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Appeal against Morrison ordination
is dismissed |
| San Joaquin's appeal in Morrison
case dismissed
Redwoods appeal in lesbian ordination case to be
heard Nov. 1
[8-22-02]
by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE -- August 20, 2002 -- In a pivotal court
case on ordination standards in the Presbyterian Church (USA), the
General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) has dismissed an
appeal by the Presbytery of San Joaquin seeking to overturn decisions
made by the Synod of the Pacific's court.
The case arose from Redwoods Presbytery's decision
last October to permit the ordination of the Rev. Katie Morrison, a
lesbian. Members of the presbytery asked for remedial action from the
PJC of the Synod of the Pacific alleging that the presbytery
"committed an irregularity" and sought a stay of the
ordination. The synod PJC refused to grant a stay and Morrison was
ordained later that month.
In November, San Joaquin, another presbytery in the
same synod, filed a separate complaint with the General Assembly PJC
asserting that the synod PJC had "abused its discretion" by
not issuing the stay and also charged synod stated clerk the Rev. Donald
I. MacInnes with "improper conduct" when he polled absent
synod PJC members about the stay.
Subsequently, San Joaquin rescinded its complaint
against MacInnes -- the senior synod stated clerk in the PC(USA) in
years of service -- though it inexplicably left it in its filing with
the General Assembly PJC.
The Assembly's PJC ruled that though "San Joaquin
clearly has an interest…in holding the Synod accountable for the
conduct of synod staff …" the presbytery's decision to rescind
the complaint against MacInnes means there is "no claim upon which
relief can be granted."
The GA PJC also dismissed San Joaquin's complaint
against the synod PJC because it was not a party to the original
Redwoods members' complaint. "Our Rules of Discipline do not permit
a person to seek remedial relief, as San Joaquin is attempting here,
against a judicial commission based upon that commission's rulings in
another case in which that person was not a party."
The PJC said that San Joaquin "could have moved
to intervene" by joining the Redwoods members' complaint, but chose
to file its own instead.
An appeal by several members of Redwoods Presbytery in
the case is still pending before the General Assembly's PJC -- it is
tentatively scheduled to be heard Nov. 1. But San Joaquin's is gone.
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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?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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