CINCINNATI — A Presbyterian court has found a Cincinnati minister guilty of presiding at weddings for same-sex couples but refused to suspend him or remove him from his pulpit.
Stephen Van Kuiken was formally “rebuked” for presiding at gay weddings and was acquitted of a charge that he broke church law by ordaining noncelibate gays and lesbians as pastors and elders. Van Kuiken acknowledged both acts.
Van Kuiken, pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, said he will appeal his guilty verdict to a regional court. He said he would continue to marry gay couples and ordain openly gay church officers.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) allows same-sex unions as long as they are not equated with marriage. While the seven-member court found Van Kuiken guilty, it gave him the least severe punishment. “If you perform services of holy union, you are directed to take special care to avoid any confusion of such services with Christian marriage,” the court said in its ruling. (TAB)
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