Born in Fort Wayne, IN in 1963, Bradley Schmeling moved with his family to Cincinnati in 1970. The Schmeling family attended churches belonging to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Though not clergy, his parents served in leadership roles.
After graduating from high school in 1981, Schmeling attended Ohio University, majoring in Telecommunications/Journalism. During college, he joined the LCA, a predecessor of the ELCA. Then, he went on to seminary at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. Schmeling recalls, “From the time I was little, people said things to me about being a pastor. Those early Sunday School teachers, etc. were the first to plant the seed. Church was always part of my life. I didn’t finally decide to go to seminary until my Junior year of college. At the time, that seemed like a big decision, although now i realize it was one more step in a long journey of being nudged into ministry by the Spirit.”
After receiving his Masters of Divinity in 1989, Rev. Schmeling served at Calvary Lutheran Church until 1995. While there, Pastor Schmeling publicly came out. He recalls, “My very first thought of ‘being different’ was in kindergarten when I remember thinking that I liked my friend Steve ‘too much.’ Of course, I didn’t put a name on that until adolescence, and didn’t come out until… 1991 or 1992.”
Next, Pastor Schmeling moved to Atlanta for doctoral studies at Emory University. This led to a position at the university’s chapel. In 2000, St. John’s Lutheran in Atlanta called him to be their pastor. The church and the bishop knew of Pastor Schmeling’s sexual orientation. At the time, gay and lesbian clergy could serve in the ELCA as long as they were not in a relationship.
Things changed in 2004 when Pastor Schmeling met another ELCA pastor, Rev. Darin Easler, at a conference for Lutherans Concerned, advocating for the full inclusion of LBGTQ+ clergy. They fell in love and began a relationship in 2005. In 2006, Pastor Easler relocated to Atlanta and the pastors let their respective bishops know about the change in their relationship status. Pastor Easler was removed from the clergy roster in his synod. While the bishop of Southeastern Synod eventually filed formal charges, St. John’s celebrated the relationship with a party.
Pastor Schmeling’s trial took place in January 2007. The jury voted to remove Pastor Schmeling from the clergy roster, but also provided a statement that it believed the ELCA should change the policy, claiming that the policy “may very well violate the constitution and bylaws of this church.” Both sides appealed, but Pastor Schmeling was officially removed from the roster in July 2007. St. John’s steadfastly stood by its pastor, keeping him on despite the ruling.
Subsequently, 22 synods passed resolutions advocating that the ELCA change this policy. At the 2007 churchwide assembly, the ELCA voted to allow bishops to exercise restraint in dealing with LBGTQ+ clergy in committed relationships. While this leniency came too late to keep Pastor Schmeling and Pastor Easler on the official roster, it did allow the bishop to decline to further punish St. John’s for retaining Pastor Schmeling. (The ELCA could have expelled St. John’s as it had St. Francis in San Francisco upon the ordination of Pastors Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart.)
This vote brought an end to ELCA trials based on sexual orientation and began the process to change the policy. At the time, Pastor Schmeling responded, ““I’m disappointed that they couldn’t fully change the policy, but I think it’s a big step forward for us. For the first time, the church is saying that there are partnered gay and lesbian pastors who are serving faithfully and well in our church, and they should stay in place for sake of the mission of the church.” At the next churchwide assembly in 2009, the ELCA voted to allow LBGTQ+ clergy in committed relationships. Thus, in 2010, the ELCA restored Pastors Schmeling and Easler to the ELCA roster.
In 2012, Pastors Schmeling and Easler moved to Minnesota. Pastor Schmeling accepted a call from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul. With 2,300 members, Gloria Dei was the largest ELCA congregation served by an LBGTQ+ pastor, at that time. Pastor Easler continued his chaplain work in senior care. Finally, once Minnesota legalized same sex marriage in 2013, the pastors formally married in 2014.
Author’s note: The author greatly appreciates the assistance of Pastor Schmeling who responded to some questions by email. She also highly recommends “In the Time of Trial,” a documentary video produced by St. John’s Lutheran about Pastor Schmeling’s trial. Member of Christ Our Shepherd may contact Laura Hawkins to borrow her copy to view.
Sources:
- Voice, G. (2018, May 20). Gay lutheran pastors reinstated. Rough Draft Atlanta. https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2010/05/14/gay-lutheran-pastors-reinstated/
- NBCUniversal News Group. (2007, July 5). Gay lutheran pastor stripped of ministry. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19619051
- Bradley Schmeling. LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. (n.d.). https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/bradley-schmeling
- Banerjee, N. (2007, August 17). Advocates Hail Lutheran Act on Gay Clergy Members. The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/990517onthisday_big.html