I had done holy unions over the years, as a number of pastors have, and it was only last year that we were told it was now illegal to do so. Well, actually it was voted in 1996, but it was part of our social principles, which is an area for debate. Our judicial council then ruled in August of 1998 that we would all be held accountable to that, and that a person could be dismissed from the ministry if charges were brought. When I heard that . . . That is so out of keeping with our tradition as United Methodists.
Local churches determine the services they're going to have.
It's a part of our constitution. And here we are, a church that says that gays and lesbians have full rights in our church. That's part of our discipline. And then we can't use their church building for a holy union, and they cannot have their pastors offer prayer for them at a holy union. To me, that is immoral and wrong.