Eighty-seven retired United Methodist Church ministers have signed
a pact agreeing to perform gay marriages, defying the church's official
ban on such unions.
Most of the pastors making the pledge are from California, where
recent court victories have resulted in the resumption of same-sex
marriages. Five of the pastors, however, are from Nevada, where such
unions are not legal.
At a press conference on Friday, the pastors, all of whom are
retired, announced their intention to perform holy unions in Nevada
for gay couples.
“We've always been on the edge of justice, but this time it does
not seem that way,” Pastor Nadine DeWitt is quoted as saying by the
Reno
Gazette-Journal.
The United Methodist Church, the third largest Christian group in
the country, is officially opposed to holy unions as well as
marriages for gay couples.
The pastors could face charges for going against church law.
“I don't think people think they're going to be hurt or harmed,
but there is this sense that we could be held accountable and we
don't know what that means at this point,” Rev. Kathy La
Pointe-Collup of the Elk Grove United Methodist Church told NBC
affiliate KCRA.
According to KCRA, some United Methodist Churches in California
have already married gay couples.