Presbyterians censure retired pastor for marrying same-sex couples
Los Angeles Times, February 22, 2012
The Rev. Jane Adams Spahr lost her final appeal before the highest court in the Presbyterian Church (USA), which released its opinion Tuesday. The tribunal, which convened in San Antonio, ruled that the 69-year-old lesbian had violated the church's constitution and her ordination vows when she officiated at the unions of 16 couples and called them marriages.

Appeal heard in S.A. for minister who married gay couples
San Antonio Express-News, February 18, 2012
Both sides of the gay marriage debate in the Presbyterian Church USA parsed the nuances of theology and of church policy and history Friday before its highest court as it reviewed the case of a lesbian minister from California who has presided over 16 same-gender nuptials.

Minister appeals her conviction for marrying gays
San Antonio Express-News, February 17, 2012
A 69-year-old lesbian minister, who has championed gay rights in the Presbyterian Church USA for decades, will defend herself today before the denomination's highest court for marrying 16 same-gender couples. The hearing in a conference room at the Drury Plaza Hotel downtown is a final appeal by the Rev. Jane Spahr of San Francisco, who was convicted two years ago of violating her ordination vows and church policy that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

S.A. trial for Presbyterian minister who married same-sex couples
QSanAntonio.com, February 4, 2012

Rev. Jane Spahr, a retired minister from San Francisco, will offer a final appeal against charges that she acted against provisions in the Presbyterian Book of Order by marrying 16 same-sex couples in California in 2008. A national church court trial, conducted by the Presbyterian Church (USA) Permanent Judicial Commission, will convene in San Antonio on February 17.

Rev. Spahr, who is known to all her friends as Janie, conducted the weddings during the period when same-sex marriage was legal in California, prior the enactment of Proposition 8 which banned same-sex marriages. The weddings she performed were legal under state law but not sanctioned by the Presbyterian Church.

In 2010, a regional commission of the church ruled 4-2 that Spahr had "persisted in a pattern or practice of disobedience” by performing the weddings. The upcoming San Antonio trial is Spahr's appeal of that ruling.

Presbyterian ministers may bless same-sex unions as long as they do "not state, imply, or represent that a same-sex ceremony is a marriage.” Church officials said Spahr broke her ordination vows by performing those ceremonies. Despite their rebuke, they praised her for her "prophetic ministry" and "faithful compassion."

In preparation for the San Antonio trial, Rev. Spar came to town in January with two key members of her legal team, Rev. Scott Clark and Sara Taylor. The aim of the early visit was to familiarize local Presbyterians and others in the community with the issues involved in the February trial.

On January 21, working with Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church, Madison Square Presbyterian Church and University Presbyterian Church, Spahr's team held a series of "Workshops on Marriage and the Church." Session discussions rannged from the particulars of Spahr's trial within the context of church law to a discussion of pastoral care issues that arise when counseling same-sex couples regarding marriage.

In a statement on her web site, Rev Spahr writes about her upcoming appeal:

"I want to thank you for your care and support of our couples, our legal team, and myself as we prepare for our final appeal of our disciplinary case on February 17, 2012, in San Antonio, TX. We hope so much to send not only our legal team but some of our couples to 'witness' before the GAPJC final appeal. Their witness will help the Presbyterian church to know who we are and will also be a moral support as we gather for the appeal proceedings."

According to a 2006 Associated Press story, Spahr is one of several Presbyterian ministers who have faced disciplinary action for marrying same-sex couples. The others include Rev. Jim Rigby in Austin, Texas, Rev. Janet Edwards in Pittsburgh, and Rev. Ilene Dunn in San Antonio.

A lesbian evangelist

Rev. Spahr was ordained a minister in 1974 at the Hazelwood Presbyterian Ministry in Pittsburgh, Penn. Even though the Presbyterian Church does not allow actively gay or lesbian ministers, Spahr was allowed to keep her job when she came out as a lesbian in 1978.

Spahr went on to serve as Minister of Pastoral Care at the Metropolitan Community Church in San Francisco and co-founded a ministry called the Spectrum Center for LGBT Concerns that is still an active force in the community after 30 years.

In 1991, she was prohibited from leading a church in Rochester, New York as a pastor. She has since worked for two churches as a lesbian evangelist.

Spahr's 2010 trial was not the first time she's gotten in trouble for marrying same-sex partners.

In 2004 and in 2005, she married two lesbian couples, one from California and the other from New York. At a 2006 church court trial, officials ruled that she had acted within her rights as an ordained minister when she married the two couples.

In a newspaper interview after that trial, Spahr said her actions furthered the national dialogue about marriage equality. "When we don't talk about it or silence it, who gets hurt is the people who are oppressed," she said. "To bring this up in conversation, I can only hope will have people maybe asking different questions or having deeper conversations."

Spahr also has been director of That All May Freely Serve, a group that successfully lobbied for the ordination of gay and lesbian Presbyterians.

An article in the January issue of University Presbyterian Church's newsletter describes Spahr as "a major force in the struggle for full inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the church and is among those deserving great credit and thanks for the denomination’s vote this year to allow ordination of LGBT elders, deacons, and ministers."

Rev. Jane Spahr's final appeal before the Presbyterian Church (USA) Permanent Judicial Commission will be held on Friday, February 17, 2012 in San Antonio, TX, at the Drury Inn, River Walk. Please consider making a gift to the Spahr Legal Defense Fund and mailing it to c/o That All May Freely Serve, PO Box 3707, San Rafael, CA 94912.