Tue March 22, 2016
A GLIDE Talk and Screening: An Act of Love
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church
(see times)
GLIDE is proud to continue its thought-leaders’ series with a screening of An Act of Love, followed by a talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Filmmakers Scott Sheppard and Kate Logan and GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto on Tuesday, March 22 in GLIDE’s Sanctuary.
While the U.S. now has marriage equality, the United Methodist Church—the country’s second-largest protestant denomination—is still sharply divided over the issue. In May 2016, the Church will come together at its General Conference to decide whether to allow pastors to perform same-sex marriages. As the conference approaches, An Act of Love showcases the human side of this debate through the story of Rev. Frank Schaefer, who was defrocked after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage ceremony.
Nearly six years after marrying his son, Lebanon County minister Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the United Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave Rev. Schaefer a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
“I am hopeful that this film will change hearts and minds in the marriage equality issue that is, sadly, still fiercely debated within the religious community,” said Rev. Schaefer.
“GLIDE is honored to host Rev. Schaefer, as we learn of his story through the film An Act of Love,” said Rev. Oliveto. “Frank did what any loving clergy parent would do for a child: officiate at their wedding. Yet this loving act came with a tremendous cost. We are grateful for the way Frank has used this moment to challenge and confront the Church’s unjust and unloving policies towards its LGBTQ members.”
After Schaefer’s story attracted a great deal of attention in Eastern Pennsylvania, national and international media took notice, with articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times, and appearances on The View, CNN, MSNBC and the CBS Evening News. With the spotlight on him, Schaefer went from being a small-town minister to an outspoken LGBTQ activist with a national platform. When film director Scott Sheppard heard Schaefer’s story, he immediately reached out about making a documentary.
An Act of Love had its World Premiere at the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2015, where it won the Silver Audience Award for Best Documentary.
For more than five decades, GLIDE has stood up for the people who face discrimination and marginalization in San Francisco. Even though the United Methodist Church remains opposed to same-sex marriage rights, GLIDE continues to advocate for the rights of all people to seek marriage equality. GLIDE has been hailed for its significant contributions to civil rights causes and its support of the LGBTQ community even before the Stonewall Era. Co-founders Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani have been leaders in the struggle for LGBTQ rights in San Francisco since the 1960s, when Rev. Williams began performing same-sex unions and Mirikitani advised and defended LGBTQ street youth. GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Oliveto has been an outspoken activist for LGBTQ justice in church and society for nearly four decades.
The special documentary film screening and talk is free, but reservations are required at Eventbrite.
WHAT:
GLIDE Presents Special Documentary Film Screening of An Act of Love, followed by talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Filmmakers Scott Sheppard and Kate Logan and GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
WHERE:
GLIDE, 330 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN:
6:00–6:50 PM: Arrivals and Reception
7:00–8:30 PM: Screening of An Act of Love
8:30–9:00 PM: GLIDE Talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Scott Shepard
and Kate Logan in conversation with Rev. Dr. Oliveto
9:00–9:15 PM: Q&A
ADMISSION:
Free and open to the public; please register at: Eventbrite
For more information, call 415.674.6060 or email [email protected]
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
About Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto is a scholar/pastor/activist who broke the “stained glass ceiling” when she was appointed as the senior pastor of the 11,000 member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, becoming the first United Methodist clergywoman to serve as lead pastor in one of the top 100 largest United Methodist Churches. She has served on the board of directors of the Reconciling Ministries Network in the United Methodist Church for 12 years, chairing the board for three years. She has led legislative efforts to change UMC policy on LGBTQ persons for several General Conferences, and was arrested for civil disobedience at GC 2000. Originally from Long Island, New York, Oliveto has been a Bay Area resident since 1989. She is married to Robin Ridenour, her partner of 17 years.
