Local
Defrocked Methodist pastor gives guest sermon in D.C.
Foundry invited Pa. minister


The Rev. Frank Schaefer of Lebanon, Pa., appeared at Foundry on Sunday.
The Methodist pastor from Pennsylvania whose credentials as a minister were revoked last week because he refused to stop performing same-sex marriages was greeted warmly on Sunday when he delivered two guest sermons at D.C.ās Foundry United Methodist Church, which is supportive of the LGBT community.
The Rev. Frank Schaefer of Lebanon, Pa., appeared at Foundry at the invitation of the Foundry pastor, Rev. Dean Snyder, who himself has performed same-sex marriages at Foundry in defiance of a United Methodist Church policy prohibiting its ministers from performing same-sex nuptials.
The church policy also prohibits same-sex marriages from being performed in Methodist churches by ministers of other denominations or by civil officiants.
āLike Rev. Schaefer, we believe in marriage equality as a biblical principle,ā says a statement released by Foundry United Methodist Church last month when Schaefer was placed on trial by church leaders in Pennsylvania. Church officials initiated the trial after they learned he performed his sonās same-sex wedding in 2007.
The tribunal conducted by the United Methodist Conference of Eastern Pennsylvania, a regional church governing body, initially sentenced Schaefer to a 30-day suspension of his ministerial duties. When he refused a request by the tribunal that he complies with the Churchās Book of Discipline, or church law, by never again conducting a same-sex marriage, church officials defrocked him.
Rev. Dawn Hand, Foundryās associate pastor and chief program officer, told the Blade that Schaefer, his wife, and two of his four sons who accompanied Schaefer during his appearance Sunday at Foundry, each joined Foundry and were officially welcomed as members.
āThey are not planning to move to this area,ā Hand said. āBut they do have a home church, and thatās Foundry,ā she said.
Schaefer, who lives with his family in Lebanon, Pa., has been a United Methodist clergyman for 20 years, Hand said.
According to Hand, the United Methodist Conference for the Baltimore-Washington Region, which is the church governing body with jurisdiction in this area, has not taken steps to stop Foundry United Methodist Church or Pastor Snyder from performing same-sex marriages.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.
So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.
āFāā Donald Trump and fāā the Kennedy Center,ā a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Operaās Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nationās leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw
School teacher, D.C. resident praised for āwarmth, humor, kindnessā

Co-workers and friends will hold a celebration of life for highly acclaimed schoolteacher and D.C. resident Patrick Shaw beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at The Little Gay Pub 1100 P St., N.W.
Little Gay Pub co-owner and Shawās friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.
āPatrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,ā Martinez said. āHe was a truly special soul ā funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.ā
In an Instagram posting, Shawās colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.ās Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.
āPatrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,ā his colleagues said in their posting. āHis daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.ā
The posted message adds, āPatrick was more than a teacher; he was a light in our school, inspiring us all to show up with heart, humor, and kindness every day. His spirit will be deeply missed.ā
The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon.
District of Columbia
D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case
Victim threatened with assault, called āfaggotā as he left Capitals game

D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera after he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs and threatened to assault a man at 6th and H Streets, N.W. on March 20 at about 9:54 p.m.
A police report says the victim told police the incident took place shortly after he exited the nearby Capital One Arena where he had attended a Washington Capitals hockey game.
The police report says the incident began when the victim saw the suspect yell a racist slur at a person behind the victim and started to berate a valet operator.
āSuspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a āfaggotā among other homophobic slurs,ā the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and āsnatchingā the phone from the victimās hand.
āSuspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,ā the report continues. āSuspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed āif you keep recording, Iām going to kick your ass.āā The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.
It lists the incident as a āThreats To Do Bodily Harmā offense that is a suspected hate crime.
āAnyone who can identify this suspect or has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099, or text your tip to the Departmentās TEXT TIP LINE at 50411,ā according to a separate police statement released April 23.
The statement says police currently offer an award of up to $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.
D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the case has been under investigation since the incident occurred on March 20. He said the video image of the suspect, most likely obtained from a security camera from a nearby business, was released to the public as soon as it was obtained and processed through the investigation.
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