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Excerpt: Formal complaint filed against gay minister
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
By RUTH SCHUBERT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
In what may be the first step toward stripping him of his ordination, a
formal complaint has been filed against the Rev. Mark Edward Williams, the
United Methodist minister who has announced he is gay.
Bishop Elias Galvan initiated the complaint and an investigation after a
ruling in October from the denomination's highest judicial body, the
Judicial Council.
The council affirmed that the church's Book of Discipline forbids the
appointment of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals."
At the same time, the body said a pastor couldn't be stripped of his or her
appointment without going through the due process initiated by Galvan.
The process could lead to a church trial and, ultimately, Williams'
expulsion from the ministry.
Since Williams made his announcement at the denomination's annual conference
in June, he has continued to serve at the Woodland Park United Methodist
Church in Seattle, although under supervision.
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