wfn.org | UMNS# 04467-Same-sex ceremony complaint against Oliveto

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Same-sex ceremony complaint against Oliveto dismissed 

Oct. 8, 2004	 News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New
York {04467}

NOTE: Photos and related resources are available at
http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=2&mid=5812.

By Chuck Myer*

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (UMNS) -- A complaint against a United Methodist
pastor for performing a gay marriage ceremony in a church sanctuary has been
dismissed by Bishop Beverly Shamana of the denomination's California-Nevada
Conference.

The Rev. Karen Oliveto officiated at a Feb. 15 ceremony for Bethany United
Methodist Church parishioners Bill Hinson and Dan Johnson after they received
a marriage license at San Francisco City Hall.	A complaint was filed against
her shortly thereafter, and has been in the "supervisory" resolution process
in the seven months since.

"It was a challenging process, and I'm glad there is resolution," Oliveto
said. "It was done respectfully, and it was carried out in a prayerful manner
that was mindful of the church, The Book of Discipline and the dignity of all
persons involved."

Bishop Shamana referred reporters to a press release issued by Pacific School
of Religion in Berkeley, where Oliveto now serves as assistant dean for
academic affairs and director of contextual education.	The bishop's
statement said: "The complaint has been resolved in a manner consistent with
the 2000 Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. The goal of the
Book of Discipline is reconciliation and resolution, and this goal has been
achieved."

The 2004 United Methodist General Conference in Pittsburgh in May officially
made performing gay and lesbian marriages a chargeable offense that could
result in loss of ministerial credentials.  The 2000 Book of Discipline was
in force at the time of the February 2004 complaint.

Oliveto said the bishop met with her four times during the confidential
supervisory process.  She would not divulge whether the complaint against her
was filed by an outside party or by her own supervisory cabinet.  

"For me," she added, "this resolution reflects that day that God broke into
the world in San Francisco."  Some 4,000 same-sex couples were issued
marriage licenses in San Francisco in February, but the California State
Supreme Court voided the licenses in August.

In June, Oliveto left her position as pastor at Bethany United Methodist
Church in San Francisco after being hired by the seminary.  She says that the
move was not related to the complaint, and that it was difficult for her to
leave the church, which was experiencing growth and renewed support in the
wake of a building expansion program.

"The call came suddenly, at a time I didn't expect it to," she says.  "God's
time is not our time." She added that she sees the move as the next part of
her vocation, and that she knew her ministry would eventually move to the
seminary, where she has served for the past decade as a field education
mentor to Pacific School of Religion divinity students.  

In the press release, William McKinney, the seminary's president, said, "We
are delighted that Karen has returned to PSR and look forward to her role in
preparing the next generation of courageous leaders for The United Methodist
Church and its partner denominations. Karen's actions throughout the year
have embodied PSR's core values, including compassion and justice for people
of all genders, sexual orientations and races, and mutual respect in our
partnerships with faith communities. She has practiced the kind of leadership
we aim to develop in our students."

However, not all California-Nevada pastors supported Oliveto's actions.  In
February, Rev. Jim Garrison, president of the Conference's Evangelical
Renewal Fellowship, expressed concern that her actions "threatened the unity
of our whole connection."

Garrison said he is glad that the complaint against Oliveto has been
resolved.  "I trust that Bishop Shamana was able to do this in a way that
both was pastorally sensitive, and still required accountability to the rules
in our Book of Discipline.

"The 2004 General Conference gave increased clarity to some of those rules
that were in question in this case.  With Karen, I am also appreciative that
our process of dealing with complaints puts a priority on accountability as a
means to reconciliation, rather than being strictly punitive."

Bethany church has traditionally offered strong support to gay and lesbian
United Methodists in San Francisco's Noe Valley area.  "We at Bethany are
greatly relieved, but not surprised, that the complaint was favorably
resolved by Bishop Shamana," said Jeff Friant, Bethany lay leader. "The
weddings were declared legal, they were not prohibited at that time by the
Book of Discipline, and were an act of equal justice.  Bethany and I believe
that God's love and justice will prevail in the long run."

*Chuck Myer is a freelance writer based in California.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646)369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org

********************

United Methodist News Service
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