The Rev. Craig Duke has been a Methodist minister for three decades, building a reputation as a staunch advocate of LGBTQ inclusion.
However, according to ABC News, his pastoral duties have ended—the result of a split in his Indiana church after he sought to demonstrate solidarity by appearing in drag alongside prominent drag queens in the HBO reality series We're Here. (The show features three drag performers traveling to towns and small cities across the country, recruiting a few locals to join them as drag queens.)
Duke said he thought most of his 400-member congregation at Newburgh United Methodist Church shared his inclusive views, adding he was surprised when a prominent congregation member, soon backed by other churchgoers, circulated emails attacking him.
Under United Methodist Church protocol, a pastor can't resign. However, in the wake of the attacks, Duke said he made it clear to his immediate superior, regional superintendent Mitch Gieselman, that he needed to step away.
The episode of We're Here featuring Duke was taped in July but did not air until Nov. 8. Duke was invited to participate in the show by an LGBTQ Pride group in nearby Evansville and accepted in part to show support for his 23-year-old daughter, Tiffany, who identifies as pansexual.
The full article is at abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/joining-drag-queens-tv-show-costs-indiana-pastor-81648213.
