Pastor Frank Schaefer was defrocked by the United Methodist church on Thursday for a doctrine violation made after Schaefer officiated his gay son's marriage. The move left the pastor upset and shocked that he could be sanctioned for what he called an "act of love."
Schaefer has been suspended for 30 days after it was found out that he officiated his son's wedding in 2007.
Defrocked pastor Schaefer immediately attempted to appeal the penalty, which the minister believed was given out without conviction by many members of the regional Board of Ordained Ministry.
"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," the pastor shared in an interview. "They said, 'We really don't want to do this, you know that, don't you?'"
Several board members declined to give official statements regarding the issue after the closed-door meeting at the Norristown church offices just outside Philadelphia. However, John Coleman, an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference spokesperson, confirmed that Schaefer left officials no choice but to mete out the punishment after he defied the direct order of a religious jury to leave his post.
Coleman continued to explain that the pastor refused to surrender his credentials when he was required by the verdict of the jury. His decision led the jury to decide on the matter.
The defrocked pastor has been leading a significatn congregation in Lebanon for more than 10 years. Earlier this year, one of his church members complained about Schaefer officiating his son's Massachusetts wedding. Same-sex unions have been legalized in Massachusetts by then.
Despite the fact that the Methodist denomination accepts lesbian and gay members, it does not condone the practice of homosexuality and calls it "incompatible with Christian teaching." The church strictly does not allow its ministers to perform same-sex unions.
In the previous month, a church jury suspended Pastor Schaefer for the next 30 days and told him he should use the leave he was given to choose whether he intends to abide by the church's Book of Discipline. If he chose not to, he was then clearly told to leave his post in the clergy by Thursday.
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