Rev. Frank Schaefer
Rev. Frank Schaefer is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, where he ministered for twenty years in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. In 2013, nearly six years after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage, Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave him a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
With the stripping of his credentials, he lost his parish, career, and security. Subsequently, Frank became a nationwide speaker and LGBTQ activist. Though his credentials were reinstated by the Church's highest court in the fall of 2014, Pastor Frank continues to advocate for human rights while also working in a new United Methodist parish in Isla Vista, California.
Scott Sheppard | Director, Producer, Editor
Scott Sheppard was raised the son of a United Methodist minister in rural Michigan. He comes from a long line of Methodist ministers and missionaries, and he chronicled much of that family history in his debut documentary, Planes, Trains & Autorickshaws. As an editor, he worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s Showtime documentary about infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight. He has also edited short documentaries, commercials and short films for organizations such as the American Heart Association, Harvard University, Canon, TEDx, GOOD, Open Society Foundations, Sheryl Sandberg, and Elvis Presley Enterprises. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Kate S. Logan | Producer
Kate S. Logan's directorial debut Kidnapped for Christ follows the harrowing journeys of several American teenagers who were taken in the middle of the night by strangers and shipped to an Evangelical reform school in the Dominican Republic. Kidnapped won the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival, and is currently airing on Showtime and available on iTunes, Amazon Prime and other VOD outlets. Previously, Kate worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s controversial documentary on the infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight, as well as the Independent Lens/PBS documentary Meet the Patels. She also worked with the independent distribution team that brought actor Harry Shearer's film The Big Uneasy to theaters.
An Act of Love |The Story
A Father. A Church. A Movement. Like many other Christian denominations around the world, the United Methodist Church is at a crossroads. The debate over same-sex marriage has reached a point at which it threatens to irreparably divide the Church.
An Act of Love tells the story of an unwitting advocate in the fight for equal rights within the Church, Rev. Frank Schaefer, who had his ministerial credentials revoked in December 2013 after officiating at his son’s same-sex wedding. Will Rev. Schaefer’s trial be the final breaking point for the Church? Or will his story be the final chapter in the long struggle for LGBTQ equality within the UMC?
show less
While the U.S. now has marriage equality, the United Methodist Church—the country’s second-largest protestant denomination—is still sharply divided over the issue. In May 2016, the Church will come together at its General Conference to decide whether to allow pastors to perform same-sex marriages. As the conference approaches, An Act of Love showcases the human side of this debate through the story of Rev. Frank Schaefer, who was defrocked after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage ceremony.
Nearly six years after marrying his son, Lebanon County minister Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the United Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave Rev. Schaefer a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
“I am hopeful that this film will change hearts and minds in the marriage equality issue that is, sadly, still fiercely debated within the religious community,” said Rev. Schaefer.
“GLIDE is honored to host Rev. Schaefer, as we learn of his story through the film An Act of Love,” said Rev. Oliveto. “Frank did what any loving clergy parent would do for a child: officiate at their wedding. Yet this loving act came with a tremendous cost. We are grateful for the way Frank has used this moment to challenge and confront the Church’s unjust and unloving policies towards its LGBTQ members.”
After Schaefer’s story attracted a great deal of attention in Eastern Pennsylvania, national and international media took notice, with articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times, and appearances on The View, CNN, MSNBC and the CBS Evening News. With the spotlight on him, Schaefer went from being a small-town minister to an outspoken LGBTQ activist with a national platform. When film director Scott Sheppard heard Schaefer’s story, he immediately reached out about making a documentary.
An Act of Love had its World Premiere at the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2015, where it won the Silver Audience Award for Best Documentary.
For more than five decades, GLIDE has stood up for the people who face discrimination and marginalization in San Francisco. Even though the United Methodist Church remains opposed to same-sex marriage rights, GLIDE continues to advocate for the rights of all people to seek marriage equality. GLIDE has been hailed for its significant contributions to civil rights causes and its support of the LGBTQ community even before the Stonewall Era. Co-founders Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani have been leaders in the struggle for LGBTQ rights in San Francisco since the 1960s, when Rev. Williams began performing same-sex unions and Mirikitani advised and defended LGBTQ street youth. GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Oliveto has been an outspoken activist for LGBTQ justice in church and society for nearly four decades.
