Source: The Associated Press
On March 17, 2004 The Associated Press reported, "Dozens of demonstrators were arrested Wednesday as they tried to stop a church trial that could remove a lesbian from the Methodist ministry for living openly in a lesbian relationship. The Rev. Karen Dammann last week married her partner of nine years, Meredith Savage, in Portland, Ore., where Multnomah County officials have begun allowing same-sex marriages. The couple have a 5-year-old son. United Methodist officials have said the trial is the first against a homosexual pastor in the denomination since 1987, when the credentials of the Rev. Rose Mary Denman of New Hampshire were revoked... Outside, about 100 people demonstrated loudly but peacefully, and many blocked church officials from entering the building. Police arrested 33 people when they refused to move. The demonstrators included members of Soulforce, an interfaith organization that supports gay rights."