CLEVELAND, Ohio--Dozens of married couples rallied at the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Cleveland to affirm their marriages. According to The Plain Dealer the gathering was in support of the belief that marriage is a God-ordained institution between a man and a woman.

The Rev. Marvin McMickle, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, told the couples that the "design for the human family" is clearly put forth in the Bible. "We are for the word of God," he said.

The crowd of more than 500 erupted in applause in response to his words. They were called together by United Pastors in Mission, an influential group of ministers led by McMickle and C. Jay Mathews, the senior pastor at Mt. Sinai.

McMickle, a long-time civil rights activist, said during his sermon that the attempt to establish same-sex marriages is not an extension of the civil rights movement's work in offsetting hundreds of years of slavery.

McMickle said recent events, such as the support of same-sex marriages by the Massachusetts Supreme Court and by officials in San Francisco, require people to speak out.

"If the church does not stand up for itself, other people stand up and fill the quietness," McMickle said.

Ohio couples who gathered at the marriage rally were asked to affirm their marriages. They stood in the sanctuary, held hands and looked into each other's eyes and affirmed their commitment.