’t want to be the reason for the church to split, and potentially for family members to be at odds with one another,” she said. “Therefore, I felt that it was in the best interest of everyone to resign.”