A Texas man gave his boyfriend a
proposal to remember when he got down on one knee in front of the entire
congregation at their local Methodist Church – receiving a standing ovation in
the process. Trevor Harper, 36, and Davis Covin, 30, who live in Austin, have
been dating since 2006 and have been proud and active members of the First
United Methodist Church of Austin for the past two years. Mr Harper said the
support they have received has been a huge blessing to their relationship,
especially as a gay couple in Texas. 'That church has been, for us, really the
first time we have really been able to live out loud as a couple,' he
told BuzzFeed
News.
So when Mr Harper
decided he wanted to propose, he knew he wanted to do it in front of their
church family.
He explained on YouTube that he
and his boyfriend had been invited to share their faith story in front of their
congregation, and he knew that would be the perfect time to pop the question.
Mr Harper admitted,
however, that Mr Covin doesn’t really like attention, so he was a little
overwhelmed at the public nature of the proposal - luckily, he accepted.
'I knew going into this
that I was pushing it,' Mr Harper said with a laugh. Their church immediately
got to their feet and gave them a standing ovation.
Mr Harper said that he
began planning the proposal a few months ago with the help of his pastor,
Reverend John Wright.
He said they thought it
was an especially good idea because although Mr Harper and Mr Covin would love
to get married in their church, they aren’t allowed.
The United Methodist
Church forbids same-sex ceremonies from being conducted in Methodist churches
or by Methodist ministers.
Mr Harper said that Rev
Wright thought the proposal would be a beautiful way to honor their
relationship if they can’t get married at the church.
'He agreed that was a
great way to let us have that moment in a place that we love,' he said.
Now, Mr Harper is
sharing his proposal and story with the hopes that other people may realize
that not all churches or religions will shun you because of who you love.
'Your lifestyle, your
sexuality, your choices, who you love — they don’t define your right to search
out the faith that makes you feel whole,' he said.
He added: 'You can’t let
your sexuality define your right to walk a spiritual walk.'
The couple is also
hoping that by the time they plan to get married in 2016, they will be allowed
to marry in their church. 'We would love to walk down that aisle,' Mr Harper
said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment