The panel deemed the defrocking to be an illegitimate effort to punish Mr. Schaefer for his refusal to promise not to preside at another same-sex wedding.<\/p>\n
Mr. Schaefer, 52, described himself as \u201ctotally elated\u201d\u009d by the appeals panel decision, and he said he would celebrate in part by taking his son Tim, at whose same-sex wedding he officiated, to a White House gay pride event on Monday. Mr. Schaefer, who until his defrocking in December had been the pastor of Zion United Methodist Church of Iona in Lebanon, Pa., will resume his pastoral work next month in Santa Barbara, Calif., where Bishop Minerva G. Carca\u00c3\u00b1o has offered him a position ministering to college students….<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be confirmation for traditionalists that we are deeply divided and may not be able to live together,\u201d\u009d said the Rev. Rob Renfroe, the president of Good News, a United Methodist organization that opposes same-sex marriage. \u201cWhen we have people who are not only disobedient, but who find a way to not have to keep the covenant they have made with the rest of the church, it helps us see that maybe we are so different that we\u2019ve come to the end of the road together.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Update: Get Religion now has a piece on this article there<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The panel deemed the defrocking to be an illegitimate effort to punish Mr. Schaefer for his refusal to promise not to preside at another same-sex wedding. Mr. Schaefer, 52, described himself as \u201ctotally elated\u201d\u009d by the appeals panel decision, and…<\/span><\/p>\n