Southern Baptists say no to gay weddings for military chaplains

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http://www.religionnews.com/2013/09/05/southern-baptists-say-no-to-gay-weddings-for-military-chaplains/

Sarah Pulliam Bailey | Sep 5, 2013


Chaplains often share milestone moments with service men and women, as when Chaplain (LTC) Mark Frederick baptized Navy LCDR Nicole Battaglia in Baghdad in 2009. Photo by Carol Pipes/NAMB / courtesy Baptist Press / courtesy Baptist Press

NEW YORK (RNS) The agency that commissions Southern Baptist military chaplains says no Baptist chaplain will be allowed to perform, attend or support a same-sex wedding either on or off base.

The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board released guidelines on Aug. 29 stating that endorsed chaplains will not “offer any kind of relationship training or retreat, on or off of a military installation, that would give the appearance of accepting the homosexual lifestyle or sexual wrongdoing.”

The updated guidelines were issued in response to the military’s repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the Supreme Court’s decision this summer to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act.

“A lot of our chaplains were asking for clarification,” said Mike Ebert, spokesman for the NAMB, which is based outside Atlanta. “We wanted to clearly articulate in writing for the Department of Defense that these are our expectations.”

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