The special documentary film screening and talk is free, but reservations are required at Eventbrite.
WHAT:
GLIDE Presents Special Documentary Film Screening of An Act of Love, followed by talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Filmmakers Scott Sheppard and Kate Logan and GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
WHERE:
GLIDE, 330 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN:
6:00–6:50 PM: Arrivals and Reception
7:00–8:30 PM: Screening of An Act of Love
8:30–9:00 PM: GLIDE Talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Scott Shepard
and Kate Logan in conversation with Rev. Dr. Oliveto
9:00–9:15 PM: Q&A
ADMISSION:
Free and open to the public; please register at: Eventbrite
For more information, call 415.674.6060 or email [email protected]
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
About Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto is a scholar/pastor/activist who broke the “stained glass ceiling” when she was appointed as the senior pastor of the 11,000 member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, becoming the first United Methodist clergywoman to serve as lead pastor in one of the top 100 largest United Methodist Churches. She has served on the board of directors of the Reconciling Ministries Network in the United Methodist Church for 12 years, chairing the board for three years. She has led legislative efforts to change UMC policy on LGBTQ persons for several General Conferences, and was arrested for civil disobedience at GC 2000. Originally from Long Island, New York, Oliveto has been a Bay Area resident since 1989. She is married to Robin Ridenour, her partner of 17 years.
Rev. Frank Schaefer
Rev. Frank Schaefer is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, where he ministered for twenty years in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. In 2013, nearly six years after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage, Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave him a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
With the stripping of his credentials, he lost his parish, career, and security. Subsequently, Frank became a nationwide speaker and LGBTQ activist. Though his credentials were reinstated by the Church's highest court in the fall of 2014, Pastor Frank continues to advocate for human rights while also working in a new United Methodist parish in Isla Vista, California.
Scott Sheppard | Director, Producer, Editor
Scott Sheppard was raised the son of a United Methodist minister in rural Michigan. He comes from a long line of Methodist ministers and missionaries, and he chronicled much of that family history in his debut documentary, Planes, Trains & Autorickshaws. As an editor, he worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s Showtime documentary about infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight. He has also edited short documentaries, commercials and short films for organizations such as the American Heart Association, Harvard University, Canon, TEDx, GOOD, Open Society Foundations, Sheryl Sandberg, and Elvis Presley Enterprises. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Kate S. Logan | Producer
Kate S. Logan's directorial debut Kidnapped for Christ follows the harrowing journeys of several American teenagers who were taken in the middle of the night by strangers and shipped to an Evangelical reform school in the Dominican Republic. Kidnapped won the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival, and is currently airing on Showtime and available on iTunes, Amazon Prime and other VOD outlets. Previously, Kate worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s controversial documentary on the infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight, as well as the Independent Lens/PBS documentary Meet the Patels. She also worked with the independent distribution team that brought actor Harry Shearer's film The Big Uneasy to theaters.
An Act of Love |The Story
A Father. A Church. A Movement. Like many other Christian denominations around the world, the United Methodist Church is at a crossroads. The debate over same-sex marriage has reached a point at which it threatens to irreparably divide the Church.
An Act of Love tells the story of an unwitting advocate in the fight for equal rights within the Church, Rev. Frank Schaefer, who had his ministerial credentials revoked in December 2013 after officiating at his son’s same-sex wedding. Will Rev. Schaefer’s trial be the final breaking point for the Church? Or will his story be the final chapter in the long struggle for LGBTQ equality within the UMC?
GLIDE is proud to continue its thought-leaders’ series with a screening of An Act of Love, followed by a talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Filmmakers Scott Sheppard and Kate Logan and GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto on Tuesday, March 22 in GLIDE’s Sanctuary.
