CASSOPOLIS, Mich. (AP) – An openly gay United Methodist pastor has gotten married several days after he says he was forced to resign.
The Kalamazoo Gazette and South Bend Tribune report the Rev. Benjamin Hutchison married Monty Hutchison July 17 in Cassopolis outside southwestern Michigan’s historic Cass County Courthouse. Guests included about 30 ministers.
The 31-year-old says he resigned July 13 from Cassopolis United Methodist Church. It came after the bishop’s office received a report he had a same-sex partner.
Hutchison says the congregation accepted his sexual orientation, but he understood it’s against his denomination’s discipline. The church accepts gay members but stipulates “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” can’t be ministers.
United Methodist officials decline to comment on personnel matters but say the church’s position on gay pastors will be discussed next year at its general conference.
