Methodist Bishop defies church council, will marry same-sex couple.
Methodist bishop from Nashville will preside at a wedding for two men in Birmingham on Saturday despite warnings from his denomination that he’ll be violating church law.
Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, who is fighting to remove barriers to same-sex marriage from United Methodist doctrine, said Bobby Prince and Joe Openshaw contacted him after they learned they could not be married at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Ala., where they are activemembers.
The two were legally married in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 3, but now they want a religious ceremony attended by friends and family, Joe Openshaw said today. Alabama doesn’t recognize same-sex unions.
“We feel like this is going to open the door for people who may not feel comfortable with the church,” Openshaw said. “Maybe they’ll have some inspiration to talk to their pastor about it.”
Retired since 2000, Talbert is still active in the United Methodist Church and said he would be subject to the same disciplinary action as active ministers or bishops should someone file complaint over his involvement in a same-sex wedding.
“I fully expect it to happen,” he said. “I’m still a bishop, and I’m no less accountable than those who are active.”
The ceremony prompted a volley this week between the United Methodist Council of Bishops’ executive committee and the couple. The committee issued a statement asking Talbert not to perform the ceremony and citing the denomination’s Book of Discipline: “Conducting ceremonies which celebrate homosexual unions; or performing same-sex wedding ceremonies” are chargeable offenses, the statement said.
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