c. 2007 Religion News Service

Court Says Minister Should be Rebuked for Lesbian Wedding

(RNS) A mid-level court of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has overturned a lower court ruling and ruled that a lesbian minister should be rebuked for conducting a same-sex wedding ceremony.

The 6-2 decision against the Rev. Janie Spahr was made on Saturday (Aug. 18), but Spahr and others involved in the case learned of it on Aug. 23.

Spahr, a self-proclaimed “lesbian evangelist,” was originally charged in presiding at the 2005 wedding of two women near Guerneville, Calif. The denomination allows pastors to preside at same-sex blessing ceremonies as long as they are not treated as marriage rites.

The lower court, based in Napa, Calif., had cleared Spahr in March 2006 of wrongdoing, saying she was acting “within her right of conscience.” The higher court, however, disagreed.

“Regardless of the expression of conscience by the Rev. Dr. Spahr, she may not circumvent the standards of the church,” ruled the Permanent Judicial Commission of the church’s Synod of the Pacific.

“Although the Rev. Dr. Spahr had acted with conscience and conviction, her actions were contrary to the Constitution as it is authoritatively interpreted.”

The higher court directed the lower court to “enter a finding of guilt … and to impose the censure of rebuke.”

The two dissenting members of the higher court said in a minority report that “the issue of freedom of conscience importantly distinguishes her actions from willful disobedience, and does not require censure.”

Spahr, 65, expressed disappointment in the ruling.

“I am deeply saddened that our church has chosen not to recognize the loving relationships of members of its own family,” she said in a statement.

The ruling can be appealed to the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the highest court in the denomination, within 45 days. “We will listen and pray, and see where the Spirit leads us,” Spahr said.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Primitive Baptists Mark 100th Anniversary

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) The National Primitive Baptists have been modernizing some of their old beliefs and practices, but this year have been busying celebrating their past.

The National Primitive Baptist Convention is observing its centennial year, including a week-long meeting in Birmingham that ended Friday (Aug. 24).

“We’re thanking the Lord for where he’s brought us,” said Elder Bernard Yates, vice president of the convention and pastor of Zion Hope Primitive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla.

The predominantly black denomination was organized in Huntsville, Ala., in 1907 and has about 1,500 churches and 600,000 members nationwide.

“Our churches are growing,” said Elder Ernest Ferrell, president of the denomination and pastor of St. Mary Primitive Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Fla. “We want to celebrate that we’ve been around 100 years.”

A century ago, most Primitive Baptists called themselves “hardshell” _ unwilling to change or compromise their beliefs.

Staunch, hardshell Primitive Baptists are usually strict Calvinists, following Protestant Reformer John Calvin’s predestination teaching that God already knows the “elect,” those who are saved.

“They don’t do evangelism because of the doctrine of election,” Yates said. “We had to move from that place to a broader view of predestination. It’s our responsibility to preach and teach God’s word. Let God take care of the rest. We do evangelize, with revivals, outreach and mission work.”

When Primitive Baptists banded together to form a national group in 1907, many preferred to remain unaffiliated. That’s still the case.

“Many of them don’t like losing their independence,” Yates said.

They clung to practices such as singing hymns without instruments. Nowadays, most churches in the convention have a mix of the old and the new. Worship usually starts with a cappella hymns from the traditional hymnbook. But most churches now also have instrumental praise bands to augment the music at other points in the worship, Yates said.

Ferrell, 63, said he’s hoping some independent Primitive Baptists will join the convention. “We’re hoping we can reach out to them,” he said. “They are a part of us.”

_ Greg Garrison

Church Starts Running Club to Spread the Gospel by Foot

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) They came two by two, and now boast a herd of 14 runners, consisting of parishioners, an auxiliary bishop, a priest of the archdiocese, and other dedicated Roman Catholics.

“Soles for Souls’ is a new way to evangelize to Catholics who love to run and be active,” said Liliana Soto-Cabrera, the coordinator of the Office of Evangelization for the Archdiocese of Newark, of the small but dedicated running brigade.

“Not only are we able to share our faith with other runners, we also use our training as a means of offering up the sacrifice for conversions and other special intentions,” she said.

Those special intentions may be to honor an ill family member, or help spiritually uplift a husband out of a job, explained Christina Pardo, club member and secretary at the archdiocese.

You don’t have to be affiliated with the church, but must be a Roman Catholic, and want to run in a spirit of sacrifice for the conversion of people, Soto-Cabrera said.

“Running can also be offered as a prayer,” Auxiliary Bishop Edgar M. Da Cunha said. “Physical activity, although good for the mind and body, can also be good for the soul, and it can also bring good fruits for others, if it is offered as a prayer.”

Da Cunha, who is an avid participant in local races, said the group strives to incorporate prayer into their runs. Pardo said they eventually hope to run the New York City Marathon.

“As we run, we are offering time and discipline,” said Soto-Cabrera. “We are answering the call, but we don’t have a pushy presence. We run but are not there saying, `Believe!’ But if people ask, we’ll tell them.”

_ Katie Barry

Quote of the Day: Republican Presidential Hopeful Mitt Romney

(RNS) “That was a terrible, awful act carried out by members of my faith. There are bad people in any church and it’s true of members of my church, too.”

_ Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaking to the Associated Press about how he won’t attend “September Dawn,” a movie about an 1857 massacre by Mormon settlers in Utah.

KRE/CM END RNS