The longtime music director at a northern Michigan church says he was fired just a few months before retirement. Fred Szczepanski says officials learned that he was in a same-sex marriage. The firing has angered members of St. Francis Church in Traverse City and led to sidewalk protests by the choir. Regional church officials won't comment on any details. The Catholic Church opposes gay marriage. On Sunday, protesters carried signs that said, “Love Not Hate” and “God Includes, Not Excludes.” The music director was known as “Mr. Fred” and had been in the role for 34 years.
