Methodist Pastors Risk Everything to Officiate at Gay Weddings

The United Methodist Church has banned same-sex wedding ceremonies within the faith, but that decision isn't stopping a large number of pastors from following their consciences and officiating anyway.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Methodist clergy who preside over marriages for gay and lesbian couples may face severe penalties for their actions: pastors who act against the church's orders may see their careers as Methodist clergy end as a result.

And yet, that is not going to stop them.

It's not only active pastors still in the prime of their careers who are showing support for marriage equality. The Los Angeles Times reported that 82 retired clergy also have spoken up, putting their names to a resolution to step in and officiate when still-active pastors can't or won't.

United Methodist clergy in Calif., where marriage equality became legal a few weeks ago, are leading the charge, and inviting their fellow Methodists around the country to "welcome, embrace and provide spiritual nurture" for families headed by couples of the same gender.

Said Santa Monica pastor Rev. Janet Gollery McKeithen, "I'm tired of being part of a church that lacks integrity."

Added Gollery McKeithen, pastor at the Church in Ocean Park, "I love my church, and I don't want to leave it. But I can't be part of a church that is willing to portray a God that is so hateful."

Said the reverend, who intends to officiate at two upcoming celebrations of same-sex couples entering matrimony, "I would rather be forced out."

That may yet happen, if Calif. bishops Mary Ann Swenson and Beverly J. Shamana decide to pursue disciplinary measures against clergy who forge forward on the issue.

The Methodist church's Book of Discipline sets out the faith's rules and procedures for how to address violations of those rules, and the bishops have indicated that in this instance, they are prepared to go by the book.

Declared Bishop Swenson, "Pastors need to know that there are consequences [to actions undertaken in defiance of church instructions]."

Added the bishop, whose Conference includes not just Southern Calif., but also Hawaii, Saipan, and Guam,

"We are bound to honor the policy of our denomination."

Some religious leaders fear that the disagreement over allowing gay and lesbian families the same right to recognized familial status will lead to a schism in the Methodist faith, as is currently occurring in the world-wide Anglican Communion, which has been riven by anti-gay chapters in developing countries in Africa, South America, and Asia.

Recently, bishops from anti-gay arms of the Anglican church declared that the schism, long in coming, had arrived.

For some Methodist pastors, however, the main issue right now is not one of doctrinal uniformity, but rather a matter of civil rights.

Many anti-gay Christians point to passages in Scripture that they say explicitly condemn sexual contact between persons of the same gender. Some declare that homosexuality must be a matter of choice because God would not create people to be gay; others say that while scientific evidence that homosexuality is at least in part a matter of genetics and physiology, God's plan is for gay people to live celibate lives, without the comfort of a home and family, such as heterosexuals enjoy.

For Methodists particularly, the Book of Discipline enters into the debate as well, with its teachings that declare that same-gender sexual expression contradicts Christian tenets.

The Book of Discipline specifically bans marriage between two persons of the same gender within the church, saying, "ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches," reported the Los Angeles Times.

Moreover, the Book of Discipline bars "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from the ranks of the church's clergy.

The Book of Discipline also contains text stating that "certain basic human rights and civil liberties are due all persons," and declaring that, "We are committed to supporting those rights and liberties for homosexual persons."

For clergy who wish not to exclude gays from the blessings of family life, those rights and liberties include marriage to a devoted and loving life partner.

A few months ago the General Conference, which serves as the faith's international government, upheld the anti-gay portion of the Book of Discipline.

But in Calif., local church government pulled the other way, resolving to support marriage equality, reported the Los Angeles Times.

The Book of Discipline's stance against gays and lesbians, local church leaders in Southern Calif. implied, was superceded by "the pastoral need and prophetic authority" asserted by pro-marriage equality clergy.

Clearly, the same leadership knew they were provoking the larger institution of the faith, for they also advocated for "compassion and understanding in any resulting disciplinary actions."

Meantime, the church authority overseeing Northern Calif. and Nev. praised retired pastors who had offered to step in and perform marriage services for gay and lesbian families.

Northern Calif. and Nev, Bishop Shamana, said that the pastros' offer was a "commendable gesture," though she also stated that it was "void and of no effect."

In an official decision on the matter last month, Shamana cited officiation at such ceremonies as "chargeable offenses against the law of the United Methodist Church," and said that local church leaders did not have the power to supercede decisions on the matter made by the larger church authority.

But the effect of conscience and the sense of justice still pulls clergy toward such ceremonies. Said retired pastor Don Fado, 74,

But some members of the clergy remain undaunted. One of the authors of the retired ministers' measure, Don Fado, "We are willing to put our professions on the line because this is so central to our ministry."

Added Fado, "Any pastor who is called upon to make that decision knows there are 82 of us who are willing to make that stand."

Such stands are happening now because time may be of the essence: a voter initiative will appear on the Nov. ballot in Calif. and offer to the public a decision that will affect gay families while leaving heterosexual ones unscathed: whether to rewrite the state constitution in a way that shuts the door on gay and lesbian couples, and reserves marriage as a heterosexuals-only special right.