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UPDATE: Methodist Minister says hearing over gay son's wedding went well, waiting on decision

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UPDATE: October 22, 2014 at 5:56 p.m.

The local minister who had his credentials stripped after presiding over his gay son's marriage ceremony is waiting for a final ruling on his standing with the church.

Pastor Frank Schaefer was reinstated to the United Methodist Church this past summer, just prior to his transfer to Isla Vista. That decision was challenged however, so Wednesday he went before the organization's global Judicial Council to plead his case.

"This is a lot about technicalities and in the end, I think, the council will have to take a look at this and really make a decision based on their hearts," said Schaefer, shortly after his hearing concluded in Tennessee. "It could go either way but we feel strong about the performance of our teams at the hearings and we are hoping for the best."

ORIGINAL STORY

A local minister who has been at the center of a gay rights controversy within the United Methodist Church will have his day in court later this week.

Reverend Frank Schaefer was defrocked late last year as punishment for presiding over his gay son's marriage ceremony. He was a pastor in Pennsylvania at the time.

Earlier this year, the church reversed that decision and reassigned Schaefer to a congregation in Isla Vista. Now, the church is having the issue decided by its version of the Supreme Court, known as the Global Judicial Council.

Schaefer will make his case on Wednesday in Tennessee and says he has no sense of how the members will rule, nor what would happen following the decision.

"It's a panel of nine members and it's a very international board," said Schaefer. "You have some representatives from Africa, from Asia, from Europe, Latin America and North America and of course some of those conferences that they represent are more conservative on this issue."

Last week, an interfaith vigil was held in Isla Vista to show support for the reverend with an estimated 80 to 90 people participating. Schaefer says that vigil changed his view of the upcoming hearing, shifting it to a more positive outlook.