Presbyterian Church Clears Minister in Gay 'Marriage' Case

The highest court of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has found that a Northern California minister did not violate denominational law when she officiated at the weddings of two lesbian couples.

The ruling announced Tuesday by the Louisville, Ky.-based court overturns a decision against the Rev. Jane Spahr last year. A regional judicial committee had found Spahr guilty of misconduct and gave her a rebuke — the lightest possible punishment.

The church's high court found that the ceremonies Spahr performed in 2005 and in 2004 were not marriages, so she did not violate the church's constitution.

The church constitution defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

The panel reiterated the church's position that Presbyterian ministers can bless same-sex unions as long as the ceremonies don't too closely mimic traditional weddings.

Spahr, 65, of San Rafael, retired last year. She was the first minister of her faith to be tried for officiating the weddings of gay couples, and one of several Presbyterian ministers facing disciplinary action for similar offenses.

Acting on a complaint brought by a minister in Washington state, the Presbytery of the Redwoods, which oversees 52 churches along the Pacific coast, brought the charges against Spahr in 2005 for marrying the couples from New York and California.

In 2006, a Northern California church court that found Spahr had acted within her rights as a minister when she interpreted the church doctrine to permit her presiding over the weddings. The presbytery appealed the ruling to the church's regional judicial commission.

Many Protestant denominations are divided over how they should interpret what the Bible says about homosexuality. In the Presbyterian Church, several theologically conservative congregations have announced plans to break away from the denomination.

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