A retired Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister challenged her denomination's position on same-sex marriage Friday by officiating the wedding of two women who wanted to be among the first couples to legally marry in California.
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(Photo: AP Images / Eric Risberg)The Reverend Dr. Jane Spahr, center, a Presbyterian minister, performs a same-sex marriage for Sherrie Holmes, left, and Sara Taylor, right, at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael, Calif., Friday, June 20, 2008. In a direct challenge to church doctrine, Spahr, a retired minister who avoided a sanction this year after she officiated at the weddings of two lesbian couples married another couple now that same-sex marriage is legal in California. The action by Spahr comes as the legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (USA) convenes its biannual meeting in Northern California, where it will consider the denomination's stand on same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay clergy.
The Rev. Jane Spahr, recently acquitted by a church council of officiating same-sex ceremonies before California made gay marriage legal, presided over the wedding between Sara Taylor, 54, and Sherrie Holmes, 57, at the Marin County Civic Center.
"I pronounced them married under the authority granted me by the state and as a minister of the Presbyterian Church," Spahr said after the service, attended by Holmes' 30-year-old daughter and longtime friends of the couple, who have been together 18 years this week.
The brides and their pastor said they hoped the wedding would send a message to church leaders gathering in San Jose for a weeklong legislative meeting where changes to the denomination's positions on marriage and the ordination of gay clergy are scheduled to be discussed.
"I'm so disappointed the church doesn't lead on this," Taylor said.
The constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) defines marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman. The denomination's top court ruled in 2000 that ministers can bless same-sex unions as long as the ceremonies are not called a marriage and don't mimic traditional weddings.
Spahr, a lesbian who used to lead a ministry for gay Presbyterians, has challenged the church's position on same-sex marriage before. Two years ago, the San Rafael minister was charged with misconduct for performing marriage ceremonies for two lesbian couples in 2004 and 2005.
The church's Supreme Judicial Council overruled a regional church court and acquitted her in late April, concluding that Spahr did not violate denominational law because the ceremonies she performed were not real marriages.
Now that gay and lesbian couples can get married in California, a similarly technical ruling won't be possible, said Spahr, who is scheduled to officiate more same-sex weddings this summer.
Taylor, a lawyer who represented Spahr on the misconduct charges, said she decided to get married at the government building that houses the county courthouse instead of at a local Presbyterian church to honor the California Supreme Court for its decision last month to strike down the state's gay marriage ban. The first same-sex marriages in the state took place Monday afternoon.
"We want to recognize the court's wisdom and complete understanding of why these relationships have to be recognized: Our constitution requires it," she said.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Amen, song!
There is no such thing as a Christian church that allows homosexual marraiges.
Yeah, not only did she challenge her church's stand on same-sex marriages, she challenged God. That is something I would not dare to do.
Back to this article - - Even though I support gay marriage, if the Presbyterian church does not allow gay marriage then this minister should not have quoted that she was conducting the marriage as an official of the Presbyterian church.
If she really wanted to conduct a same-sex marriage, perhaps she should re-think her religious affiliation. After all, there are plenty of Christian churches that allow same-sex marriage.
I've posted this elsewhere, but I think it applies here.
What did Christ say about immoral sex?
Christ spoke out against sexual immorality. But to what was He referring?
Matthew 15:18-20
18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "
Mark 7:20-23
20 He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "
Now, sexual immorality would refer to what God had defined as wrong already by the time of when Christ said this - this would come from the Old Testament, which we have looked at earlier. As Christians today, we use both the Old and New Testaments to see Who God is, what God has done, how God feels about issues in life, and what He expects of and for us.
The word translated as sexual immorality is Porneia. This word means
1. illicit sexual intercourse
A. adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.
B. sexual intercourse with close relatives; Lev. 18
C. sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman; Mk. 10:11
In particular, when looking at what God said about sexual immorality, we are taking into account the following (I have added the verses from the Gospels, as well as those from the New Testament Epistles, the latter of course were written after Christ spoke, but are helpful for Christians today):
Sexual immorality in general: Matthew 15:18-20; Mark 7:20-23; 1 Thes 4:3-8; Rev 21:5-8
Wearing clothing of the opposite gender: Deuteronomy 22:5
sex with animals: Ex 22:19; Lev18:23, 20:15-16
sex with people of the same gender: Lev 18:22; Lev 20:13; Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10
adultery: Gen 20:1-7; Deut 5:18; Heb 13:4
fornication: 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 7:2
incest: Lev 18:6-15; 20; Deut 27:20-23; 1 Cor 5:1-13.
To read my entire explanation on this, go to
http://wbmoore.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/what-did-christ-say-about-immoral-sex-2/
what is it of romans and galatians that i am not making clear.
the law......Jesus, in the very next sentence said this: "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished."
the law that jesus spoke about can be summed up in the the commandment "love your neighbor as yourself"
this law that jesus spoke of.................the fulfillment of it is love.
therefore if you follow the three commandments of love you are doing more than following the law.......you are fulfilling it.
To Feetxxxl:
Dear one, who has been teaching you? What are your ears hearing, what are your eyes seeing? For what you speak is not truth, but opinion.
Jesus himself said: "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." Matt 5:17
You have presumed as they did that Jesus came to abolish which was deemed improper. He did not. What was improper in the Prophets time is still improper now.
Jesus, in the very next sentence said this: "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished."
Beloved, please look deeper. Jesus fulfilled the law that God gave. These two are one in the same and would not negate each other. What God finds offensive, Jesus finds offensive. Jesus Himself said "I and the Father are one".
Dear one, please open your ears to something other than "Did God really say?". This is an old lie from the antiquity you deny, yet is still as deadly as it was then.
I would just like to echo FullGospels comment. This, along a myriad of other things, must be truly embarrassing for our Presbyterian brothers and sisters. They truly need our prayers.
Matthew 7: 28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Luke 9:1
[ Jesus Sends Out the Twelve ] When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases
John 10:17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my lifeâ
feetxxxl could you write out your last post again , use Scripture to support it, ty. Then i can understand what your saying.
Jesus is Lord
feet,
People who try to lead believers astray into acting the way they want, or the way the world says is good are what the apostle John warned against in 1 John 3:4-10
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
feet, argue with scripture all you want. I'm not arguing culture, I'm simply pointing out scripture.
Boo, as a Presbyterian I am offended by the sodomy of marrage.
feetlxxx--
Why do you persist? You have been thoroughly and utterly rebuked and put to shame in the presence of every single believer who adheres to the word of God on this message board. You can holler all the day long, but nothing you say is going to change God's word. It's that simple. Stop trying to rationalize your aberrant desires. Homosexual relationships are not recognized by God, as you have been told, and we have given you a laundry list of reasons why and people have given you the direct statements from scripture condemning the behavior.
Two men engaging in anal sodomy are not "married" as they cannot produce children. The central tenet of the institution of marriage is the "creative" act - to create life, have children, raise a family. This is sacred to God. When two men engage in sodomy they are perverting the sexual act and it's original intent, this is from the evil one, and this is why God called it abomination. It is also why Paul condemns it. (Paul calls them "natural" and "unnatural" relations, as in, "of God" and "not of God").
Stop trying to compare sodomy to slavery, women's rights, etc. Everything you claim was a societal evil that was justified through the Bible, was also condemned through the Bible. Those using the Bible to try to find support for those evils, were rightly rebuked. Homosexuality is in a completely different category and there is no scripture supportive of it.