Methodist gay minister awaits ruling in appeal
A church appeals hearing was held Friday for the Rev. David Meredith, a gay United Methodist minister who some say broke church rules when he married his partner of 30 years in 2016. In October, the West Ohio Conference Committee on Investigation in Columbus determined that only one of three complaints against Meredith, pastor at Clifton United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, was valid. Dismissed were claims that he was a “self-avowed practicing homosexual” and immoral.
A complaint that he was disobedient to church discipline for his 2016 ceremony celebrating a homosexual union in a church went forward, but it stalled because of the appeal.
The West Ohio Conference counsel’s appeal of the investigation committee’s decision led to a hearing before the North Central Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals on Friday. The trial was held in Indianapolis and addressed what the denomination’s Book of Discipline says related to the homosexuality of faith leaders, Meredith said. A decision is expected to be made within 20 days, he said.
Meredith and his representative, another faith leader, weren’t allowed to speak during the appeals trial, which he called “wrong,” since the proceedings concern his career.
If the forthcoming ruling is appealed, the case will go to the United Methodist Church Judicial Council, the denomination’s highest judicial body.
The case continues at the same time as members of the denomination participate in a group created by the church’s general conference in 2016 to examine and potentially revise the religion’s rules on sexuality. It’s unclear whether the proceedings and the group called “The Commission on a Way Forward” will affect each other.
The bishop for the West Ohio Conference, which has its headquarters in Columbus, will not release a statement on the case until the North Central Jurisdiction Committee issues a decision, a spokeswoman said.