c. 1998 Religion News Service
UNDATED _ A formal complaint has been filed against a United Methodist pastor for conducting a same-sex union ceremony _ the first since the denomination’s Judicial Council ruled in August that a ban on such actions has the force of church law, it was announced Wednesday (Oct. 21).
Bishop Joseph Sprague, head of the church’s Chicago Area, filed the complaint against Rev. Gregory Dell, pastor of Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago, who married the couple in the church Sept. 19.
The complaint, made public in a statement by Dell, charges the pastor with”failure to uphold the Order and the Discipline of the United Methodist Church.” An outspoken proponent of gay rights, Dell is coordinator of the”In All Things Charity”effort, a movement of clergy who disagree with the denomination’s position that”the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”The movement supports convenantal commitments between same-gendered couples and ordination of gay men and lesbians.
A Committee on Investigation of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference will be convened to determine if the complaint should result in a church trial. Dell, in a letter to his congregation, said”a church trial is all but assured.” A conviction could result in penalties ranging from censure to the withdrawal of Dell’s credentials of ordination. The pastor would be allowed the right to appeal.
The complaint filed against Dell underscores the deep division within the nation’s second largest Protestant denomination _ after the Southern Baptist Convention _ over the gay issue and the inability of the church to resolve the issue.
Last year, the Rev. Jimmy Creech, then a pastor in Omaha, Neb., performed a similar union ceremony. Creech’s action led to a church trial in which he was narrowly acquitted, setting off a firestorm of reaction and debate, leading to the August ruling by the Judicial Council.
In that ruling, the council, the denomination’s equivalent of the Supreme Court, said a ban on same-sex ceremonies passed by the church’s General Conference _ its highest decision-making body _ and included in the church’s Social Principles, had the force of church law.
Sprague said he felt compelled to file the complaint out of duty and acknowledged”my own theological and pastoral disagreement with this component of church law.” He described Dell as an exceptional pastor with an enviable record of faithfulness and effectiveness.
In response, Dell, who has been a pastor for 28 years said,”I did what I understood faithfulness to Christ and my ordination vows require. I extended ministry to two men who love each other, love God and love the church.” Dell, who has performed similar services for over 17 years, said he did not consider cancelling the union which he and the men had been planning for nearly a year.
He said faithful expression of his ministerial office as a United Methodist pastor means conducting holy union services.”I simply cannot conceive of excluding people from the ministry of the church because of their identity,”Dell said in his letter to the congregation.”When an expression of someone’s identity involves the making of holy vows for faithfulness and ministry _ the church should understand itself to be privileged in offering a blessing.”My potential trial raises the issue of whether that understanding of faithful ministry can be tolerated,”he added.
Broadway United Methodist Church has a membership of about 185 people, with nearly one-third who identify themselves as gay or lesbian.
Dell will retain his pastoral duties pending the investigation.
DEA END ROCKWOOD
