Methodist minister facing discipline after officiating at gay wedding

In September 2019, a Methodist minister at George Mason University (GMU), in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., officiated at a student’s same-sex wedding. Two complaints were filed against him with the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, referencing the fact that homosexual unions are prohibited in Methodist doctrine.

Key Player

Rev. Drew Ensz is the director of Arise Campus Ministry, an organization serving GMU and various Northern Virginia community colleges. He agreed to officiate at the wedding of a gay GMU student and his partner. Ensz had known the student, whose identity he would not disclose to The Washington Post, for some years, having both confirmed him in the church and served as his youth minister.

Further Details

Within the 10 days following the same-sex wedding, two complaints were made against Ensz. One was filed by Rev. Amanda Miller Garber, pastor of Rise Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia, The Washington Post reports. Garber had received disciplinary action (suspension without pay for a month) in 2014 after performing a gay marriage ceremony. She told The Post that, because disciplinary matters are handled locally, she hoped that her pro forma “friendly” complaint would result in a less harsh consequence for Ensz than the one she received. 

“I had a different bishop. I hoped the system might respond differently,” she told The Post.

But the second complaint filed against Ensz was not as well intentioned, as Garber told The Post. She did not reveal who filed it because of an ongoing process. 

Both complaints refer to the Methodist rulebook, the Book of Discipline, which forbids LGBTQ weddings and the appointment of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” as clergy, DCist reports. 

Possible repercussions for Ensz’s violation of the Book of Discipline could include temporary suspension without pay or, at its most extreme, stripping him of his credentials as a Methodist minister. 

Outcome

United Methodist Church announces possible split over gay marriage

In an action plan released on Jan. 3, 2020, a group of church leaders announced that the United Methodist Church will vote on the possibility of separating into two entities: one denomination in favor of LGBTQ inclusion, the other maintaining traditional Methodist values. The church was originally scheduled to vote at the annual United Methodist General Conference in May 2020, but the event was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Christianity Today. Until a vote can be held, DCist reports, the plan specifically asks for Methodist leaders to put a halt to any disciplinary proceedings surrounding LGBTQ issues within the church. This plan, however, is a suggestion, not a requirement. 

Lead bishop of Virginia Conference will process complaints against Ensz

In a letter on Jan. 17, 2020, Bishop Sharma D. Lewis, who has led the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church since 2016, confirmed that she will still process complaints filed around LGBTQ matters in the church, including the ones against Ensz. In a statement to The Post, a spokesperson for the bishop said, “Bishop Sharma Lewis is bound by oaths she took as both a pastor and a Bishop to uphold the Book of Discipline and she processed both complaints.”