Spahr Found Guilty on Same-gender Marriage Charges

—Photos by Anitra Kitts, Presbyterian News Service

The Presbytery of the Redwoods Permanent Judicial Committee convicted the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr of performing same-gender marriages during the period that they were legal. The link to the full story as reported by the PCUSA is as follows: http://www.pcusa.org/news/2010/8/30/spahr-found-guilty-same-gender-marriage-charges/

The 11 page ruling acquitted Spahr on charges of performing 2 same-gender marriage ceremonies in 2005 on the grounds that since the marriages were not considered legal by the state of California at that time, then the ceremonies could not be rightfully said to be marriage ceremonies, although Spahr maintained that they were.    Spahr was however, convicted of performing 16 same-gender marriages in 2008 during the time that civil marriage between homosexuals was legal.  


The PJC rulled that the marriages performed by the pastor while legal under civil law, were to be differentiated  from the ecclesiastical aspect of marriage as blessed by the church.  In an interesting twist,  the PJC did not see any contradiction with it's ruling of no foul on the "ecclesiastical" blessing of the couples wedded by Spahr in 2005.

—Photos by Anitra Kitts, Presbyterian News Service

Spahr was acquitted on charges of failing to "further the peace, unity and purity of the church", and commended the pastor "for helping us realize that peace without justice is no peace."