County clerks in Wisconsin might get prosecuted if they issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and clergy who are ready to preside at the marriages of their same-sex congregants cannot do these weddings in their diocese.
Fr. Jonathan Greiser continues to monitor the situation on his blog.
Episcopal clergy were featured in this report in the Wisconsin State Journal:
The Rev. Andy Jones, pastor of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Madison, would like to perform same-sex marriages but his denomination does not allow it. The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, of which Madison Episcopal churches are a part, also prohibits same-sex blessing ceremonies, although other Episcopal dioceses allow them.
“Longtime members of St. Andrew’s — faithful, committed couples — long to have their church community affirm who they are and to have their church bless their relationship,” Jones said. “It pains me that I can’t do that.”
Another Episcopal priest, the Rev. Miranda Hassett of St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Madison, headed to the celebration of the court ruling in Downtown Madison Friday with her husband and two children. She wore a rainbow scarf and carried a sign reading, “Wherever True Love is, God is There.”
Although she can’t marry gay couples, she wanted to publicly show her support. “It was really important for me to be there as a priest and as a progressive Christian,” she said.
Greiser points out that Bishop Stephen Miller in Milwaukee wrote last year of his support for marriage equality but will not allow clergy in his diocese to perform same-sex blessings. That policy still stands.
Furthermore, I stated my belief that the right to a civil marriage should be available to all people, regardless of sexual orientation and that I would support those seeking to overturn the ban on same-gender marriage in Wisconsin.