Frank Schaefer, the United Methodist
Church pastor defrocked over officiating a gay wedding, is
considering a new job offer.
Schaefer, pastor at Zion United
Methodist Church of Iona in Lebanon, Pennsylvania presided over the
2007 wedding of his son Tim Schaefer to another man in Massachusetts,
which legalized gay marriage in 2004.
Last month, a jury of 13 fellow pastors
convicted Schaefer of breaking church law and suspended him for 30
days.
The Protestant denomination's Book of
Discipline accepts gay and lesbian members but rejects homosexual
acts as “incompatible with Christian teachings.” Schaefer called
the church's position discriminatory.
Officials defrocked Schaefer, who has
three gay children, on Thursday following a brief meeting in which he
refused to back down.
According
to the AP, Schaefer received an offer from Bishop Minerva G.
Carcano to join the California-Pacific Annual Conference.
“I'm actually leaning toward it right
now, but I can't make that decision myself because it involves my
entire family,” Schaefer told the news agency. “We are
considering it very, very seriously.”
Carcano said that in the position
Schaefer would have the same rights and responsibilities as an
ordained minister but he would be paid less.
“For somebody like her, a bishop, to
reach out to me and say, 'You know what you did was absolutely right
and we are proud of you,' it just felt great,” Schaefer said.
The California-Pacific Annual
Conference's position is in line with Schaefer's – both disagree
with the church on its position on homosexuality.