October 13, 2012|By Jonathan Pitts, The Baltimore Sun
Harley had her own resurrection. A friend gave her a tape by the evangelist T.D. Jakes, and she loved how his Dallas megachurch helped domestic abuse victims and featured ministry work tailored to women. Reading more, she learned he held an annual conference called "Woman, Thou Art Loosed."
The reference, to Luke 13, almost floored her. It tells of how Jesus speaks to a woman who had been "crippled" for 18 years, laid his hands on her said, "You are freed from your infirmity." The woman stood and walked. Harley went on to become an ordained minister.
She counsels gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals in the Washington area and around the country, offering prayers for deliverance from what she calls the dangerous deceit of homosexuality. She has an Internet TV show, "God's Will & Grace." She speaks out against same-sex marriage.
To those who call her ministry intolerant, Harley says it can work, given a kind heart, and in any case, she's more concerned with people's eternal souls than their momentary reactions. "This life only lasts a moment," she says. "God's love is forever."
jonathan.pitts@baltsun.com
Elder Harris Thomas
Age: 57
Hometown: Philadelphia
Current residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore, the local branch of a nationwide movement ministering principally to gay, lesbian and transgendered people of color. He preaches, has a busy counseling ministry and works with colleagues to promote the law to legalize same-sex marriage.
Question 6: Supports
The Rev. Grace Harley
Age: 58
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Current residence: Silver Spring
Occupation: Pastor of Fruit of the Spirit Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.; she counsels gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals in the Washington area and around the country, offering prayers for deliverance from what she calls the dangerous deceit of homosexuality. She has an Internet TV show, "God's Will & Grace."
Question 6: Opposes
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