Minister Found Not
Guilty of Misconduct
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, March 4, 2006
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.''
The marriages are not legally recognized.
In its majority opinion, the tribunal of the Presbytery of the Redwoods, which
oversees 52 churches from north of San Francisco to the Oregon border, noted
that Spahr's actions were consistent with the ''normative standards'' of the
region.
Sara Taylor, one of Spahr's defense lawyers, said the ruling presumably means
that all ordained clergy associated with the presbytery's member churches are
free to preside at same-sex weddings if they choose.
Robert Conover, the regional body's stated clerk, said Friday that it was too
soon to say whether leaders would appeal the ruling. Many local
Presbyterians, conservative and liberal alike, complained about the cost of the
trial.
Acting on a complaint brought by a minister from Bellevue, Wash., the presbytery
charged Spahr with official misconduct last year for marrying the couples from
Rochester, N.Y., and Guerneville, Calif.
The verdict came after six hours of deliberations and a day and a half of
proceedings.
The Presbyterian Church is among several Protestant denominations embroiled in
debates over what role gays should have in their churches. Under a ruling
by the denomination's highest court in 2000, Presbyterian ministers may bless
same-sex unions as long as they do not equate the relationships with marriage
and the ceremonies do not mimic traditional weddings.
Spahr acknowledged officiating at the two lesbian weddings. She testified
Thursday that she has performed hundreds of weddings during her career and calls
the ceremonies she conducts for same-sex couples ''marriages'' if that is the
term the couples prefer.
The judicial commission appeared to accept that reasoning, writing that the
Bible proclaims ''a message of inclusiveness, reconciliation, and the breaking
down of barriers that separate humans from each other.''
The minority opinion stated it was logical to assume that ministers should be
disciplined for going against the church's position on marriage, even if the
constitution does not spell that out.
Spahr, a minister for more than 30 years, came out as a lesbian in 1978.
The Presbyterian Church does not allow openly gay or lesbian members to serve as
ministers. Still, she was allowed to keep her position but has been
prohibited from leading an individual church since 1991.
She has worked for two churches since then as a ''lesbian evangelist'' and
director of That All May Freely Serve, a group lobbying for ordination of gay
and lesbian Presbyterians.
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