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May 20, 2010
The gay Atlanta pastor and his partner who have been at the center of a battle over the treatment of gay clergy by America’s largest Lutheran denomination are being reinstated to its clergy roster.
The Rev. Bradley Schmeling and his partner, the Rev. Darin Easler, have been approved for reinstatement, the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said in a news release. The approval came roughly eight months after the denomination voted to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, and just weeks after the ELCA’s church council officially revised the church’s policy on gay ministers.
“I’m grateful that this journey has come full circle and that the church has changed its policy,” Schmeling said.
The reinstatement will become effective “once the paperwork has been filed,” which should happen in the coming days or weeks, he said.
