Presbyterian high court clears pastor of censure for same-sex weddings: As long as they’re not called marriages
Because the blessings of two lesbian couples were called “unions” or “weddings,” not “marriages,” the highest court in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has reversed a lower court’s censure of lesbian clergywoman Jane Spahr, who performed the rites in California.
“It is not improper for ministers of the Word and Sacrament to perform same-sex ceremonies,” ruled the Presbyterians’ Permanent Judicial Commission in a decision released April 28. “At least four times, the larger church has rejected overtures that would prohibit blessing the unions of same-sex couples.”