patrick.net

An Iowa City pastor who pushed back against the United Methodist Church’s restrictions on gay clergy and same-sex marriage — and accused of violating church doctrine by being “a self-avowed, practicing homosexual” — will take an indefinite leave of absence under a settlement announced Wednesday.

Under the resolution described by the Iowa Conference of the church, the Rev. Anna Blaedel will request a leave of absence until they — the pronoun Blaedel prefers — asks to come off it.

Blaedel formerly served as director of the Wesley Center in Iowa City but stepped down in May because of a complaint filed in 2018. Blaedel instead became leader of the center’s Table Tuesday program, a time for college students to come together for conversation about spirituality and social justice.

“Today, we are naming together the truth that it is not currently possible for me to continue my ministry in the context of the Iowa Annual Conference, nor the (United Methodist Church),” Blaedel said in a statement. “I had hoped for a different conclusion to the story. ... I am no longer willing to subject my body and soul and life to this particular violence.”
...
The Committee on Investigation of the Iowa Conference charged Blaedel on May 20 with “being a self-avowed practicing homosexual in violation of Paragraphs 2702.1b and 304.3 of the Book of Discipline,” the law of the United Methodist Church.