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  • Pastor Defrocked Over Officating Son’s Gay Marriage

    In 2007, Methodist pastor Frank Schaefer made the decision to officiate his son’s gay marriage in Massachussets. It was one of the rare locations in the United States where gay marriage was legal at the time.

    Schaefer thought of it as “an act of love”. A United Methodist jury felt differently. The pastor was shocked to learned that he would be defrocked for violating religious doctrine.

    The matter began after one of the members of the congregation filed a complaint earlier this year. It resulted in a 30 suspension with Schaefer being asked to strongly consider whether or not he could uphold church doctrine.

    Schaefer refused to apologize for his decision, saying that he could not uphold a doctrine he felt was biased towards gay individuals. Despite this, he was confident he would maintain his credentials. Though disappointed that things did not go as planned, Schaefer has vowed to appeal the decision.

    “So many of them came to me and they shook my hand and some hugged me, and so many of them had tears in their eyes.”

    He feels in his heart that the committee did not want to defrock him, but felt they had no choice due to the black and white manner in which church rules are written and upheld.

    John Coleman, spokesman for the domination’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, says that the decision came about mainly because Schaefer refused to resign.

    “When asked to surrender his credentials as required by the verdict, he refused to do so. Therefore, because of his decision, the board was compelled by the jury’s decision to deem his credentials surrendered.”

    Schaefer tells a different story. According to him, he would not give up his credentials voluntarily as asked by the board president. “To which she said, ‘Well, we’re taking them.’ And that was the end of it.”

    Regardless of whether or not Schaefer gets his credentials back, a shift is taking place in America that will leave him feeling vindicated. The majority of Americans, religious or not, support same-sex marriage. Over the past few years, state after state has moved to legalize gay unions.

    Fewer young Americans have much interest in traditional Christian beliefs and are increasingly socialized to judge people according to their character; not their skin color and not their sexual orientation. Some churches may prefer to close their doors or dismiss ministers over the need to abandon discriminatory beliefs. However, those institutions that do survive may be the ones that take a page out of Schaefer’s book: Acting in love rather than by the rule book.

    Image via AP Youtube

  • Methodist Pastor Suspended After Conviction

    We reported here a few days ago about United Methodist Church pastor Reverend Frank Schaefer’s trial on charges of performing a same-sex marriage ceremony for his own son. The pastor was awaiting a church jury’s decision at that time. Since then, the charges against him have led to a “conviction” and he has been suspended from his duties as pastor of a Methodist church.

    The Washington Post reports that a jury of 13 Methodist pastors found Schaefer guilty on two charges: “conducting a ceremony that celebrates same-sex unions” and “disobedience to order and discipline of the Methodist Church.”

    During the course of his “trial”, which has nothing to do with the U.S. Justice System or has any legally-binding effects outside of the church, Schaefer was offered a chance to “repent” of his actions and accept a reprimand from the church, but to keep his standing as a minister. He refused.

    Scahefer’s journey with his son has changed his opinions and thoughts on same-sex marriage over the years. Now 3 more of his own children have revealed to their parents that they are gay.

    But another interesting revelation in the reporting of the circumstances around the Schaefer “trial” is that four other Methodist ministers have been accused by church leadership of similar violations of official church policy regarding gays and marriage. What the particulars of those accusations are remain to be seen, but they could result in trials just like Schaefer’s.

    The issue of same-sex marriage has proven to be a divisive one over the past several years, but much of that battle has remained in secular circles. Now, with many states legalizing same-sex marriages, the battle is moving into churches, where individual members are realizing that many of them know and are close to someone who is gay.

  • Methodist Pastor Convicted of Gay Marriage Ceremony

    When United Methodist Church Reverend Frank Scaheffer’s son, Tim, came to him at the age of 17 and revealed that he was gay, the pastor and his wife had to make a decision. Tim told them that he had considered suicide because he could not reconcile the fact that he was gay with the church’s stance against homosexuality. The parents were united in their message to their son.

    “He had heard messages that were hateful from the church, from the culture around him, that told him you’re not normal, you’re not valid, you’re a freak,” Schaeffer said. They told him he was “a beloved child of God.”

    Six years later, the pastor’s son came to his father again. This time he asked the Reverend to marry him and his partner, a ceremony that the United Methodist Church forbids.

    “To say no to his request would have negated all the affirmations I gave him over the years,” Schaeffer said. He officiated the ceremony in 2007.

    Nearly six years passed. Schaeffer says he told church authorities that he had conducted the ceremony, but did not reveal it to others in the church for fear of causing a disturbance.

    “I did not want to make this a protest about the doctrine of the church. I wasn’t trying to be an advocate,” Schaefer said. “I just wanted this to be a beautiful family affair, and it was that.”

    But some people did find out. Jon Boger — a member of Schaeffer’s congregation — filed an official complaint. The church has a judicial process for such complaints. There are lawyers, trials, and verdicts involved. And now, according to the L.A. Times, Rev. Schaeffer stands accused and could be defrocked for his actions in violation of church doctrine.

    The prohibition against gay marriage is a staunch one, especially in the Pennsylvania communities where the whole drama played out. These rules are outlines in The Book of Discipline, which governs such behavior, even though the UMC uses the phrase “Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.” in their website materials.

    “I love the United Methodist Church. I’ve been a minister for almost 20 years and there are so many good things about the United Methodist Church except for that one rule,” said Schaefer.

    An especially interesting point to the story is that Schaeffer could have avoided a trial altogether if he had simply promised to never perform another same-sex union ceremony again. He refused because, as he explained, 3 of his 4 children are gay.

    The trial was Monday, and Scaheaffer now awaits the jury’s decision. In closing arguments, the attorney for the prosecution told the jury that they had no choice but to find the pastor guilty. “You’ll give an account for that at the last day, as we all will,” he told the jury.

    image via: umc.org