Gross won’t disclose the names of those who pledged to disobey church law if couples come forward seeking ceremonies. He has encouraged pastors to co-officiate holy unions so they don’t suffer the consequences alone. “Our power is in our collective power,” Gross said. “What speaks is there are 208 of us who have said this. We know who to call upon so we can be there for one another.”

More than 200 United Methodist clergy in Illinois have pledged to flout church policy and bless unions for same-sex couples, putting their jobs, homes and callings in jeopardy if couples take advantage of their offer.

Methodists in the Northern Illinois Conference also called on the global church to impose no more than a 24-hour suspension for clergy who defy the policy.

Elders, deacons and pastors took their stand after civil unions in Illinois became legal this month. But they said their determination to support same-sex unions has been fueled further by a church trial last week in which a jury found a Wisconsin pastor guilty of performing a holy union for a lesbian couple, suspending her for 20 days.

“Unfortunately the church has lost its prophetic voice on this issue,” said the Rev. Gregory Gross, a deacon who organized the campaign. “Our civil society has taken the lead. Now the church is trying to catch up.”

The suspension of the Rev. Amy DeLong in Wisconsin is the first Methodist-imposed penalty for blessing a same-sex union since the Rev. Gregory Dell, pastor of Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago, returned from a yearlong suspension after blessing the partnership of two men. Since then, the Northern Illinois Conference has been a leader in pushing for marriage equality in the Protestant denomination worldwide.

The Rev. Lois McCullen Parr, one of the 208 clergy who signed the pledge, said she did so as a matter of conscience and an extension of what she believes to be the gospel of love.

“We seek to be faithful as pastors to everybody,” said Parr, who succeeded Dell as pastor of Broadway. She attended the trial in Wisconsin last week.

“The sadness is we’re here again,” she said through tears. “The hope is that maybe this is the last church trial for this.”

The Rev. Marti Scott, pastor of Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church in Oak Park, also signed the declaration. She said it grew out of an expectation that congregants who got a civil license would also seek a blessing in their church.
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