Hellcat
Registered
Gay pastor acquitted in church trial, can continue ministry
Saturday, March 20, 2004 Posted: 8:10 PM EST (0110 GMT)
The ruling means Dammann is in good standing with the church and available for new assignments.
BOTHELL, Washington (AP) -- A lesbian Methodist pastor was acquitted Saturday in a church trial over her sexual orientation, and will be allowed to continue her ministry.
After about 10 hours of deliberations, a jury of 13 pastors ruled in favor of the Rev. Karen Dammann, 47, who disclosed three years ago that she was in a homosexual
relationship.
Church law prohibits the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals and the church's Book of Discipline declares homosexuality to be "incompatible to Christian teachings
.&qu
ot; But the church's social principles support gay rights and liberties.
The jury issu
ed a statement saying the church "did not present sufficient clear and convincing evidence to sustain the charge."
"We realize that the church is divided regarding issues related to homosexuality," the jury said in its statement. "We, the Trial Court, are far from unanimous regarding biblical and theological understandings."
The jury said it made its decision "after many hours of painful and prayerful deliberations, and listening for and to the word of God."
Dammann has been on leave as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ellensburg, 95 miles east of Seattle. This month she married her partner of nine years, Meredith Savage, in Portland,
Oregon, where officials have been allowing gay marriages. They have a 5-year-old son.
The ruling means Dammann is in good standing with the church and available for new assignments.
Damma
nn did not t
estify at her three-day trial at Bothell United Methodist Church in this Seattle suburb.
In closing arguments Friday, her church counsel, the
Rev. Robert C. Ward, asked jurors to adhere to church principles on inclusiveness and justice, not to the letter of church rules.
"We need to be careful about creating rules that exclude people," Ward said. "You are faced with a choice to make love practical, to make love plain, and to do what is right."
The Rev. James C. Finkbeiner, who prosecuted the case, argued that Dammann, by her own admission, is a practicing lesbian and that was all the jury needed to consider to find her guilty.
"This is a trial about Reverend Dammann," Finkbeiner said. "The law of the church is not on trial. I admit t
his will make this decision much more painful to reach."
The trial is the first against a homosexual Methodist pastor since 1987, when the credentials of the Rev. Rose Mary Denman of New
Hampshire were revo
ked.
Dammann declared her sexual preference in February 2001, when she sought a new church appointment. After receiving her letter, Methodist Bishop Elias Galvan, under church orders, filed
a complaint against Dammann.
The United Methodist clergy of the Pacific Northwest Conference voted to retain Dammann, but the Judicial Council of the Nashville, Tennessee-based denomination reversed that decision last fall. A church committee voted to put Damman on trial in January.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/20/gay.pastor.ap/index.html
Saturday, March 20, 2004 Posted: 8:10 PM EST (0110 GMT)
The ruling means Dammann is in good standing with the church and available for new assignments.
BOTHELL, Washington (AP) -- A lesbian Methodist pastor was acquitted Saturday in a church trial over her sexual orientation, and will be allowed to continue her ministry.
After about 10 hours of deliberations, a jury of 13 pastors ruled in favor of the Rev. Karen Dammann, 47, who disclosed three years ago that she was in a homosexual
relationship.
Church law prohibits the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals and the church's Book of Discipline declares homosexuality to be "incompatible to Christian teachings
.&qu
ot; But the church's social principles support gay rights and liberties.
The jury issu
ed a statement saying the church "did not present sufficient clear and convincing evidence to sustain the charge."
"We realize that the church is divided regarding issues related to homosexuality," the jury said in its statement. "We, the Trial Court, are far from unanimous regarding biblical and theological understandings."
The jury said it made its decision "after many hours of painful and prayerful deliberations, and listening for and to the word of God."
Dammann has been on leave as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ellensburg, 95 miles east of Seattle. This month she married her partner of nine years, Meredith Savage, in Portland,
Oregon, where officials have been allowing gay marriages. They have a 5-year-old son.
The ruling means Dammann is in good standing with the church and available for new assignments.
Damma
nn did not t
estify at her three-day trial at Bothell United Methodist Church in this Seattle suburb.
In closing arguments Friday, her church counsel, the
Rev. Robert C. Ward, asked jurors to adhere to church principles on inclusiveness and justice, not to the letter of church rules.
"We need to be careful about creating rules that exclude people," Ward said. "You are faced with a choice to make love practical, to make love plain, and to do what is right."
The Rev. James C. Finkbeiner, who prosecuted the case, argued that Dammann, by her own admission, is a practicing lesbian and that was all the jury needed to consider to find her guilty.
"This is a trial about Reverend Dammann," Finkbeiner said. "The law of the church is not on trial. I admit t
his will make this decision much more painful to reach."
The trial is the first against a homosexual Methodist pastor since 1987, when the credentials of the Rev. Rose Mary Denman of New
Hampshire were revo
ked.
Dammann declared her sexual preference in February 2001, when she sought a new church appointment. After receiving her letter, Methodist Bishop Elias Galvan, under church orders, filed
a complaint against Dammann.
The United Methodist clergy of the Pacific Northwest Conference voted to retain Dammann, but the Judicial Council of the Nashville, Tennessee-based denomination reversed that decision last fall. A church committee voted to put Damman on trial in January.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/20/gay.pastor.ap/index.html