Quick Note: Church Hosts then Halts Gay Woman's Funeral

Vanessa Collier, left with her wife, Christina Higley and their daughters

On Saturday, January 10, friends of Vanessa Collier gathered inside New Hope Ministries in Lakewood, Colorado for a funeral service to remember her and to celebrate her life.  New Hope Ministries had been chosen because it was non-denominational and its geographic location was central to Ms. Collier's widespread family and friends.

Following an hour of open viewing of the casket, where photos of Ms. Collier with friends and family were displayed, and minutes into the service, Pastor Ray Chavez halted the memorial and stated that it could not continue until all evidence of Ms. Collier's life as a gay and married mother were removed from the sanctuary.  Mr. Chavez said there could be no images of Vanessa with her wife Christina and no video showing this loving family's life together.

The photos and the video along with a check to pay for the service and the name of the minister who would officiate had been in Mr. Chavez' possession for a week prior to the day the memorial was scheduled, so Mr. Chavez could have quietly denied the request to use his church.  Instead, he chose to accept their money and falsely welcome them into his sanctuary in order to halt the service in a way that would impose the most pain and humiliation on the people who loved this woman.  

Those in attendance were in shock.  Eventually, they picked up their programs, the flowers and Ms. Collier's casket and carried them across the street to a funeral home where the service continued, albeit in cramped quarters with very little seating for the hundred or so mourners.

The Denver Post attempted to talk to "Pastor" Chavez, but he refused to comment, choosing instead to demonstrate his cowardice by hanging up the phone.

On Monday, about four dozen friends and family members of Vanessa Collier held a demonstration on the sidewalk outside New Hope Ministries.  They were kept from stepping onto church property by security guards hired by the church.

Ms. Collier's family is still waiting for a refund of the money they paid to Mr. Chavez and his Church-of-the-Holy-Hypocrisy for the use of his sanctuary.

Jesus wept.