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Gay wedding: Minister on trial
15/11/2006 10:54 - (SA)
Pittsburgh - A Presbyterian minister accused of breaking church law by marrying two women goes on trial before church officials on Wednesday.
Janet Edwards, a parish associate at the Community of Reconciliation Church in Pittsburgh, was accused of violating the church's position on marriage by presiding at the June 2005 wedding.
The constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA.) reserves marriage for a man and a woman, although ministers may bless other types of "holy unions".
The permanent judicial commission of the Pittsburgh Presbytery will conduct the trial. The Rev James Mead, pastor to the Pittsburgh Presbytery, declined comment.
The Presbyterian Church, like other mainline protestant 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same-gender unions say the Bible's social justice teachings on inclusiveness should prevail over what they see as an outdated view of homosexuality.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, who has described herself as an advocate for gays and lesbians during her 28 years as a minister, explained that the message of marriage is the covenant - the love and commitment of the partners, not their gender.
She presided over the marriage of Nancy McConn, a retired computer software developer from Dallas, West Virginia, and Brenda Cole, a clinical psychologist.
In March, a long-time Presbyterian minister - the first of her faith to be tried for officiating same-sex marriages - was acquitted of the same charge.
A regional judicial commission of the Presbyterian Church ruled 6-1 that the Rev Jane Spahr, of San Rafael, California, acted within her rights as an ordained minister when she married two lesbian couples in 2004 and 2005. The ruling has been appealed.
If found guilty, Edwards said she faces punishment ranging from a rebuke to removal from the ministry.
- AP
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