Presbyterian Body Affirms Naming of Lesbian Minister
A Presbyterian judicial commission on Friday affirmed the appointment of a lesbian minister to a Rochester congregation.
The appointment of the Rev. Jane Spahr as co-pastor of the Downtown United Presbyterian Church had been challenged by 10 upstate New York churches, which took their complaint to the 10-member Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Northeast.
The commission ruled 9-1 in support of Spahr’s appointment.
Spahr, who works at a special ministry serving homosexuals and people with AIDS in San Anselmo, Calif., was chosen by the Rochester church last November.
The Genesee Valley Presbytery, of which Downtown United is a part, twice voted to approve the appointment but was stalled by the 10 dissenting churches.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) declared in 1978 that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian faith and life.”
The assembly said homosexuals could not be newly ordained as ministers, but it said its declaration shouldn’t affect any deacon, elder or minister who had been previously ordained. Spahr was ordained in 1974, although she did not publicly acknowledge her homosexuality until after 1978.
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