New complaint filed in Pittsburgh same-sex marriage case: 14 accusers
say Janet Edwards willfully defied ordination vows, church law
by Evan Silverstein
PCUSA News Service
March 2, 2007

LOUISVILLE - A new complaint has been filed against the Rev.
Janet Edwards, the Presbyterian minister in Pittsburgh who
last year was taken to church court for marrying a lesbian
couple, only to have the charges dropped because the court
found they were filed four days late.

The Rev. James C. Yearsley, a Presbyterian minister who is
currently serving in Florida, filed a complaint against
Edwards shortly after she performed the marriage in June
2005, only to see the charges against her dismissed on a
technicality in November. Pittsburgh Presbytery's Permanent
Judicial Commission ruled that a special investigating
committee filed charges against Edwards after its deadline
for doing so.

But now a new case may be brought against Edwards, who has
been an activist for the full participation of gay and
lesbian people in the church.

Yearsley announced last month that he has submitted a new
grievance against Edwards that alleges she acted in "willful
and deliberate defiance" of her ordination vows and of the
constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Seven other PC(USA) ministers and six elders from Texas,
North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington state
have signed on to the new complaint, joining Yearsley as
"co-accusers."

Yearsley, who filed the original 2005 complaint alone, said
in a press release that he decided to re-file the accusation
with Pittsburgh Presbytery in conjunction with others this
time "because the church and Ms. Edwards never had their day
in court."

The PC(USA)'s Book of Order defines marriage as between a
man and a woman, and church courts have ruled that
Presbyterian ministers may not utilize the denomination's
marriage liturgy in same-sex ceremonies.

Edwards was ordained by Pittsburgh Presbytery in 1977 and
served as its moderator in 1987. She currently is assigned
as an "at large" minister working primarily as a parish
associate through the Community of Reconciliation, an
interracial and multi-denominational congregation that is
open to persons of all sexual orientations.

"I am sincerely and deeply disturbed by the renewal of
accusations against me for presiding at the wedding,"
Edwards said. "Embracing the loving Holy Spirit, which so
filled the wedding of Nancy (McConn) and Brenda (Cole), is
what we desperately need now, not contending against it."

A Pittsburgh native, Yearsley, 55, has been pastor of
Village Presbyterian Church in Tampa, FL, since February
2006. When he filed his original complaint against Edwards
he was serving as pastor at Mt. Hope Community Church, a
Presbyterian congregation in suburban Pittsburgh.

Yearsley and the 13 other ministers and elders are being
represented by Paul Rolf Jensen, a southern California
attorney who has filed dozens of similar complaints against
Presbyterian ministers and governing bodies throughout the
United States.

"What our denomination desperately needs right now are
people contending for the faith," Jensen said. "To ignore
Rev. Edwards' gross misconduct and heretical behavior would
be to turn a blind eye to the cancer that inflicts our
denomination."

In their complaint, a copy of which Jensen provided to the
Presbyterian News Service, the church leaders accused
Edwards of acting in "willful and deliberate violation of
her ordination vows" as stated in the Book of Order by
performing the same-sex wedding ceremony of Cole and McConn.

Edwards, 56, said she does not believe she violated her
ordination vows by marrying the lesbian partners, who live
near Wheeling, WV.

McConn is a lifelong Presbyterian and longtime member of
Dallas Presbyterian Church in Dallas, WV. Cole was raised
Methodist but now is a practicing Buddhist.

The 14 co-accusers also contend that Edwards performed a
marriage ceremony that was "heretical and apostate" in that
it was "contrary to the Word of God and the Book of
Confessions by expressing Buddhist doctrine anathema to the
Christian faith."

They also claim that Edwards "assaulted the peace, unity and
purity of the church" by repeatedly proclaiming in the
secular media "defiance, apostasy and intent to continue
such behavior."

Edwards, who is a direct descendant of legendary Puritan
theologian Jonathan Edwards, could face a number of
punishments, including removal from ordained ministry, if
the case goes to trial and she's convicted.

"As this renewed disciplinary process unfolds my focus will
be upon reconciling prayer, trusting completely that God's
love can bring healing and reconciliation to us all in the
PC(USA) and that what will happen will help to spread the
gospel," Edwards said.

Jensen responded that "the gospel of Jesus Christ is being
distorted and perverted by Rev. Edwards and her
supporters."

The Rev. James E. Mead, Pittsburgh Presbytery's executive,
declined to comment on the case.

The seven ministers joining Yearsley in signing the
complaint are: the Rev. L. Russ Howard of Washington
Presbytery; the Rev. David Perry of Coastal Carolina
Presbytery; the Rev. James Coone of Grace Presbytery; the
Rev. Robert Kopp of Blackhawk Presbytery; the Rev. Jim Tilly
of Blackhawk Presbytery; the Rev. Toby Brown of Mission
Presbytery; and the Rev. Mark Hughey of Blackhawk
Presbytery.

The six elders signing the complaint are: Sarah Beard of
Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Marysville, WA; Everett
Worrell of First Presbyterian Church in Belvidere, IL; Mark
Rouleau of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rockford, IL;
Robert Gagnon of Eastminster Presbyterian Church of
Pittsburgh, PA; Pamela Easton of Bethany Presbyterian Church
in Loves Park, IL; and Virginia Worrell of First
Presbyterian Church in Belvidere, IL.

This story is located at:
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07119.htm