A minister who
officiated a same-sex wedding will face a Presbyterian
court, two years after the initial charges against her were
dropped because of a technicality. USA Today
reports that the Reverend Janet Edwards will be tried
by the Permanent Judicial Council of the Pittsburgh
Presbytery for conducting a wedding for a lesbian
couple in 2005. In her 2006 trial, prosecutors missed a
deadline to file charges, so the case was dropped. The
Reverend James Yearsley of Tampa, Fla., has
refiled the suit against Edwards, and seven other
church officials joined the complaint as "co-accusers,"
according to Presbyterian News Service.
The Presbyterian
Church (USA) allows ministers to officiate at same-sex
ceremonies as long as they are not recognized as full-on
marriage, according to the report. Edwards says that
the church's guidelines are not binding laws but
rather recommendations.
"I am trying
really hard to speak clearly about how what I did
reflects Jesus' love and justice, and so I hope the
Permanent Judicial Council acquits me," Edwards told
USA Today. (The Advocate)
