![]() |
| Former United Methodist pastor Frank Schaefer embraces The Rev. Lorelei Toombs. United Methodist church officials have defrocked Schaefer, who officiated his son's gay wedding in Massachusetts. [PHOTO:AP Photo] |
PHILADELPHIA: A United Methodist pastor from central Pennsylvania who was defrocked after officiating his son's gay wedding was invited by a California Methodist bishop to serve in her region in yet another sign of a split in the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination.
Frank Schaefer said he is deciding whether to accept the offer from Bishop Minerva G. Carcano to join the California-Pacific Annual Conference. The region includes California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands.