Minister Faces
Reprimand for Marrying Gays
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, March 2, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- A
Presbyterian minister accused of marrying two lesbian couples in violation of
the faith's position that marriage is between a man and a woman could face a
reprimand or be forced to leave the ministry after more than 30 years.
The Rev. Jane Spahr of San Rafael was scheduled to be tried by a church judicial
commission on Thursday for the ceremonies, conducted in 2004 and 2005.
Spahr, 63, argues she was honoring her personal conscience and relationship with
God when she officiated at the ceremonies. If found guilty by the regional
governing body of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Presbytery of the Redwoods,
she could face anything from a rebuke to being removed from the ministry, said
one of her lawyers, Timothy Cahn.
''Faith communities have enormous responsibility to fight oppressive systems,''
said Spahr, a lesbian activist who directs a group lobbying for greater
inclusion of gay Presbyterians in the church. ''Certainly the founder of
the Christian faith was someone who challenged all oppressive systems that kept
people from being whole.''
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is among several Protestant denominations
embroiled in a bitter debate between liberals and conservatives over what role
gays should have in their churches. Under a ruling by the national
church's highest court in 2000, Presbyterian churches may bless same-sex unions
as long as they do not equate the relationships with marriage.
Spahr is one of a half-dozen Presbyterian ministers across the nation facing
disciplinary action for marrying same-sex couples, although her case is the
first to come to trial, Cahn said. The others include the Rev. Jim Rigby
in Austin, Texas, the Rev. Janet Edwards in Pittsburgh and the Rev. Ilene Dunn
in San Antonio.
Cahn said the defense seeks to clarify whether the 2000 church court ruling is
at odds with the church's historical position giving ministers broad discretion
in how they interpret the faith to meet the needs of their congregations.
''The court says ministers must differentiate -- same-sex holy unions and
marriage for everyone else,'' Cahn said. ''Janie's conduct is challenging
that.''
As the regional arm of the church, the presbytery is responsible for
investigating misconduct charges leveled against its member clergy. At
issue is if Spahr violated the part of the church constitution defining marriage
as ''a covenant through which a man and a woman are called to live out together
before God their lives in discipleship.''
Robert Conover, stated clerk of the Presbytery of the Redwoods, said a complaint
against Spahr was brought by another minister from outside the area.
''We didn't go looking for this,'' Conover said.
The church does not allow actively gay or lesbian members to serve as ministers,
although Spahr, who was ordained in 1974, was allowed to keep her position after
she came out as a lesbian in 1978.
She has been prohibited from leading an individual church since 1991, however,
and since then has worked for two churches as a ''lesbian evangelist'' and
director of That All May Freely Serve, a group lobbying for ordination of gay
and lesbian Presbyterians.
Besides Spahr, witnesses at the trial are expected to include the two couples
she married, Connie Valois and Barbara Jean Douglass, of Rochester, N.Y., and
Annie Senechal and Sherrill Figuera, of Guerneville.
On the Net: Presbyterian Church (USA):
http://www.pcusa.org
Rev. Spahr's Web site:
http://www.revjanespahr.org
|
