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Stamford ordination case |
| PJC rules case of gay elder in
Connecticut is moot
Osborne's seat on session has been filled, so case
is "no longer relevant"
by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service
[posted here 12-14-01]
Click
here for an earlier report on this case.
LOUISVILLE - 04-December-2001 - In a decision likely
to displease both sides in the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s dispute over
ordination standards, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission
(PJC) has dismissed as moot a closely-watched case concerning a gay
elder in Connecticut.
The surprise ruling was issued Dec. 4 after it was
revealed at a Nov. 30 hearing that the congregation of First
Presbyterian Church of Stamford, CT, had elected and the session had
installed a new class of elders last June.
Therefore, the PJC ruled, the question of whether
elder Wayne Osborne, a self-acknowledged gay man who was elected to a
term of service on the previous session at First church, was eligible
for installation is "no longer relevant to the disposition of this
case."
Once the new session was elected, the church court
held, Osborne "ceased to be eligible for installation."
"The Permanent Judicial Commission said nothing
on the substance of the underlying case," noted the Rev. Mark
Tammen, director of the Department of Constitutional Services in the
Office of the General Assembly, "because there is no longer any
case."
The case against Osborne - who acknowledged his
homosexual orientation after his ordination in 1994 - began in June of
1998 after he was elected to an additional term on the Stamford session.
Due to a series of stays, he was never installed.
The original complaint alleged that the Stamford
session failed to adequately examine Osborne to determine if he was
sexually active, which would violate G-6.0106b (the "fidelity and
chastity" provision) of The Book of Order. By lower court mandate,
Osborne was reexamined in January 2000 and again approved for
installation. |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
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send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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