The movement to legalize civil unions between same-gender people is the natural evolution of the 1960s civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr., according to the national leader of a Christian denomination.

“;We have come to understand that the rights of gay and lesbian couples are being violated as equal citizens,”; the Rev. Geoffrey Black, president of the 1.1 million-member United Church of Christ, told a crowd of about 100 people at a Church of the Crossroads service last night.

“;This is the civil rights issue of the moment,”; he said.

The University Avenue church honors King each year by presenting a Peacemaker Award, which went this year to longtime social justice advocate Amy Agbayani.

Black, the first African-American named to head the United Church of Christ, said, “;Sexual orientation is being used, just as color was used, as a reason to differentiate them from the rest of the population and treat them unequally.”;

Black attended the rally at Kapiolani Park after the annual King Day parade through Waikiki. Members of the Crossroads church marched in the parade, as did gay and lesbian rights advocates.

The pro-civil unions groups have been a small voice compared with the rally staged by conservative Christian churches at the state Capitol on Sunday afternoon to lobby legislators against passage of House Bill 444, which would provide all the benefits of marriage to same-gender couples in civil unions.

“;As a church person and church leader, I defend their right to articulate their feelings and beliefs in the public square,”; Black said in an interview. “;But in the end, the government has the responsibility to treat all people equally.

“;I think those churches can choose to live out the anxieties they hold so dearly,”; he said, and they must have the option to decide what unions they will bless. “;This church could say they don't believe people of different racial backgrounds should marry, so we won't do their wedding; they have that prerogative. But City Hall should not have that prerogative.”;

The United Church of Christ was one of the first denominations to accept same-gender unions. Church of the Crossroads proclaims itself as a “;open and affirming”; congregation, which translates to accepting same-sex unions. Services have been held that blessed such unions, said the Rev. Dave Sandberg, interim pastor. “;We have had what we call a sacred ceremony, which means they are married in the eyes of the church, if not the eyes of the state.”;

Black said each congregation within the denomination makes the determination for itself whether to implement the position of its General Synod that supported “;equal access to marriage for all people.”; It was a position, not a rule, and some UCC congregations do not approve same-sex unions.