A conservative pastor is trying to unseat a gay library board member in St. Joseph

The push to remove Brian Kirk is being led by a conservative pastor in the same city. The conflict has already prompted St. Joseph to change how it appoints members of city boards.
On Monday, June 26, the St. Joseph City Council meeting began as usual with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. As the attendees finished reciting the pledge, a few people shouted the last words — “with liberty and justice for all!” — prompting a rebuke from Mayor John Josendale.

The meeting was at capacity, with overflow crowds in the hallway and outside the building. The subject: whether Brian Kirk, a gay pastor at a progressive Christian church, should be approved to serve another term on the St. Joseph Public Library’s Board of Trustees, a nine-member group of volunteers that oversees financial and administrative matters.

Hundreds of people on both sides had gathered outside of the City Council earlier that afternoon to pray and protest.