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(Ashville, North Carolina) The Rev. Joe
Hoffman stood before his congregation at Ashville's First Congregational United Church of Christ
on Sunday and announced he would not sign marriage certificates until same-ex
couples receive marriage equality in North Carolina.
“When I sign that piece of paper for marriage, as an agent of the state, I
give about 1,100 rights and privileges that gay and
lesbian couples do not get,” Hoffman said.
“I believe in equal rights for
all people. As a minister, I was participating in a system that was unjust.”
Hoffman said he would continue to conduct the
religious portion of marriages but opposite-sex couples would have to find
another authority, such as a justice of the peace, to sign the certificates
making the marriages legal.
Despite the state's reputation as one of the most
conservative in the country a large number of parishioners applauded the move.
One who supports Hoffman's move is Kathryn Cartledge.
She said that she
was denied a chaplain job with the state for being a lesbian.
Hoffman is the first minister in North Carolina
to make such an announcement but he joins several dozen other UCC and Unitarian
pastors in other states.
Last year the General Synod of the United Church
of Christ voted to endorse same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian
denomination in the country to do so. (story)
The 1.3 million-member United Church of Christ
has a history of supporting gays in its denomination, dating to 1972, when it
ordained the first openly gay minister and established a gay caucus.
The UCC's General Synod previously has approved
holy unions for non-married couples.
In 2004, the UCC caused a stir in the growing
marriage debate when it created a television advertising campaign that featured
a gay couple, among others, being excluded from a church. CBS and NBC rejected
the 30-second ads. (story)
©365Gay.com 2006
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