Pastor ‘bullied’ by his church is out of a job after appearing on HBO drag queen show

A reverend who appeared in an episode of the HBO drag queen series “We’re Here” has been “relieved from pastoral duties” due to turmoil caused by the show, his Indiana church said.

Rev. Craig Duke served at United Methodist Church in Newburgh, Indiana, until Dec. 1, the church said in a statement to its congregation. A church official said Duke was not technically “fired,” as he did not commit a criminal act nor did he violate the United Methodist Book of Discipline.

But the pastor said his appearance on the show led to a “challenging experience” at his southwestern Indiana church.

“Clearly, there were folks that were more displeased with my participation than I was aware of, or, at least, the group that was unhappy continued to work together,” Duke told Religion News Service.

Duke’s drag debut

The series “We’re Here” follows renowned drag queens Shangela, Eureka O’Hara and Bob the Drag Queen as they travel to small towns to recruit residents into participating in drag shows.

The trio traveled to Evansville, a neighboring town of Newburgh, in a Season 2 episode that debuted last month to “help Methodist Pastor Craig promote LGBTQ equality to his congregants.”

Duke dressed up in drag during the episode and performed a Kesha song with the stars of the show.

“Rev. Duke really wanted to do this drag number to show the world like, ‘I am willing to walk in the shoes of the queer people that I love, that I enjoy’ and momma he opened up. ... He was a hard-working little diva,” Eureka O’Hara said on the show.

He was nominated to participate in the show by the River City Pride organization, according to a GoFundMe. Organizers for the fundraiser call Duke an “ally for the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Duke’s role in the episode was done as a sign of support and empathy for his pansexual daughter.

He told Religion News Service when the episode aired that “it was an incredibly wonderful, refreshing, deepening, powerful spiritual experience.”

“I was surrounded and immersed in a culture that I’ve never been immersed in, and one of the things in ministry, if you want to involve people different than yourself in your ministry, you have to go to where people different than you are,” he said. “The invitation to be part of the show allowed me that.”

The aftermath

Church officials said they received messages in support of Duke but also ones “highly critical” of his actions.

“In such a polarized climate, our main intent is to foster an environment in which both NUMC and the Duke family can move forward in grace,” the statement read.

Duke said in an interview with Religion News Service the conflict and anger from congregates affected his mental health, so much that he was “unable to be an effective leader.”

A LinkedIn page shows Duke was the lead pastor at the Newburgh church since July 2018. Before that, he served at various Methodist churches in Indiana dating back to the 1980s.

He will continue to reside at the church until the end of February, but with a “significantly reduced salary.” Until then, he will engage with church leaders “in a process of renewal, reflection and recovery.”

Response from ‘We’re Here’ stars

A GoFundMe in support of Duke and his wife has raised more than $44,000 as of Tuesday, Dec. 7.

Among the people who shared the link was O’Hara, whose post has led to an outpouring of support for Duke.

“Craig is an amazing person and deserves the same love that he shares with everyone around him,” said O’Hara.

Shangela shared a video on Instagram on Dec. 6, calling on his supports to take a stand.

“There was a lot of dissent, basically they bullied him right out of his job at the church because he is a person who believes in love and acceptance and faith and inclusion,” Shangela said. “Especially being a faith-based person, he decided to step out on faith and join our show ‘We’re Here,’ and they let Pastor Craig go. That is wrong.”

“It’s a shame that even proximity to queerness is reason enough to fire someone,” added Bob the Drag Queen.