A Chicago pastor says he is considering legal action against a church, which the faith leader alleges denied him from renting its building because of his sexual orientation and welcoming of LGBTQ-plus churchgoers.
Bishop Keith McQueen, pastor of Powerhouse Church of Chicago in Englewood, told NBC 5 he planned a large worship event for Feb. 5 and needed more space than what his building could accommodate. McQueen explained he found a space online large enough to accommodate 400 people.
The bishop said he made an agreement with the City Light Church in Bronzeville and paid $800 to rent its building.
“We booked it – had conversations, and we thought we were ready to go,” he said.
Then, on the day of the event, McQueen said he received a text asking for his church's website. Moments later, the pastor said he got another text and phone call, telling him he could not rent the venue.
“They said we don’t approve of the pastor being gay, and we don’t approve of members being openly gay or trans,” he said.
Bishop McQueen says he scrambled to find a new location and has no doubt that what happened was discrimination.
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"Preach and teach what you want, but when you put it in the business practice– that is illegal,” he said.
NBC 5 reached out to The City Light Church multiple times - by phone, email and text - but had yet to receive a response as of Friday evening.
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“This type of discrimination is against the law, and the tenants of the state of Illinois, and we are taking action,” said Tamara Walker, McQueen's attorney. Camilla Taylor, an attorney with Lambda Legal, told NBC 5 "it is a no-brainer that if you operate a commercial rental property, you cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation – or gender identity."
McQueen said he's in the process of filing a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and is now focused on turning his anger into action.
“We get so caught up celebrating how far we have come, we forget how far we still have to go,” he said.
