Controversy Engulfs Presbyterian Lesbian Minister
Episcopal News Service. February 7, 1992 [92036G]
A call to the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr to serve as co-pastor at a Presbyterian church in Rochester, New York, has been put on hold after she declared herself the first lesbian to serve a Presbyterian church as pastor. The Synod of the Northeast Permanent Judicial Commission brought Spahr's installation process to a halt by agreeing to weigh an appeal by several sessions and individuals to overturn the call. If the commission decides that the objections to Spahr's installation are insufficient, Spahr needs only a vote of acceptance by her congregation, the Downtown Presbyterian Church, to serve as co-pastor. Spahr was ordained in 1974, four years before the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted the policy "that unrepentant homosexual practice does not accord with the requirements for ordination...." Spahr is currently executive director of the Ministry of Light in Marin County, California, a social service agency that primarily serves the needs of gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons. She was scheduled to begin work in Rochester in April.