A US theological college is facing a storm over an invitation to a married lesbian bishop to take part in a lecture series.

The American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee, invited Bishop Yvette Flunder to speak about her work advocating for people with HIV/Aids as part of its Garnett-Nabrit series. However, the historically black college, which is part of the National Baptist Convention and has links to leaders in the Civil Rights movement, has been targeted by ministers who have questioned the invitation and called for it to be rescinded.

The National Baptist Fellowship of Concerned Pastors has launched an online petition directed at the college president, Forrest Harris, which says: "We believe that President Forrest Harris should rescind the invitation for Bishop Yvette Flunder to speak at ABC, solely on the basis that she is a proud, practicing, and public advocate of same-sex marriage. We are also requesting that in the future, no male or female involved in a same-sex marriage be invited to speak at ABC.

"Our main reason for releasing this petition to the public is so that history will record that a group of NBC pastors/members went on record opposing the notion of a lesbian bishop preaching at our institution – American Baptist College."

It issued a news released saying: "For a Baptist college president to invite a lesbian bishop legally married to a woman, to be a guest speaker and worship leader on a Baptist college campus is irresponsible, scandalous, non-biblical, and certainly displeasing to God."

In an open letter to the event's participants, Harris said he had no intention of revoking Flunder's invitation as guest lecturer.

"The college's tradition of civil rights advocacy and leadership demands that our students become critical thinkers by exposing them to credible scholarship, professors, religious and non-religious ideas and presentations that document the systematic denial of the legal, civil and human rights of persons and groups, particularly in the communities where our students are likely to be employed or choose to serve," he said.

"It is particularly important, for American Baptist College to truly live its educational mission of justice toward creating a community where all persons are able to love and be loved without social, political or ecclesiastical penalty so that all people may enjoy life and wholeness as God intends."

Other speakers in the lecture series rallied to the college's defence, stressing the need for students to be exposed to a range of views as part of their education. Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School president Dr Marvin McMickle said: "We are places of higher learning where we prepare people to live in and unerstand the world around them. That is never accomplished by shutting out the voices that some handful of angry people do not want to hear."