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Presbyterians try lesbian minister for gay weddings |
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Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
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Tuesday, 24 August 2010 14:11 |
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Los Angeles Times, Posted: 8/24/2010, 1:17 PM
A lesbian minister, who officiated at more than a dozen same-sex weddings during the brief window gay marriage was legal in California, goes to trial Thursday before a Presbyterian court, charged with violating her denomination's constitution. The case of Rev. Jane Adams Spahr has gained national attention because "what is being tested is the definition of marriage" in the Presbyterian faith, said the Rev. Carmen Fowler, president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, a conservative organization that opposes same-sex marriage. Spahr's trial, which will be held in Napa, begins less than three weeks after a federal court judge ruled that California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. And it underscores the awkward position in which changing civil law places many clergy members. Although the Presbyterian constitution does not explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage, it defines marriage as "a civil contract between a woman and a man." But same-sex marriage is legal in five states and the District of Columbia and is working its way through the courts in California. "More and more ministers are going to be put in a position where their church members are going to come to them asking for a wedding, and they're going to have to say yes," said the Rev. Beverly Brewster, Spahr's defense attorney. "Not to do so would violate many constitutional provisions about non-discrimination in pastoral care."
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