The United Methodist News Services reports that delegates to the Northeastern Jurisdiction passed a resolution in support of California UMC pastors performing same-sex marriages.
In sharp contrast to the action taken at the United Methodist General Conference last spring, delegates to the denomination’s Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference voted July 17 to support clergy in California who choose to perform same-gender marriages.
The delegates approved a resolution expressing respect for pastors in the California-Pacific and California-Nevada annual (regional) conferences “who as a matter of Christian conscience, spiritual discernment and prophetic witnessing” opt to participate in the celebration of same-gender marriages that are not approved by the church.
The resolution also asks for lenient disciplinary action against clergy who disobey church law on the issue.
The 2008 General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body, voted to retain its ban on same-gender marriages and to bar clergy from performing such marriages or consecrating them in the church. Pastors who perform same-gender unions risk losing their clergy credentials. The assembly met April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Division among Northeastern Jurisdiction delegates over the resolution prompted passionate debate from supporters and opponents. Bishop Jane Allen Middleton of the Harrisburg Area, who was presiding over the session, prayed for holy discernment before the delegates voted.
On May 15, the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on same-gender marriage, ruling that the state constitution protects that “right to marry.”
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NEJ affirms Calif. clergy on same-gender marriages
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