The Reverend Jane
Spahr told a Presbyterian Church judicial panel that
she was aware of the faith's position on same-sex
marriage, yet felt called by God and her conscience to
refer to the unions between two lesbian couples
as marriage anyway.
She is charged with official misconduct for
officiating at the ceremonies in 2004 and 2005. The
constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) reserves
marriage for a man and a woman, although ministers may bless
other types of "holy unions."
"I don't care what your sexual orientation is.
What's most important to me is what you call it,"
Spahr told the panel in Santa Rosa, Calif. "They said
'marriage,' and I was honored to do their 'marriage'
so they would not be seen as second-class in any way."
Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for
Friday. The seven-member commission could render a
decision or recess to consider the charges. If found
guilty by the Presbytery of the Redwoods, the regional
governing body of the Presbyterian Church, Spahr could
face anything from a rebuke to a dismissal, her lawyer
Tomothy Cahn said.
In opening statements Thursday, Stephen L.
Taber, a San Francisco lawyer representing the church,
cautioned the tribunal not to get distracted by
emotional arguments about gay rights.
"The burden on this commission is not to decide
whether same-sex marriage is or is not appropriate for
the Presbyterian Church USA," Taber said. "The only
question here is whether Reverend Spahr committed
certain acts and whether those acts are in violation of the
constitution of the Presbyterian Church."
Defense attorney Sara Taylor countered by saying
that ignoring the larger moral issues would be passing
up an opportunity to correct a wrong no less grievous
than the church's previous ban on allowing women to serve
as ministers. "It is too simplistic to take something this
church has wrestled with for 30 years and say it
doesn't matter," Taylor said.
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 Reverend Jim Rigby in Austin, the Reverend Janet
Edwards in Pittsburgh, and the Reverend Ilene Dunn in
San Antonio.
Spahr, a minister for more than 30 years, came
out as lesbian in 1978. Though the Presbyterian Church
does not allow openly gay or lesbian members to serve
as ministers, 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.
Annie Senechal, who married Sherrill Figuera,
tearfully testified how much it meant to her and her
partner to find a minister who respected their
relationship. "If you have never been in a place where you
are not accepted, you won't understand," she said.
(AP)
