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March 8, 2004

Churches Caught Out By Same-Sex Marriages

by Red Wolf

United States: By getting married with a license in a church or synagogue, many couples are hoping to chip away at opposition to same-sex marriages among religious people.

For three weeks, the grand marble staircase at City Hall has been wedding central in San Francisco, with thousands of gay and lesbian couples lining up to be married by city officials.

But many of the couples are not stopping at the staircase. They are taking their marriage licenses and heading to a church or synagogue for a second ceremony or, in some cases, for an alternative to the civil proceeding.

The decision is driven largely by the religious convictions of the gay couples, clergy members who perform the ceremonies say. But there is also a deeply political undercurrent to the religious weddings that is creating divisions in some institutions, even those with a history of blessing gay and lesbian partnerships.

By getting married with a license in a church or synagogue, many couples are hoping to chip away at opposition to same-sex marriages among religious people, and thereby advance the broader goals of the gay rights movement.
The new marriage licenses in San Francisco are giving gay and lesbian couples here an unprecedented platform to push their cause among congregations that have accepted gay relationships in the past.

Some churches are far from happy with the proceeding and are happy to vent their bigotry and lies, while others are caught in the political games of their superiors.

There is a good deal of concern among Catholics and other religious people in this city, said Maurice Healy, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The church has had the same view of homosexuality that it has had for 2,000 years, and I don't think a smash-and-grab play by Mayor Newsom is going to change that. There are many people out there looking for a venue to gather and vent their views.

Some of that venting has already occurred at Bethany United Methodist Church.

The pastor there, the Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto, was called before a bishop this week after a formal complaint was filed against her for performing a same-sex marriage ceremony in the church. The complaint accused her of disobedience to the order and discipline of the United Methodist Church for officiating at the marriage of two men on Feb. 15.

Dr. Oliveto said she was caught off guard by the complaint because she had performed numerous same-sex blessings at the church. Dr. Oliveto said she could face a church trial and lose her pastoral license as a result of the complaint, which she said came from someone outside her congregation.

The United Methodist Church holds a variety of opinions regarding homosexuality, Dr. Oliveto said. That is the tension we live with. We are not of one mind.

In addition to the Feb. 15 wedding, Dr. Oliveto performed eight same-sex marriage ceremonies at City Hall and signed all nine marriage licenses.

For me, we are doing something new in ministry that has never been done before, Dr. Oliveto said. We have never been able to sign marriage licenses of same-gender marriage couples. The church has a lot to learn in this historical moment.

Gay Marriage Licenses Create a Quandary for the Clergy [BugMeNot]—New York Times, 6th March 2004.

Posted in Church and State and Pooves and closet cases at 04:58. Last modified on July 14 2009 at 16:45.
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