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West Michigan Pastor Sleeps Outside All Winter in Protest for LGBT Equality

LAWRENCE — A pastor from Parchment has been sleeping outside for months because he says the church's doors are not open to everyone.
Rev. Mike Tupper of Parchment United Methodist Church, near Kalamazoo, started sleeping in a tent Nov. 30 in protest of anti-LGBT practices within the church.
He plans to sleep outside for 175 consecutive nights as a symbol of how his denomination is responding to LGBT persons and pushing them outside the church.
LGBT people "are being forced out of our church and into the cold," he told MLive Feb. 18.
Tupper has officiated weddings for all couples, including same-sex couples — something the church doesn't agree with — and now faces a trial through the United Methodist Church for performing same-sex marriage ceremonies.
In 2014 he signed the marriage license for his daughter's same-sex wedding in Baltimore and the district superintendent filed a complaint against him. The issue was resolved, but the terms were confidential.
Last summer MLive reports that Tupper signed the marriage license of Benjamin Hutchison, a gay pastor at Cassopolis United Methodist Church, who says he was forced to resign after a complaint was filed with the district superintendent. The case is still pending.
For the past 85 days Tupper has been battling the elements, sleeping in just a tent all over the state. He plans to continue his protest until May, when his church holds a general conference, where they'll determine his trial date and what, if any, consequences there are for his participation in the same-sex weddings.
In a Feb. 22 Facebook post, Tupper announced he will be traveling with his tent to Lansing Feb. 26 to the Ministry Area Office at 1011 Northcrest. Supporters can join him for a small gathering which will begin at noon.
For more information on Tupper and his protest, visit his website at http://www.opendoorsumc.com/.

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