The United Methodist Church’s highest court has ruled that pastors, not trustees, have the final say on whether clergy can officiate a same-sex wedding on church property.
The United Methodist Judicial Council issued Decision Number 1516 last Friday, centering on whether trustees could stop a pastor from officiating a same-sex wedding on their church property.
The ruling, which came in response to a request for a declaratory decision from the Arkansas Annual Conference, noted that while UMC law “gives authority to a local church board of trustees for the supervision, oversight, and care of all real property owned by the local church,” the “authority over the use of the building has limits.”
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“Pastors have the authority to decide whether they will perform the religious marriage service of a couple, and they cannot be prevented from or interfered with when using any of the property of the local church for such a service,” stated the Judicial Council.
“Similarly, the pastor cannot be required to use church facilities to perform a religious marriage service. If a pastor does not wish to perform a certain marriage ceremony (in the discretion of the pastor), the local trustees cannot require them to do so.”
Judicial Council members Molly Hlekani Mwayera, Øyvind Helliesen and Jonathan Ulanday were absent, according to the decision text. Timothy Bruster, the first clergy alternate, participated in the decision.
At the UMC General Conference last year, delegates voted overwhelmingly to remove the denomination’s longstanding prohibition on the blessing of same-sex unions.
The change came after over 7,500 congregations disaffiliated from the UMC over the years-long debate over the issue, as they took issue with some progressive denominational leaders not enforcing the UMC Book of Discipline’s former language against homosexuality. Most churches that left have joined the theologically conservative Global Methodist Church, while others have become nondenominational congregations.
Last year’s decision allows UMC pastors and regional bodies to prohibit same-sex weddings, with many congregations retaining the previous rules.
For example, Highland Park United Methodist Church of Dallas, Texas, a prominent congregation that former President George W. Bush is known to attend, announced shortly after the General Conference that it would not allow same-sex weddings on their property.
In a video posted last May, Highland Park UMC Senior Pastor Rev. Paul Rasmussen said the changes were “neither an invitation nor a mandate for us to change from the church that we have always been.”
“For 108 years, through 13 different senior ministers, Highland Park has always maintained the traditional definition and understanding of Christian marriage when it comes to weddings within our worship facilities,” he said. “We are going to continue to uphold the traditional definition of marriage in our worship venues.”
Rasmussen also said that clergy could perform same-sex weddings at other venues in the community “based on their conscience,” stating that “we have always been a big tent centrist church.”
