Trial begins for minister who married lesbian couples

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)

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