Risking their careers, a pastor and bishop of the United Methodist Church told BuzzFeed News they will marry two gay men in North Carolina on Saturday.

The ceremony is precisely timed to influence the church’s international voting body, which will consider proposals to repeal a ban on clergy marrying same-sex couples when it convenes next month.

The stakes are high for both the pastor and bishop, who could be reprimanded or even defrocked for officiating the ceremony, as has happened to other Methodist clergy who officiated marriages of gay couples in recent years.

“The ultimate action would be removal of my order,” Bishop Melvin Talbert told BuzzFeed News, acknowledging the risks for himself and Pastor Val Rosenquist. “I would no longer be a bishop.”

Source:  – BuzzFeed News