Presbyterian Church ordains first openly gay minister
Sun. October 9, 2011 12:03 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
Madison, Wis. -
The Presbyterian Church has ordained Scott Anderson as the denomination's first openly gay minister.
Anderson, 56, was ordained in Madison, Wis., on Saturday.
He has been an ordained minister before -- back in Sacramento, Calif., from 1983 to 1990.
He was forced out of the closet when someone threatened to reveal him. He told his congregation at Bethany Church that he was gay, and he resigned.
"Getting outed at Bethany was both the best and worst moment of my life," Anderson told lgbtqnation.com.
Anderson worked with the Presbyterian Church bureaucracy to get the rules about gay and lesbian ministers changed.
He was joined at Saturday's ceremony by his partner of 20 years, Ian McAllister.
Anderson, 56, was ordained in Madison, Wis., on Saturday.
He has been an ordained minister before -- back in Sacramento, Calif., from 1983 to 1990.
He was forced out of the closet when someone threatened to reveal him. He told his congregation at Bethany Church that he was gay, and he resigned.
"Getting outed at Bethany was both the best and worst moment of my life," Anderson told lgbtqnation.com.
Anderson worked with the Presbyterian Church bureaucracy to get the rules about gay and lesbian ministers changed.
He was joined at Saturday's ceremony by his partner of 20 years, Ian McAllister.