Retired
United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert arrived in Birmingham Alabama on Friday
to preside at the wedding of Joe Openshaw and Bobby Prince on Saturday, Oct.
26. It will be the first public marriage of a gay couple
presided over by a United Methodist bishop.
"We as
the church have the privilege of inviting people to come to God's table, but we
do not say which ones can and which ones can't," Bishop Talbert told
AL.com. "They are all created in the image of God. They all have a place
at God's table. They should not be excluded."
Talbert
agreed to officiate the wedding despite a request from North Alabama Bishop
Debra Wallace-Padgett and other United Methodist bishops that he refrain from
doing the ceremony, which is against United Methodist church law. The United
Methodist Book of Discipline says that homosexuality is "incompatible with
Christian teaching."
In response
to requests from Wallace-Padgett and the executive committee of the United
Methodist Council of Bishops not to do the service, Talbert has informed them
he plans to go ahead with the service against their wishes.
No comments:
Post a Comment