In a ruling made public Oct. 27, the denomination\u2019s top court upheld a June decision by a regional appeals committee to reinstate Schaefer\u2019s ministerial credentials, modifying the penalty imposed upon the Pennsylvania pastor after he was found guilty last November of violating church law by performing a same-sex wedding for his son in 2007.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Judicial Council upon careful review of the decision of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals in the matter of the Rev. Frank Schaefer and the questions of law presented by the counsel for the church finds there are no errors in the application of the church law and judicial decisions,\u201d\u009d said Decision 1270. \u201cThe penalty as modified by the Committee on Appeals stands.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
In its decision, Judicial Council also recognized the fact that \u201csome within the church do not support this outcome today.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The ruling came during the Judicial Council\u2019s Oct. 22-25 fall meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, and followed an oral hearing on the case. The Rev. Christopher Fisher, who served as counsel for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference during Schaefer\u2019s trial, appealed the decision of the committee on appeals to Judicial Council.<\/p>\n