11/25/2004: "Trial ahead for PCUSA pastor"

The Rev. Jane Spahr, a lesbian activist in the Presbyterian Church (USA), has been charged with violating her ordination vows and the PCUSA constitution by performing a same-sex union ceremony that looked a lot like marriage. Of curse, she had to go to Canada to do it:

The Presbytery of the Redwoods has filed a disciplinary charge against the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a Presbyterian lesbian activist, stemming from her participation in a same-sex marriage earlier this year in Canada.

If convicted, Spahr, a member of the presbytery for more than a quarter-century, could face a number of punishments including removal from ministry.

A pretrial hearing before the presbytery's Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) is set for early December with a full hearing expected to start sometime in January, according to Joan Runyeon, interim stated clerk of the Presbytery of the Redwoods.

Spahr, 62, a resident of San Rafael, CA, is minister director of That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS), which works for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) Presbyterians in the life of the church, including their ordination as officers.

She acknowledged taking part in co-officiating the ceremony.

"If this helps people see LGBT people as persons, that we do make commitments, that we do have dreams, then I'm grateful," Spahr said of the charge. "If this gives our denomination an opportunity to be in conversation about healthy marriage or healthy relationships and what they might look like, then I'm grateful."

Yeah, it's a pity no one's been talking about this homosexuality stuff in the PCUSA. It's all the rage in the culture, what with Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and all. You'd think Presbyterians would lighten up enough just to talk about it.

Spahr told the Presbyterian News Service that she was following the teachings of Jesus by marrying the two men, both longtime members of Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY.

"We're talking about welcoming," said Spahr, who also later co-officiated a "service of blessing and celebration" for the two men at the Rochester church. "We're talking about my faith in Christ and who I think Christ is."

That's as opposed to who the Church catholic thinks Jesus is, presumably. As usual, it's all about her. The Jesus of the New Testament didn't have the modern obsession with being "welcoming," thinking that the call to faith and holiness was more important than making people comfortable in their sin.

Five of the presbytery court�'s seven members would have to vote to convict Spahr. She could be acquitted; rebuked; rebuked with supervision and rehabilitation; temporarily excluded from office; or permanently removed from ordained ministry.

Spahr said the church is discriminating against homosexuals and she feels an obligation to continue pressing for full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church.

"I'm very conscious of this thing that somehow or the other we are second-class," Spahr said. "So I'm even more mindful of an oppressive system in place. So (the challenge) is how to be a better pastor, how to be a better person to work even more with LGBT people to make sure that the support is there."

In some mainline circles, one could argue that, rather than beings second-class, homosexuals are actually treated better than anyone else, since they are the only folks who are being told that their particular form of sin is approved by God and His Church. Though I don't really see that as a loving, or even "welcoming," thing to do to anyone.