Charges Against Southard Not Sustained

Tricia Dykers Koenig, National Organizer, Covenant Network

On Saturday, August 22, 2009, I was privileged to be present to observe the trial before the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbytery of Boston of the Rev. Jean Southard, now Honorably Retired and formerly the Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Waltham, Massachusetts.   Jean, a pastor whose immense integrity has shone forth in the pastoral care she exercised with her congregation, in the way she handled being embroiled in judicial action, and in her testimony during the trial, was accused of violating the Constitution of the PCUSA and her ordination vow to be governed by the church's polity because she conducted a service of Christian Marriage between two women, both members of her congregation -- a legal marriage in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Expert witnesses for the defense provided an education in the areas of pastoral theology, historical theology, and polity.   The defense argued that there is no mandatory prohibition in the Book of Order, or any authoritative interpretation of it, on a minister doing what ministers have been doing in this country for centuries -- cooperating with the state in solemnizing a marriage.  Previous PJC decisions and Authoritative Interpretations have not considered ministers conducting legal civil marriages.  

 The Boston PPJC agreed, ruling (with a dissent from a minority) that:

The Prosecuting Committee has not proven beyond reasonable doubt that W-4.9000 contains mandatory language that would prohibit a Minister of Word and Sacrament from performing a same-gender marriage.

You can read the whole decision here.

It was obvious in the trial, if it somehow had not been before, that ministers -- especially in states where the marriage laws do not discriminate on the basis of gender -- are in an untenable position if there is a presumption that the church requires them to discriminate against some of their members in exercising pastoral care.  

It was rather shocking that none of the three members of the Presbytery of Boston who leveled accusations against Jean even bothered to show up for the trial -- after imposing substantial emotional and financial costs on Jean, and on the Presbytery itself for that matter.  The Rules of Discipline, in establishing who can initiate disciplinary process, do not distinguish between victims of actual harm and those who may be using judicial action to fight political and theological battles.

Sad as it is for the church's resources to be used in this way, Jean and her supporters were able to witness powerfully to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we rejoice in the PPJC's decision.  Because of a fairly recent change in the Book of Order allowing appeals by the prosecuting committee, we'll have to wait and see whether this ends the matter.  Please be in prayer for Jean, for the Presbytery of Boston, and for the whole PCUSA.