McNeill Not Guilty for Marrying Her Wife

After nearly three years in decision-making limbo, Laurie McNeill is considered not guilty for violating her ordination vows when she married her wife, Lisa, in Massachusetts in 2009. The openly gay former pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in New Jersey was removed from her position when she announced her marriage to the congregation.

“I loved being a minister. It’s been an honor and a privilege. And I do feel called to be a pastor,” said McNeill in an interview. “And I knew that once I told, there was a possibility that my local congregation would ask me to leave.”

Although her congregation says that her lack of leadership and administrative skills caused her to be removed, The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbytery of Newark (PPJC) and the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Northeast (SPJC) found that McNeill was not out of line for marrying the person she loved.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was called on to make a definitive church decision about how leaders should address same-sex marriages. While the council chose not to amend the definition of marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two people”, they did ask for more research to be done.

Even though it seems like marriage is not at the forefront of the Presbyterian church’s mind, this landmark decision can only help with progress of LGBTQ integration in Presbyterian churches nationwide.

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Image via More Light Presbyterians