Lesbian couple 'forced out of church for holding hands in the pews'

A lesbian couple claim they were forced out of their church after they were spotted holding hands during a service. Kersten Pegden and Nina Lawrence said that other members of the congregation at St Nicholas Anglican church in Corfe Mullen, Dorset, thought their behaviour was 'overtly sexual'. They said other couples within the congregation held hands and they felt it was their sexuality that had influenced the complaints.
Miss Pegden, 38, had attended the church for many years. She separated from her husband last September and is now going through a divorce. She began a relationship with Miss Lawrence , 31, last November but the new relationship had split the congregation of mainly elderly people, Miss Pegden said.

Miss Pegden has told how her daughter Emily, 12. has left the church choir and her son Elliot, 14, is no longer a server at the church that attracts up to 70 worshippers each Sunday.

She said: 'The vicar, who is a woman, wanted to know the details about my divorce, how long it was going to be, and the fact it had dragged on too long.

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