Ministers back colleague at Pa. same-sex ceremony
About 50 ministers are giving their symbolic support to a colleague facing sanctions from the United Methodist Church by participating in a same-sex wedding ceremony.
The wedding in Philadelphia on Saturday was held about a week before the Rev. Frank Schaefer of Lebanon faces a church trial for officiating over his son’s marriage to another man.
The Philadelphia Inquirer says the clergy filled the front of a Methodist church in the city Saturday, blessing the marriage in defiance of church law.
A spokesman for the church’s eastern Pennsylvania conference isn’t commenting about whether any of the participants may face discipline. Most of the 50 are Methodist ministers.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.