BALTIMORE (AP) — A United Methodist pastor defrocked after officiating at his son’s same-sex wedding is appealing the church’s decision.
A jury of pastors last year suspended Frank Schaefer of Lebanon, Pa., for presiding over his son’s 2007 wedding ceremony in Massachusetts. Afterward, Schaefer’s minister credentials were stripped when he refused to promise never to officiate another same-sex wedding.
On Friday, the 52-year-old Schaefer will argue before an appeals panel that his defrocking was illegal because it was based on the assumption that he will break church law in the future regarding same-sex marriages.
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