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Law

LGBTQ Rights In The Methodist Church

Rev. Gil Caldwell (far right) with Martin Luther King, Jr.
truthinprogress.com

In 2007, Methodist Reverend Frank Schaefer performed the marriage service for his son Tim's wedding.

The seemingly routine action dramatically altered Schaefer's career because the same-sex union was prohibited by the church. Schaefer’s performance of marriage vows put him at the center of a controversy. He was stripped of his credentials but after a trial, the defrocking was overturned.

Now, Rev. Schaefer is an advocate for LGBTQ communities in the church. His advocacy is similar to that of Reverend Gil Caldwell who began his fight for equal rights in the 1960s after meeting Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Rev. Caldwell examines the parallels between movement for LGBTQ rights and the civil rights movement. 

Host Frank Stasio talks with Rev. Schaefer and Rev. Caldwell. They both speak this Saturday at the Jack Crum conference in Durham

Laura Lee was the managing editor of The State of Things until mid February 2017. Born and raised in Monroe, North Carolina, Laura returned to the Old North state in 2013 after several years in Washington, DC. She received her B.A. in political science and international studies from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002 and her J.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law in 2007.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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