In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Minister Found Not Guilty of Misconduct For Officiating at Same-Sex Unions

zuzu

Good news from the Presbyterian church:

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – A longtime Presbyterian minister who was the first of her faith to be tried for officiating at the unions of gay couples was acquitted Friday of violating her denomination’s position on same-sex marriage.

A regional judicial commission of the Presbyterian Church (USA) ruled 6-1 that the Rev. Jane Spahr of San Rafael acted within her rights as an ordained minister when she married two lesbian couples in 2004 and 2005.

Because the section of the faith’s constitution that reserves marriage for a man and a woman “is a definition, not a directive,” Spahr was “acting within her right of conscience in performing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples,” the tribunal said in a written ruling.

A tearful Spahr, 63, a longtime activist who could have faced sanctions ranging from a rebuke to removal from the ministry, rejoiced at the verdict. Flanked by her lawyers and the two couples she married, Spahr said she would continue performing same-sex weddings.

“The church said God loved everyone, and for years I believed it,” she said. “Today, for just one moment, to hear this is remarkable.”

Good for Spahr, and good for the Presbyterians.

5 thoughts on Minister Found Not Guilty of Misconduct For Officiating at Same-Sex Unions

  2. Membership isn’t the only (and is arguably not nearly the best) measurement of health of a religious denomination.

  3. Membership isn’t the only (and is arguably not nearly the best) measurement of health of a religious denomination.

    Certainly, this is true.

    Equally certainly, denominations with 30 or 40 years of consistent annual declines in membership – in a country which remains pretty much as religious today as it was in 1976, if not more so – are not healthy.

  4. Membership numbers don’t tell the whole story. I stopped being involved with the PCUSA almost ten years ago, as a heterosexual who was disgusted with the way homosexuals were being treated. But my membership stayed on the rolls. I’m now an active member of another PCUSA congregation, in response to positive things like this. Better to have a small number of passionate, active members who are doing the right thing, than large numbers of inactive or unloving members.

  5. And, depending where they’re losing members, this could have a positive effect on membership.

Comments are currently closed.