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July 18, 2008

United Methodist Ministers Risk Careers for Same-Sex Marriage

United Methodist Church ministers in California are putting their careers on the line by performing same-sex marriages, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. “I'm tired of being part of a church that lacks integrity,” the Reverend Janet Gollery McKeithen of Santa Monica's Church in Ocean Park told the Times. “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. I would rather be forced out.”

The Times reports that ministers in Santa Monica, Claremont, Walnut Creek, and other California cities have already officiated same-sex marriages in the state, or plan to do so.

The ministers are acting against strict religious orders that forbid them to perform weddings for gay and lesbian couples, risking their jobs and clerical credentials.

“Pastors need to know that there are consequences,” Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, one of the two bishops who oversee United Methodist churches in California, told the Times. “We are bound to honor the policy of our denomination.” (The Advocate)

Keywords:  California marriage 
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Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: David Walters
    Date posted: 2008-07-18 9:18 PM
    Hometown: Wilton Manors

    Comment:

    Having been raised in a conservative family, attending the United Methodist Church; I cam out when I was 24 years old. I have been a member of The Metropolitan Community Chruch for numerous years now. I am highly ashamed that MY church has developed such a hatred towards its own LGBT membership! NOT CHRISTIAN, is it? I wish these and all other United Methidist ministers the very best in conducting gay and lesbian marriages in Californai and THROUGHOUT the USA! God loves us ALL.


  • Name: Roger Burr
    Date posted: 2008-07-18 1:53 PM
    Hometown: Marble Hill, MO

    Comment:

    Imagine that... A Minister who actually LIVES Gods words about 'love one another'.... What a concept. Now if the idiots who head these denominations would do likewise, they might actually DESERVE to call themselves 'Christian'.


  • Name: Mark Johnson
    Date posted: 2008-07-17 3:32 PM
    Hometown: Nambour, Qld

    Comment:

    To the editor: Your headline of United Methodist Priests is in error. The Methodist church does not have priests - it has ministers.


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