A Presbyterian minister whose denomination convicted him of violating church law by marrying same-sex couples says he will continue performing the ceremonies.
The Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken, 44, said he feels obligated to press the issue in hopes the Presbyterian Church (USA) will stop what he calls its discrimination against homosexuals.
"The status quo in the Presbyterian Church is inflicting pain. So we need to ensure that that pain is addressed and the issue is not ignored," the minister of 19 years said after a court of church officials announced its decision Monday.
In the church's first trial on the issue, Van Kuiken received the mildest form of punishment a public rebuke that directs him to only marry a man to a woman. He could have been temporarily suspended or removed from the ministry.
The court acquitted Van Kuiken of the charge that he ordained as deacons and elders gays who do not adhere to a church rule of chastity for unmarried lay ministers.
The court said local congregations and their ruling boards select the lay people for ordination and it would not convict Van Kuiken of something not under his authority.
Van Kuiken said he appreciated being spared stiffer punishment, but admitted more charges and trials could follow because he will continue to perform same-sex marriages as pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church in nearby Cincinnati.
"I intend to appeal the guilty verdict because I believe that this decision is theologically wrong and contrary to the Scriptures," he said.
His appeal would go within 45 days to the denomination's next highest level of courts, the permanent judicial commission of the synod that oversees Presbyterian churches in Ohio and Michigan.
The highest Presbyterian court ruled in 2000 that ministers may bless same-sex unions, but cannot marry such couples.
Van Kuiken, a married heterosexual originally from Grand Rapids, Mich., joined Mount Auburn about three years ago from the Church of the Apostles in suburban Minneapolis.
He said he performed a same-sex marriage on April 12, four days after his trial, and he plans to perform another in May.
Van Kuiken was the first minister to be tried on accusations of marrying homosexuals as a result of complaints filed by Presbyterian activists in about 20 locations around the country. Some complaints were investigated and dismissed for lack of evidence, and others are pending.
The activists demand that the 2.5 million-member denomination, based in Louisville, Ky., require its ministers and congregations to obey the Presbyterian constitution.
The Presbyterian Church follows the biblical interpretation generally held by major Christian denominations that marriage can be a covenant only between a man and a woman.
A guilty verdict required votes from at least five of the seven members of the Cincinnati Presbytery court. The vote on both charges was 6-1.
The dissenting votes were cast by Charles Brown, an elder at the Wyoming Presbyterian Church in suburban Cincinnati. He said he agreed that Van Kuiken was guilty of the same-sex marriage violation but believed that the minister should have been suspended. He also believed that Van Kuiken should have been found guilty of the other charge.
The Rev. Parker Williamson, chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee an independent group that affirms biblical traditional values said the case is likely to prompt debate and perhaps legislation at next month's meeting of the Presbyterian Church's national governing body, the General Assembly.
"Now the question before the Presbyterian Church (USA) is, will it enforce its standards? Will it require compliance?" Williamson said from his office in Lenoir, N.C.