Pastor Gregory L. Waybright struggled from the pulpit Sunday to reconcile the laws of God with the laws of man.
Though he wanted his church "to be a welcoming and loving house," he told worshipers at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, the California Supreme Court's decision last week to legalize gay marriage in California "is a contradiction of what God's word says."
The 4-3 ruling, which held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, has prompted conservative and liberal congregations alike to discuss whether gay and lesbian members will be allowed to wed in their churches, synagogues and temples.
"These are the kinds of issues every religion has to grapple with," said James A. Donahue, president of the Graduate Theological Union, a Berkeley-based consortium of theological schools. "How do you factor in the role of contemporary human rights, civil rights, the data about homosexuality" with "core traditions and beliefs?"
At Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church of Pasadena, the mood was celebratory Sunday, with Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" played at services in honor of the decision.
At Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood -- which offers "outreach to the gay, lesbian and bisexual community," according to its website -- Rabbi Denise L. Eger's e-mail box was filled almost instantly with requests from joyful congregants wanting to get married.
But at the Islamic Society of Orange County, Imam Muzammil H. Siddiqi told his congregation during Friday prayers that the high court's decision was a severe disappointment and goes against Islamic teaching.
The ruling "is a violation of God's law," Siddiqi, an authority on Islamic law, said in an interview. "I hope all people of faith -- Jews, Christians and Muslims -- speak up against this." At Lake Avenue, a large and diverse church that is part of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, Waybright told worshipers that he did not want to be "self- righteous or condemn anyone." Still, he said, "it's my responsibility . . . to keep pointing you to God's way." The Bible, he noted, makes clear that marriage is between a man and a woman.
A mile or so away at All Saints Episcopal Church, the Rev. Susan Russell led a between-services forum on the religious, legal and political ramifications of the court's decision.
"The justices have ruled in favor of the sanctity of marriage and against bigotry," Russell declared, as the audience cheered. "This is good news for all Californians."
