| Woe to you… | |
| It is with a profound sense of disappointment that I read
the decision of the Synod of the Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission on
the appeal of the decision by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the
Presbytery of the Redwoods exonerating The Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr of
the charges brought against her. In its action to overturn the decision of the Presbytery of the Redwoods’ PJC the Synod Commission perpetuates the vague and poorly crafted standard of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the contradictory positions asserted in the rulings of other earlier church trials, denies the historic Presbyterian principal of the discretion and freedom of conscience of the clergy, and in so doing capitulates and contributes to the ongoing homophobia of the denomination and the perpetuation of practices and beliefs that wrongly make lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and trans-gendered persons second class members of the church. In the decision that is devoid of adequate discernment and the wisdom that derives there from, the Synod Commission’s reversal brings to mind Jesus’ complaint about those who rely on legalism, “Woe to you… you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” As the clerk and a member of the Presbytery Commission that had its decision overturned, the call to recuse a member of the Commission was carefully considered twice, at length, and the Commission rightly found no basis for the allegation of bias or grounds that the Commission member could not fairly and properly find in the case. The Synod Commission is grossly wrong its assertion to the contrary. The Synod Commission directs the Presbytery PJC to find The Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr guilty and to impose censure or rebuke. It is quite unlikely that the Presbytery PJC will have some epiphany that will cause it to reverse their decision made in good and faithful conscience on the basis of Presbyterian laws and rulings, laws and rulings that are fundamentally legally flawed. If only the Synod Commission had taken those flaws seriously instead of tinkering with unimportant minutiae in the decision of the Commission. It is my hope that The Rev. Dr. Spahr will appeal this unjust and unwise ruling of the Synod Commission. Douglas K. Huneke, Pastor |
|
| ....and other opinion | |
| Where is
Jesus? Jim Spahr, Person Paterfamilias of the west coast Spahr clan |
Letter to a friend Paul Feiertag, Pastor (Retired) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
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