Queer Reverend & Practicing Lesbian Takes Leave of Absence following Complaints

The Rev. Anna Blaedel was the subject of three separate complaints in three years, starting when the minister publicly came out as queer at the 2016 Iowa Annual Conference.

“I am a self-avowed practicing homosexual,” Blaedel said in floor remarks. “Or, in my language, I am out, queer, partnered clergy.”

The first complaint against Blaedel, in 2016, was dismissed by Iowa's former resident bishop. A second complaint was filed after Blaedel officiated a close friend's same-sex wedding. A third complaint again charged Blaedel with "being a self-avowed practicing homosexual," in violation of the denomination's rule book, called the Book of Discipline.

Blaedel, who identifies as queer and uses the pronouns they and them, expressed frustration and disappointment in a letter published in full by the Gazette on Wednesday.