Kingston’s Mayor Bryan Paterson has announced that he is stepping away from his church. This comes after videos surfaced online last week showing the pastor of the Third Day Worship Centre voicing anti-LGBTQ2 messages to his congregation.
In an open letter posted to his website, Paterson apologized for the comments made by the Pastor of the Third Day Worship Centre, Francis Armstrong.
“I know many of you were hurt by these comments, confused, angry, or felt personally attacked or undermined,” said Paterson.
As of Wednesday, Paterson says he is stepping away from the church, as he says he wants “to demonstrate that I’m committed to representing everyone in our community.”
Previous videos of Armstrong show him saying, “Homosexuality is an abomination onto God… and those that live like that are going to end up in hell.”
In response to last week’s backlash, Armstrong said, “I, as senior pastor of Third Day Worship Centre apologize for the hateful tone that came through. That is not a true representation of my character, heart, or the heart of this church.”
It is unknown when these videos were taken of Armstrong.
Last week Paterson told Global News, “The church does not speak for me and I don’t speak for the church. Nor do I condone hate in any form.”
In his letter Paterson said he made the decision to keep his faith and role as Mayor separate.
“For years, I’ve been able to do just that — keep church and state separate — and so to have my beliefs become a news story is an uncomfortable space to occupy.”