While the U.S. now has marriage equality, the United Methodist Church—the country’s second-largest protestant denomination—is still sharply divided over the issue. In May 2016, the Church will come together at its General Conference to decide whether to allow pastors to perform same-sex marriages. As the conference approaches, An Act of Love showcases the human side of this debate through the story of Rev. Frank Schaefer, who was defrocked after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage ceremony.
Nearly six years after marrying his son, Lebanon County minister Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the United Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave Rev. Schaefer a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
“I am hopeful that this film will change hearts and minds in the marriage equality issue that is, sadly, still fiercely debated within the religious community,” said Rev. Schaefer.
“GLIDE is honored to host Rev. Schaefer, as we learn of his story through the film An Act of Love,” said Rev. Oliveto. “Frank did what any loving clergy parent would do for a child: officiate at their wedding. Yet this loving act came with a tremendous cost. We are grateful for the way Frank has used this moment to challenge and confront the Church’s unjust and unloving policies towards its LGBTQ members.”
After Schaefer’s story attracted a great deal of attention in Eastern Pennsylvania, national and international media took notice, with articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times, and appearances on The View, CNN, MSNBC and the CBS Evening News. With the spotlight on him, Schaefer went from being a small-town minister to an outspoken LGBTQ activist with a national platform. When film director Scott Sheppard heard Schaefer’s story, he immediately reached out about making a documentary.
An Act of Love had its World Premiere at the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2015, where it won the Silver Audience Award for Best Documentary.
For more than five decades, GLIDE has stood up for the people who face discrimination and marginalization in San Francisco. Even though the United Methodist Church remains opposed to same-sex marriage rights, GLIDE continues to advocate for the rights of all people to seek marriage equality. GLIDE has been hailed for its significant contributions to civil rights causes and its support of the LGBTQ community even before the Stonewall Era. Co-founders Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani have been leaders in the struggle for LGBTQ rights in San Francisco since the 1960s, when Rev. Williams began performing same-sex unions and Mirikitani advised and defended LGBTQ street youth. GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Oliveto has been an outspoken activist for LGBTQ justice in church and society for nearly four decades.
The special documentary film screening and talk is free, but reservations are required at Eventbrite.
WHAT:
GLIDE Presents Special Documentary Film Screening of An Act of Love, followed by talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Filmmakers Scott Sheppard and Kate Logan and GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
WHERE:
GLIDE, 330 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN:
6:00–6:50 PM: Arrivals and Reception
7:00–8:30 PM: Screening of An Act of Love
8:30–9:00 PM: GLIDE Talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Scott Shepard
and Kate Logan in conversation with Rev. Dr. Oliveto
9:00–9:15 PM: Q&A
ADMISSION:
Free and open to the public; please register at: Eventbrite
For more information, call 415.674.6060 or email [email protected]
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
About Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto is a scholar/pastor/activist who broke the “stained glass ceiling” when she was appointed as the senior pastor of the 11,000 member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, becoming the first United Methodist clergywoman to serve as lead pastor in one of the top 100 largest United Methodist Churches. She has served on the board of directors of the Reconciling Ministries Network in the United Methodist Church for 12 years, chairing the board for three years. She has led legislative efforts to change UMC policy on LGBTQ persons for several General Conferences, and was arrested for civil disobedience at GC 2000. Originally from Long Island, New York, Oliveto has been a Bay Area resident since 1989. She is married to Robin Ridenour, her partner of 17 years.
Rev. Frank Schaefer
Rev. Frank Schaefer is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, where he ministered for twenty years in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. In 2013, nearly six years after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage, Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave him a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
With the stripping of his credentials, he lost his parish, career, and security. Subsequently, Frank became a nationwide speaker and LGBTQ activist. Though his credentials were reinstated by the Church's highest court in the fall of 2014, Pastor Frank continues to advocate for human rights while also working in a new United Methodist parish in Isla Vista, California.
