After 13 years of service, Ames Rev. Steven Sabin was informed Tuesday of his removal from the Lutheran clergy roster for violating church rules mandating celibacy for homosexual ministers.

Sabin, who is pastor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 913 Carroll Ave., will be officially removed from the clergy April 15.

The ruling was decided by a church panel in a two-day closed hearing held at the Scheman Continuing Educational Building.

“Yes, I thought this would be the outcome, but I was hoping for something different,” said Marty Kelly, council member of Lord of Life.

Although the ruling followed the guidelines of the churches’ law, Kelly said those laws draw boundaries within the word of God.

Other supporters of Sabin were shocked by the panel’s decision.

Sine Anahita, coordinator of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services at Iowa State, said Sabin’s case addresses a larger issue of work-place discrimination.

She said the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that has been before Congress since 1955, would have prevented the blatant discrimination against Sabin. The Ames community has been trying to get this act passed for more than 50 years, Anahita said.

If the laws could be changed, Kelly said he wished they would have been changed sooner rather than later.

“He was fired only because he was in an openly gay relationship,” Anahita said. “We have the right to have open relationships.”

ISU Professor Carolyn Cutrona agreed with Anahita, saying Sabin is being denied his basic right to pursue his job.

Cutrona, professor of psychology and member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG), is the mother of a gay teen-ager.

She said she showed up before the hearing to support Sabin along with many other supporters.

Jason Rivera, president of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Ally Alliance, said the ruling illustrates that discrimination against sexuality still exists in the Ames community.

“We think it’s a very bad situation,” Rivera said. “I don’t feel, personally, that people should be able to hide behind their religion.”

Cutrona said the ruling worries her.

“Does this mean that some day my daughter will be fired from her job because someone finds out she is lesbian?” she asked.

Sabin’s sexuality was brought to the attention of the bishop almost a year ago when he told the congregation he was gay. Since his announcement, the 150-member congregation, one of the smallest in Ames, has seen members come and go.

But, Kelly said, “All of the people who attend Lord of Life right now support Steve, and there are people who support him that don’t go to Lord of Life.”

Kelly, who started attending Lord of Life shortly after Sabin came, said he and his family continue to go there because he thinks it is good for the family.

“It’s not the man, per se, but the way he preaches the word of the Lord,” he said.

As for what the future holds for Sabin, Kelly said he believes the congregation will be supportive of anything he wants to do.

He said the church had talked about all possible scenarios, but the council and congregation must meet before a decision is made.

“I will continue to give my support for him to continue being pastor of Lord of Life,” he said. “There’s a lot of options out there.”