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Loading ...Presbyterian pastor who performed gay wedding cleared of charges
10.02.2008 10:49pm EDT
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) A Presbyterian minister who performed a marriage ceremony for two women in 2005 has been found not guilty of violating the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Had she been found guilty, the Rev. Janet Edwards, a pastor at Community of Reconciliation Church, could have been reprimanded or defrocked.It was the second church trial Edwards faced over the marriage. In 2006, the charges were dropped on a technicality. They were then refiled, resulting in this week’s trial in Pittsburgh.
“Scripture has taught me that the heart of marriage is the love and commitment between the partners,” Edwards told the ecclesiastic court. “The testimony today for me confirmed that, and experience as a pastor and as a person has shown me that two men or two women can show all the qualities of marriage.”
The constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reserves marriage for a man and a woman, although ministers may bless other types of “holy unions.”
The Presbyterian Church, like other mainline denominations, has been struggling to stay unified despite differences over whether the traditional biblical view condemning gay relationships should stand.
Presbyterians who support same-gender unions say the Bible’s social justice teachings on inclusiveness should prevail over what they see as an outdated view of homosexuality.
Edwards presided over the marriage of Nancy McConn, a retired computer software developer from Dallas, W.Va., and Brenda Cole, a clinical psychologist.
At least three other Presbyterian ministers have been investigated or charged for officiating same-sex weddings. All of them were found not guilty.
This is big news, especially when we realize that the Pres. Church USA is the more conservative of the two Pres. Churches in America. And I have seen similar movement in the more liberal group of Lutherans. And the Episcopal church will soon split, with about 5% (it is about 1% now ) of their blind bigots going off, elsewhere, good riddance to them. Jewish Conservatives now join Jewish Reform as being allowed to do gay marriage ceremonies and have gay clergy.
Soon, the Catholic church of darkness who set the stage with their crusades against the Muslims that ultimately gave us 9/11 1000 years later, the So. Baptists who were the big supporters of slavery/segregation, and the right wing christian non-denominationals whose members mostly are what we call ‘rednecks’ will be the American Church of hate.
And over time they will end up preaching only to the dust in the pews, and the dust of their departed.
And LGBT people will be respected and treated equally under our law.
That is what it is all about.