First LGBT Presbyterian Minister Ordained in San Francisco

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The San Francisco Presbytery agreed late Tuesday to ordain the first openly homosexual minister in the denomination.

The vote of 156 for and 138 against the ordination came after hours of contentious debate at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. It is possible that the decision to ordain Lisa Larges, a deacon at Noe Valley Ministry Presbyterian Church, could be appealed.

It's a significant decision in the Presbyterian church, which like many other religious denominations around the country has struggled for years over how to include gays and lesbians in church affairs.

"Change is happening in the churches," Larges said in a statement after the vote. "People are realizing that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have long functioned as contributing members of their faith traditions. It is time to tell the truth - we are all created in God's image."

Larges had been blocked from ordination for more than 15 years. If Tuesday's vote is not appealed, the decision is final and Larges can be formally ordained as a minister.

There are a handful of gay and lesbian ministers in the Presbyterian church, but they only came out after being ordained. Last year, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA voted to overturn a ban on gay and lesbian ministers, but that vote was rejected by a majority of the country's presbyteries, so the ban still stands.

Regional presbyteries, however, may consider individual cases if candidates for ordination submit a formal statement saying they disagree with the church policy. As part of her ordination process, Larges submitted such a statement to the San Francisco Presbytery, which includes 78 churches and 29,000 congregation members in the Bay Area.

Larges' ordination received preliminary approval in January 2008, but that approval was quickly appealed. A church court rejected that appeal on Nov. 4 and Larges was allowed to move forward with the rest of the ordination process, which concluded with Tuesday night's vote.

Observers said Tuesday's vote could have major repercussions throughout the Presbyterian church nationwide, even if Larges' ordination is appealed and ultimately blocked again.

"Church policies and approaches to issues - whether it's around women's ordination or LGBT issues - often how these things change is by pushing the envelope," said the Rev. Jay Johnson, director of academic research at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.

"When the envelope gets pushed, these local actions have to be adjudicated in that larger venue," Johnson said. "It's anyone's guess what would happen there."