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Rev. Judy Howard Peterson, the popular campus pastor at North Park University in Chicago, is on indefinite suspension for her action.
The popular campus pastor of a Christian college in Chicago has been suspended indefinitely for officiating the wedding of a same-sex couple.
The Evangelical Covenant Church, with which North Park University is affiliated, announced the suspension of Rev. Judy Howard Peterson Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reports. Church leaders had met Friday to determine Peterson's fate.
"A suspension is always extended with the hope of restoration where possible," said a statement released by denominational leaders. "One mark of a pathway toward credential reinstatement is ongoing observance of current guidelines and practices."
The denomination has had formal a policy against pastors conducting same-sex marriages since 2004, also the year that Massachusetts became the first U.S. state with marriage equality.
In December, the church suspended Peterson's credentials and placed her on sabbatical after a picture emerged on social media showing her officiating the wedding of Marcus Mason-Vivit and his male partner. The couple married last April.
Mason-Vivit, who had been a student and staff member at North Park, told the Tribunehe couldn't imagine anyone other than Peterson performing his marriage. Peterson agreed to conduct the ceremony after meeting with the couple and a church executive.
Peterson explained her decision in an email that has been circulated around campus, the Tribune reports. "Over my tenure at NPU I have sat with countless LBGTQ young people who wrestle with whether or not they are worthy of love, who feel crushed under the weight of the shame they feel because of their inability to 'overcome' their attractions and who fear they will never be able to truly be themselves in the churches in which they were raised," she wrote. "And I have done my best to be their pastor."
"This was not a flippant decision done with disregard for religious rules, but rather a discerned decision to stand with my brothers in the same way Jesus has stood with me; in everything and at all times, no matter what," she continued.
Even though the Evangelical Covenant Church has a policy against same-sex marriage, it has a history of tolerating differences of opinion on theological issues, such as whether women should serve as ministers. A spokesman for the denomination, however, said that tolerance applies to church members, not clergy.
"Freedom for laity is a gracious posture, welcoming all wherever they are in their faith journey," spokesman Ed Gilbreath said in a statement, according to the Tribune. "Freedom for clergy has boundaries. A Covenant pastor's credential is given by the church, which both authorizes and limits aspects of its use."
But many North Park students and others object to Peterson's punishment. Students held a rally of support for her on campus Friday, and more than 4,800 people have signed a petition calling for the church to revisit the issue of same-sex marriage and place a moratorium on suspensions of clergy who participate, the paper reports.
University and denominational officials said they would continue to talk with Peterson and held open the possibility of her returning to the position. "Pastor Judy and NPU are committed to meet in the days ahead ... to discern constructive paths forward," the university's interim president, Carl Balsam, said in a statement, according to the Tribune.
Mason-Vivit expressed both sadness and hope. "Knowing someone so beloved by thousands of people had something taken away from her because of who I married and who I love and who loves me -- we're deeply saddened," he told the newspaper. "We have a bit of hope that this is not the end for Judy and that this is not where the conversation ends for the Evangelical Covenant Church."
