Presbyterian minister officiates gay CA wedding

A retired Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister challenged her denomination's position on same-sex marriage Friday by officiating the wedding of two women who wanted to be among the first couples to legally marry in California.

The Rev. Jane Spahr, recently acquitted by a church council of officiating same-sex ceremonies before California made gay marriage legal, presided over the wedding between Sara Taylor, 54, and Sherrie Holmes, 57, at the Marin County Civic Center.

"I pronounced them married under the authority granted me by the state and as a minister of the Presbyterian Church," Spahr said after the service, attended by Holmes' 30-year-old daughter and longtime friends of the couple, who have been together 18 years this week.

The brides and their pastor said they hoped the wedding would send a message to church leaders gathering in San Jose for a weeklong legislative meeting where changes to the denomination's positions on marriage and the ordination of gay clergy are scheduled to be discussed.

"I'm so disappointed the church doesn't lead on this," Taylor said.

Presbyterian minister officiates gay CA wedding
The Associated Press