Crescent Hill Baptist Church held a same-sex wedding ceremony for the first time in its history. On November 29, Tina Ward-Pugh, who has served for 12 years on the Louisville Metro Council, exchanged marriage vows with Lauren Ryan, a graduate of the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary.
In the Louisville Courier-Journal, Ward-Pugh says, "As people of faith, we longed for the day when our faith community would fully affirm our love through the ceremony of marriage. And though the legal right to marry has come to dozens of states in our country, it has not made its way to our commonwealth. As a result, we were forced to be legally married in Maryland, which we did last year on our 15th anniversary. But like most people of faith, we longed to be blessed in the church before God."
Ward-Pugh said she first became aware of her sexuality in 1987 after she graduated from Belmont University and entered graduate school. Although she enjoyed the support and acceptance of friends and family, she said there were times when she tried to turn her back from her newfound identity. "When I came here from Nashville to go to seminary, it was in part to get over being gay," she recounts.
Tina Ward-Pugh and Lauren Ryan have been living together for 15 years before they were able to exchange vows in church. Crescent Hill Baptist Church was recently excluded from the Kentucky Baptist Convention because of how it continues to affirm its LGBT members. According to the Kentucky Baptist Convention, Crescent Hill has become inconsistent with its objectives, which are missions and evangelism.