SPRING CITY, Pa. — A United Methodist pastor was convicted
on Monday of breaking church law by officiating his own son's same-sex wedding and
could be defrocked after a high-profile trial that has rekindled debate over
the denomination's policy on same-sex marriage.
The Methodist church put the Rev. Frank Schaefer on trial in
southeastern Pennsylvania, accusing him of breaking his pastoral vows by
presiding over the 2007 ceremony in Massachusetts.
The 13-member jury convicted Schaefer on two charges: that he
officiated a same-sex wedding and that he showed "disobedience to the
order and discipline of the United Methodist Church."
The jury will reconvene Tuesday morning for the penalty
phase, during which Schaefer faces punishment ranging from a reprimand to
losing his ministerial credentials.
Obviously, I'm very saddened. What we're hoping for tomorrow
is a light sentence," said Schaefer's son, Tim Schaefer, 29, whose wedding
led to the charges.
Testifying in his defense, the 51-year-old pastor said he
decided to break church rules out of love for his son. He said that he might
have lost what he called his "ritual purity" by disobeying the
Methodist Book of Discipline but that he felt he was obeying God's command to
minister to everyone.
"I love the United Methodist Church. I've been a
minister for almost 20 years, and there are so many good things about the
United Methodist Church except for that one rule," said Schaefer, of
Lebanon.
Schaefer, who pleaded not guilty, could have avoided the
trial had he agreed to never again perform a same-gender wedding, but he
declined because three of his four children are gay.
The nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination accepts
gay and lesbian members, but it rejects the practice of homosexuality as
"incompatible with Christian teaching."
The church's lawyer, the Rev. Christopher Fisher, told the
jury that Schaefer clearly violated the Book of Discipline. He said the
complainant, Jon Boger — a member of Schaefer's congregation — was dismayed and
shocked when he learned this year about the ceremony.
Fisher used his closing argument to condemn homosexuality as
immoral and said Schaefer had no right to break a Methodist law that bans
pastors from performing same-sex marriages just because he disagreed with
church teaching. He told jurors they were duty-bound to convict.
Dozens of Schaefer's supporters stood in silent protest as Fisher spoke, then
linked hands and sang "We Shall Overcome" after the jury left to
begin deliberating.
Boger, the church's sole witness, testified Monday that he
felt betrayed when he found out that Schaefer, who had baptized his children
and buried his grandparents, had presided over a same-sex wedding.
"When pastors take the law of the church in their own
hand ... it undermines their own credibility as a leader and also undermines
the integrity of the church as a whole," Boger said.
"It's his son. He loves his son. In a way, I felt bad
for him. But he's also shown no remorse or repentance, nor has he apologized to
anyone."
When Schaefer chose to hide the marriage from the
congregation, Boger said, "it was a lie and a broken covenant."
But Schaefer testified that he had informed his superiors of
his part in the marriage. He said he kept it from his conservative church's
congregation because it would be divisive.
"I did not want to make this a protest about the
doctrine of the church. I wasn't trying to be an advocate," Schaefer said.
"I just wanted this to be a beautiful family affair, and it was that."
Schaefer faced no discipline until April — less than a month
before the church's six-year statute of limitations was set to expire — when
Boger filed a complaint.
Schaefer's son came out to his parents at age 17, revealing
he had contemplated suicide over his struggle with sexual identity and the
church's stance on homosexuality.
"He had heard messages that were hateful from the
church, from the culture around him, that told him you're not normal, you're
not valid, you're a freak," Schaefer testified.
The pastor said he and his wife told their son he was a
"beloved child of God."
Years later, Tim Schaefer asked his father to marry him.
"To say no to his request would have negated all the
affirmations I gave him over the years," he said.
Source: AP
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