Defrocked Methodist Pastor Reinstated after Officiating Gay Wedding

A Methodist pastor who was defrocked after officiated his gay son’s wedding in 2007 and then reinstated, has been deemed eligible to remain ordained in the church. 

Reverend Frank Schaefer went before a denominational judicial council last week to make his case. 

“I did what I did based on my heart and my conscience," Schaefer said after last week’s hearing. 

After deliberations, the council ruled that it found "no errors in the application of the church law and judicial decisions."

According to Charisma News, Schaefer was defrocked last year after he refused to promise never to officiate another gay marriage. The council decided that banning Schaefer from the ministry would be a punishment for what he might do in the future, not what the pastor had done in the past. 

Schaefer is the father to three homosexual children and serves in a Santa Barbara, California church. 

Publication date: October 28, 2014