Nine pastors face charges

The key phrase in a wedding ceremony is apparently "I now pronounce you..." I had written about Benjamin Hutchinson, the gay pastor in Cassopolis, Michigan who was forced to resign about 10 days ago. Shortly after that, partly to make sure he had health benefits, he married his partner.

That wedding took place a week ago. Thirty clergy, many with rainbow stoles, attended the ceremony along with more than 100 other guests. Hutchinson was delighted with the support. At the close of the ceremony about half of the pastors joined the main officiant in saying "I now pronounce you husband and husband." The names of nine of those, including the main officiant, have been turned over to the Kalamazoo District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church. All nine now face disciplinary procedures. The bishop will now work out a resolution that will hopefully avoid a series of pastor trials.

The lead officiant was Rev. Mike Tupper. He has already gone through the resolution process with this bishop when a complaint was filed after Tupper officiated at the wedding of his lesbian daughter.

Hutchinson had strong words for the United Methodist denomination:

Because of the disciplines, our queer youth are killing themselves. And it is a religious terrorism by the doctrines they hold. Our youth are killing themselves because of it. Moment by moment as we speak here, there’s children killing themselves because the church says ‘no, you are not a child of God. You can not be married and officiate the sacraments.’ So the church must change for the well-being of our children.