Pastor May be Expelled for Marrying His Gay Son to His Partner
Rev. Frank Schaefer, right, knew that church law forbade him from officiating the 2007 wedding of his gay son Tim, left, but did it anyway.
A Methodist pastor in Pennsylvania might be stripped of his credentials for disobeying church law by officiating his son's same-sex wedding.
The United Methodist Church plans to try Rev. Frank Schaefer on Nov. 18 for presiding over the 2007 marriage, reported the Lebanon Daily News.
The church accepts gay members but rejects homosexuality as "incompatible with Christian teaching."
Schaefer, 51, said God's command to love everyone supersedes church doctrine. There was also a simpler reason he wed his son to another man: "I love him so much and didn't want to deny him that joy."
The trial is slated to be held at Innabah Camp and Retreat Center in Chester County. It could spell the end of the German-born pastor's nearly 20-year ministerial career.
Schaefer, who lives in North Cornwall Township, has been a pastor at Zion United Methodist Church of Iona in South Lebanon Township for the past 11 years.
Supporters won’t let his career as a man of God die without a fight. They gathered for a candlelit vigil Sunday afternoon at a local chapel Sunday afternoon and started a Facebook group that has close to 2,000 likes.
Schaefer hopes his trial will help change homosexuality's standing within the United States Methodist community and the greater Protestant Church in general.
Critics, however, argue that Schaefer is sowing the seeds of division within the church and undermining its democratic process. The denomination reaffirmed its anti-gay marriage stance at an international meeting in 2012.
Schaefer said he once shared the church’s view but reassessed his stance while studying the Bible during training. He thought there were other ways look at scripture that would be more inclusive.
His more tolerant stance solidified when his son came out of the closet at 17 and told his parents he struggled with suicidal thoughts. These partly stemmed from the rift between his sexual orientation and the church's condemnation of it.
By the time his son wished to get married, it was a no brainer.
"The love for my son took over the fear of losing my job with the United Methodist Church," he told the Lebanon Daily News. "It was a tough decision in some sense, but I just knew I had to make it. I had to follow my heart.”
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