Gay pastor dropped from clergy roster - Atlanta minister says he won't leave pulpit

Gay pastor dropped from clergy roster - Atlanta minister says he won't leave pulpit
By Giovanna Dell'orto
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press
Published July 6, 2007

ATLANTA -- The openly gay pastor of Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church has been removed from his denomination's clergy roster.

But Rev. Bradley Schmeling said Thursday he will not leave the pulpit of St. John's Lutheran Church, a decision that could open the 350-member congregation to disciplinary action from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

"The congregation issued a call to me in 2000 and as far as we are concerned, that hasn't changed," Schmeling said. "I'm disheartened [the decision] gives the impression the church is more interested in rules than in compassion."

In a decision issued Monday, a 12-member appeals committee ruled 10-2 to immediately remove Schmeling from the clergy roster. An earlier panel's ruling had allowed the pastor to stay on the roster until Aug. 15.

By Evangelical Lutheran Church in America rules, Schmeling is now a lay person within the denomination who should not wear a stole or perform sacraments, said Emily Eastwood of the Minnesota-based gay-rights group Lutherans Concerned.

But the congregation's president, John Ballew, said nothing will change at St. John's, though the church hopes to remain within the Chicago-based ELCA.

"Our respect has only grown in the last 14 months," Ballew said. "For us, it means nothing."

Schmeling told St. John's and his bishop that he is gay before he was chosen as pastor in 2000. But last year, when Schmeling announced he had found a lifelong companion, Bishop Ronald Warren of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Southeastern Synod asked the 44-year-old pastor to resign.

When Schmeling refused, Warren started disciplinary proceedings against him, leading to a closed-door January trial in which a disciplinary hearing committee dealt with the case.

The acceptance of gay clergy has been at the core of a heated debate in many Protestant denominations. The ELCA, which has 4.9 million members, allows openly gay clergy, but only if they are celibate. Still, many Lutheran churches support ordaining partnered gays and perform same-sex blessing ceremonies despite the policy.

At the ELCA's most recent national meeting in 2005, a proposal failed that would have allowed synods to decide if they would accept a pastor in a same-sex relationship.