Scott Sheppard | Director, Producer, Editor
Scott Sheppard was raised the son of a United Methodist minister in rural Michigan. He comes from a long line of Methodist ministers and missionaries, and he chronicled much of that family history in his debut documentary, Planes, Trains & Autorickshaws. As an editor, he worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s Showtime documentary about infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight. He has also edited short documentaries, commercials and short films for organizations such as the American Heart Association, Harvard University, Canon, TEDx, GOOD, Open Society Foundations, Sheryl Sandberg, and Elvis Presley Enterprises. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Kate S. Logan | Producer
Kate S. Logan's directorial debut Kidnapped for Christ follows the harrowing journeys of several American teenagers who were taken in the middle of the night by strangers and shipped to an Evangelical reform school in the Dominican Republic. Kidnapped won the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival, and is currently airing on Showtime and available on iTunes, Amazon Prime and other VOD outlets. Previously, Kate worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s controversial documentary on the infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight, as well as the Independent Lens/PBS documentary Meet the Patels. She also worked with the independent distribution team that brought actor Harry Shearer's film The Big Uneasy to theaters.
An Act of Love |The Story
A Father. A Church. A Movement. Like many other Christian denominations around the world, the United Methodist Church is at a crossroads. The debate over same-sex marriage has reached a point at which it threatens to irreparably divide the Church.
An Act of Love tells the story of an unwitting advocate in the fight for equal rights within the Church, Rev. Frank Schaefer, who had his ministerial credentials revoked in December 2013 after officiating at his son’s same-sex wedding. Will Rev. Schaefer’s trial be the final breaking point for the Church? Or will his story be the final chapter in the long struggle for LGBTQ equality within the UMC?
read more
While the U.S. now has marriage equality, the United Methodist Church—the country’s second-largest protestant denomination—is still sharply divided over the issue. In May 2016, the Church will come together at its General Conference to decide whether to allow pastors to perform same-sex marriages. As the conference approaches, An Act of Love showcases the human side of this debate through the story of Rev. Frank Schaefer, who was defrocked after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage ceremony.
Nearly six years after marrying his son, Lebanon County minister Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the United Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave Rev. Schaefer a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
“I am hopeful that this film will change hearts and minds in the marriage equality issue that is, sadly, still fiercely debated within the religious community,” said Rev. Schaefer.
“GLIDE is honored to host Rev. Schaefer, as we learn of his story through the film An Act of Love,” said Rev. Oliveto. “Frank did what any loving clergy parent would do for a child: officiate at their wedding. Yet this loving act came with a tremendous cost. We are grateful for the way Frank has used this moment to challenge and confront the Church’s unjust and unloving policies towards its LGBTQ members.”
After Schaefer’s story attracted a great deal of attention in Eastern Pennsylvania, national and international media took notice, with articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times, and appearances on The View, CNN, MSNBC and the CBS Evening News. With the spotlight on him, Schaefer went from being a small-town minister to an outspoken LGBTQ activist with a national platform. When film director Scott Sheppard heard Schaefer’s story, he immediately reached out about making a documentary.
An Act of Love had its World Premiere at the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2015, where it won the Silver Audience Award for Best Documentary.
For more than five decades, GLIDE has stood up for the people who face discrimination and marginalization in San Francisco. Even though the United Methodist Church remains opposed to same-sex marriage rights, GLIDE continues to advocate for the rights of all people to seek marriage equality. GLIDE has been hailed for its significant contributions to civil rights causes and its support of the LGBTQ community even before the Stonewall Era. Co-founders Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani have been leaders in the struggle for LGBTQ rights in San Francisco since the 1960s, when Rev. Williams began performing same-sex unions and Mirikitani advised and defended LGBTQ street youth. GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Oliveto has been an outspoken activist for LGBTQ justice in church and society for nearly four decades.
