3 Lutheran Congregations Defy Denomination & Appoint Openly Gay Clergy
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Los Angeles, California) Two Lutheran congregations in Southern California and a third in Minneapolis this week announced they were defying Church law and appointing "non celibate" gay clergy.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the fifth-largest Protestant denomination in the country, with 10,700 churches and five million members, forbids active homosexuals to be ordained or serve in the ministry. It does however ordain gays but requires them to be celibate.

The Reverend Jennifer Mason is scheduled to be installed Sunday at Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino. The Reverend Daniel Hooper is set to be installed at Hollywood Lutheran Church on May second.

The Reverend Jay Wiesner is scheduled to be installed as pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis on July 25th.
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Senate Approves Gay Marriage Amendment Measure
Bill Calls For Public Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Ban
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma voters would decide whether to enact a constitutional ban on gay marriages under a measure approved Thursday in the Oklahoma Senate.
Senate Republican leader James Williamson offered an amendment to a bill on the Senate floor that would define marriage as only between one man and one woman and prohibit the state from recognizing homosexual marriages performed outside the state.

The amended bill, which passed on a final vote of 38-7, now heads to the full House for consideration. If approved, the issue will be placed on the November general election ballot. State law already prohibits gay marriage, but the constitution can only be amended by a vote of the people.

"I am thankful to the Senate's Democrat leadership for finally giving up their efforts to keep the people from voting on the marriage protection amendment," said Williamson, R-Tulsa. "All we wanted all along was for the Democrat leadership to allow an up or down vote on this issue, and to allow the Senate to work its will."