Health & Fitness
Georgetown Church Undeterred by Pa. Same-Sex Wedding Verdict
A Georgetown congregation is undeterred by a United Methodist Church verdict against a Pennsylvania pastor who performed his gay son’s wedding six years ago.
“Dumbarton United Methodist Church welcomes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people,” says the pastor, the Rev. Mary Kay Totty. “For weddings we treat straight couples and same sex couples equally. We work hard to help transform the United Methodist Church into a place of welcome for everyone.
“We are committed to ending the church's oppression of and injustice toward our LGBT sisters and brothers,” she said. “We are unwavering in our commitment to being a fully inclusive community. All are welcome at our church,” she said.
Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
On Tuesday, a jury of clergy suspended the Rev. Frank Schafefer of the Zion United Methodist Church in Lebanon, Pa., for 30 days. But it also determined that he must decide during that time whether to embrace church rules or leave the ministry. Church rules do not permit same-sex weddings.
In 2010, Dumbarton became the first United Methodist Church in the Washington area to declare that it would perform same-sex weddings. Since then, a number of Washington churches have followed suit.
