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Community Corner

Judge: Church of the Good Shepherd Rector Must Leave

Rev. David Moyer was defrocked by the Episcopal Church for his conservative views.

After a protracted legal battle, rector Rev. David Moyer must step down from his post as head of the Bryn Mawr parish, Philly.com is reporting a Montgomery County judge ruled on Aug. 25.

Moyer will no longer be allowed to perform mass, administrative duties, or live in the rectory.

Moyer, 60, is known for his conservative views on gay-marriage, gay clergy, and the role of women in the church. He was critical of Episcopal Diocese of Philadelphia Bishop Charles Bennison's stances on these matters, and barred Bennison from preaching at Good Shepherd.

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The rector, who has been with Good Shepherd for 21 years, was originally defrocked by the Episcopal Diocese of Philadelphia in 2002 for 'breaking communion" before unsuccessfully counter suing Bennison for wrongful termination in 2008.

In 2009, the Episcopal Church filed a motion asking that Moyer and all other members of the Good Shepherd board—which to that point had supported their rector—who didn't recognize the church's ownership rights of the Good Shepherd property be removed.

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"I think a lot about what that means—what it is to be a good shepherd, to lead people, to be a rock for them," last month while being interviewed for a profile of his now-former church. "I've been here long enough that I'm starting to marry people that I've baptised...I try to be a good shepherd."

Moyer told Philly.com he was disappointed by the court's decision, but will abide it, and that he intends to become a Roman Catholic priest.

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