Gay Pastor Reinstated

A gay pastor was reinstated this week by the Lutheran church, after a long and drawn out controversy over whether he and his partner should be recognized by the church institution as legitimate.

The Lutheran church offiicials voted 8 months ago to allow gay members to serve as members of the clergy, and Rev. Schmieling is one of the first to be reinstated under this ruling.

Said one Lutheran Bishop bout the decision, "There are people in our church that believe that pastors in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships should not serve as pastors in this church, But the assembly said that while we were not in agreement on this, congregations could call persons in such relationship to serve as pastors, and St. John has chosen to do this."

Gay Pastor Reinstated
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A gay Atlanta pastor and his partner who have been at the center of a battle over the treatment of gay clergy by the nation's largest Lutheran denomination are being reinstated to the denomination's clergy roster, church officials announced Tuesday. The Rev. Bradley Schmeling and his partner, the Rev. Darin Easler, have been approved for reinstatement, the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said in a news release. The approval came roughly eight months after the denomination voted to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, and just weeks after the ELCA's church council officially revised the church's policy on gay ministers.

Gay Pastor Reinstated