A member of the gay community, who publicly supported Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki at an event in Auckland last night, has resigned from Rainbow Pride Auckland.
Brian Tamaki. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Mr Tamaki invited members of the community to an event at his church in South Auckland to work on Destiny Church's relationship with them.
At the event, he apologised to the community if they have been hurt by his comments.
"An apology - sorry - if any of the gay community, or that community, believe that anything I've said has hurt them, then that needed to happen, because that's not what I'm into. And nobody likes the cycle of hate and division," Mr Tamaki said.
James Laverty, who was Guardian of Rainbow Pride Auckland, joined Mr Tamaki on stage and expressed his support for the church.
In a statement, Mr Laverty said he resigned from his role to pursue other opportunities with churches across New Zealand.
The board said while it is open to working with all community groups, it did not support Mr Tamaki or his church.
"At this stage, Rainbow Pride Auckland is not in support of Tamaki, Destiny Church, or Coalition NZ and any member of RPA seen to be acting otherwise are doing so as an individual, not a representative of the society."
Rainbow Pride Auckland was established earlier this year, after the Auckland Pride board decided to ban police uniform at its annual parade.
