February 2005

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The Presbytery of the Redwoods in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in December filed a disciplinary charge against Jane Adams Spahr, who participated in a same-sex marriage ceremony. Jim Berkley of Presbyterians for Renewal brought the charges, saying Spahr violated the denomination's Book of Order. o United Methodist minister Beth Stroud lost her ministerial credentials in December. A church jury found her guilty of "practices incompatible with Christian teaching." Stroud openly practices lesbianism, in violation of church law.

Canada's Supreme Court, in a long-expected decision, says marriage between homosexuals is constitutional. The advisory opinion, called a reference, was announced December 9. Now the issue shifts back to the House of Commons, to see whether gay marriage will become legal at the federal level. The justice minister says legislation will be introduced as soon as members return to work at the end of January. It could pass in a matter of months.

In December, gunmen set off explosions in two churches in Mosul, northern Iraq. No one was hurt, but the Chaldean and Armenian church buildings sustained damage. o In November, the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City handed out harsh sentences to six Vietnamese Mennonite church workers. Nguyen Hong Quang and five colleagues were charged with "resisting officers of the law while doing their duty" in connection with a March 2 incident involving a nonviolent confrontation with two undercover government operatives at their church. According to Compass Direct, the court sentenced Quang, general secretary of the Vietnamese Mennonite Church, to three years in prison. Evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach received a two-year ...