CA PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER FACES CHURCH CHARGES FOR GAY MARRIAGE: From the Marin Independent Journal

A Presbyterian minister in Marin County is facing an internal church trial for presiding over the marriage of two gay men earlier this year in Canada.

The Rev. Janie Spahr married the men, Douglas Potter and Gregory Partridge, in a ceremony last February in Ontario and announced the wedding on a Web site she operates. The announcement raised no hackles in Marin County, where Spahr is affiliated with the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tiburon, nor in the Presbytery of the Redwoods, the church's regional governing body in Napa.

But the announcement caught the eye of the Rev. James Berkley, a traditionalist church official in Bellevue, Wash. When Berkley contacted officials at the Napa presbytery and demanded to know what they intended to do about Spahr's possible breach of the church Constitution, the presbytery opened an official investigation.

A team of five church investigators conducted an inquiry and will present the case at a pretrial hearing next month before the Permanent Judicial Commission, an elected, seven-member court in the Redwoods presbytery. The trial could take place in January, said Joan Runyeon of San Rafael, a top official at the presbytery. ...

The Presbyterian Church (USA), with 2.5 million members nationwide, has a constitution that defines marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman. In 2000, the church's highest court ruled that ministers can bless same-sex unions, but cannot marry gay couples.

But recent events have clouded the issue.

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posted by Eve at 8:12 PM | link

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