The special documentary film screening and talk is free, but reservations are required at Eventbrite.
WHAT:
GLIDE Presents Special Documentary Film Screening of An Act of Love, followed by talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Filmmakers Scott Sheppard and Kate Logan and GLIDE Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
WHERE:
GLIDE, 330 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN:
6:00–6:50 PM: Arrivals and Reception
7:00–8:30 PM: Screening of An Act of Love
8:30–9:00 PM: GLIDE Talk with Rev. Frank Schaefer, Scott Shepard
and Kate Logan in conversation with Rev. Dr. Oliveto
9:00–9:15 PM: Q&A
ADMISSION:
Free and open to the public; please register at: Eventbrite
For more information, call 415.674.6060 or email [email protected]
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
About Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto
Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto is a scholar/pastor/activist who broke the “stained glass ceiling” when she was appointed as the senior pastor of the 11,000 member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, becoming the first United Methodist clergywoman to serve as lead pastor in one of the top 100 largest United Methodist Churches. She has served on the board of directors of the Reconciling Ministries Network in the United Methodist Church for 12 years, chairing the board for three years. She has led legislative efforts to change UMC policy on LGBTQ persons for several General Conferences, and was arrested for civil disobedience at GC 2000. Originally from Long Island, New York, Oliveto has been a Bay Area resident since 1989. She is married to Robin Ridenour, her partner of 17 years.
Rev. Frank Schaefer
Rev. Frank Schaefer is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, where he ministered for twenty years in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. In 2013, nearly six years after officiating at his son’s same-sex marriage, Rev. Schaefer was put on trial by the Methodist Church. At the end of the trial, the Church gave him a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. Rev. Schafer refused to make the promise, and was subsequently defrocked.
With the stripping of his credentials, he lost his parish, career, and security. Subsequently, Frank became a nationwide speaker and LGBTQ activist. Though his credentials were reinstated by the Church's highest court in the fall of 2014, Pastor Frank continues to advocate for human rights while also working in a new United Methodist parish in Isla Vista, California.
Scott Sheppard | Director, Producer, Editor
Scott Sheppard was raised the son of a United Methodist minister in rural Michigan. He comes from a long line of Methodist ministers and missionaries, and he chronicled much of that family history in his debut documentary, Planes, Trains & Autorickshaws. As an editor, he worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s Showtime documentary about infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight. He has also edited short documentaries, commercials and short films for organizations such as the American Heart Association, Harvard University, Canon, TEDx, GOOD, Open Society Foundations, Sheryl Sandberg, and Elvis Presley Enterprises. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Kate S. Logan | Producer
Kate S. Logan's directorial debut Kidnapped for Christ follows the harrowing journeys of several American teenagers who were taken in the middle of the night by strangers and shipped to an Evangelical reform school in the Dominican Republic. Kidnapped won the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival, and is currently airing on Showtime and available on iTunes, Amazon Prime and other VOD outlets. Previously, Kate worked on director Antoine Fuqua’s controversial documentary on the infamous gangster rap mogul Suge Knight, as well as the Independent Lens/PBS documentary Meet the Patels. She also worked with the independent distribution team that brought actor Harry Shearer's film The Big Uneasy to theaters.
An Act of Love |The Story
A Father. A Church. A Movement. Like many other Christian denominations around the world, the United Methodist Church is at a crossroads. The debate over same-sex marriage has reached a point at which it threatens to irreparably divide the Church.
An Act of Love tells the story of an unwitting advocate in the fight for equal rights within the Church, Rev. Frank Schaefer, who had his ministerial credentials revoked in December 2013 after officiating at his son’s same-sex wedding. Will Rev. Schaefer’s trial be the final breaking point for the Church? Or will his story be the final chapter in the long struggle for LGBTQ equality within the UMC?
show less
Date/Times:
Glide Memorial United Methodist Church
330 Ellis St, San Francisco, CA 94102
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