A 96-year-old pastor’s ministry credentials have been terminated after he officiated the wedding of his gay son.
Chester Wenger, of the Anabaptist Mennonite church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, married his gay son and his partner in a private ceremony.
"I am at peace with their decision and understand their need to take this action," writes Wenger.
"I feel that my act of love in signing a marriage license for our son and his companion was in line with the actions of Peter and Paul who led the church of Christ to welcome the uncircumcised into the fellowship of the family of God," he said.
Recently, Wenger wrote an “open letter” in The Mennonite online magazine, asking for the church to reconsider its position on same-sex marriage.
“When my wife and I read the Bible with today's fractured, anxious church in mind, we ask, what is Jesus calling us to do with those sons and daughters who are among the most despised people in the world—in all races and communities?
"What would Jesus do with our sons and daughters who are bullied, homeless, sexually abused, and driven to suicide at far higher rates than our heterosexual children?"
Wenger’s son was excommunicated from the Mennonite Church 35 years ago.
Publication date: November 10, 2014
