A gay Lutheran pastor who announced a year ago that he had a steady relationship with another man will face disciplinary proceedings for violating church rules banning sex outside marriage.
The Rev. Bradley Schmeling of St. John's, Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church, will face a disciplinary hearing Friday structured much like a trial, where a committee of 12 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will decide whether he can remain an ordained minister in the church.
Schmeling and his supporters say they hope his case will lead to changes in those rules, making the church more accepting of relationships involving its gay pastors....