wfn.org | Women of Faith Award to the Rev. Jane Spahr Rescinded

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16-April-1999 
99154 
 
    Women of Faith Award to the Rev. Jane Spahr Rescinded 
 
    by John Filiatreau 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The director of the National Ministries Division (NMD) of 
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has overturned a committee's selection of 
the Rev. Jane Spahr as one of three recipients of the prestigious Women of 
Faith awards for 1999. 
 
    Spahr, who is openly lesbian, is employed by Downtown Presbyterian 
Church in Rochester, N.Y., as a "lesbian evangelist" for "That All May 
Freely Serve," a ministry that reaches out to Christians who are, in her 
words, "gay, bisexual and transgendered men and women - people who have 
been hurt and violated." 
 
    The Rev. Curtis A. Kearns Jr., the NMD head, reportedly reversed a 
selection committee's decision to present the award to Spahr because her 
ministry is not in keeping with the policies of the PC(USA).  Kearns, who 
has declined to comment, said he will issue a press release on the decision 
next week. 
 
    The annual awards are presented during General Assembly at a breakfast 
sponsored by the Women's Ministries Program Area of NMD, which presents the 
awards. 
 
    The other women selected to receive the 1999 awards are Elder Jane 
Dempsey Douglas, a retired professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, and 
Elder Letty Russell, a professor at Yale Divinity School in Connecticut. 
 
    The program's theme for this year is "On Behalf of Women: Reforming 
Through the Word."  The Women's Ministries Program Area intended to 
recognize the three recipients and to more broadly honor "the gifts of 
clergywomen, educators, songwriters, poets, campus ministers, theologians, 
lay pastors and authors who have witnessed as reformers through the Word." 
 
    The members of the selection committee were elected to represent 
various constituencies within the Women's Ministries Program Area: 
Presbyterian Women, the Advocacy Committee for Women's Concerns, the 
National Network of Presbyterian College Women, the National Association of 
Presbyterian Clergywomen and the Association of Presbyterian Christian 
Educators. 
 
    The panel chose the three recipients after reviewing more than 80 
nomination forms that put forward 59 different women. 
 
    The Rev. Barbara E. Dua, associate NMD director for Women's Ministries, 
said the Women of Faith awards are intended for "women who sort of push the 
boundaries."  She said the committee, which she said was "not staff-driven 
but constituency-driven," chose the three recipients after a process in 
which "the cream rose to the top." 
 
    Dua added: "We are going to try to think very creatively about the 
award breakfast itself, to try to make it a healing rather than a damaging 
event.  We've just been taking this one step at a time.  I'd say we're all 
together, trying to support one another through this. 
 
    "There is the possibility of canceling the breakfast. We will give 
serious thought to it." 
 
    Dua said this year's selection process was handled no differently than 
it has been in previous years.  She said the names of award recipients have 
never been submitted to the division director for approval. 
 
    Kearns' reversal of the committee's decision apparently sets a 
precedent for the PC(USA). 
 
    "It has to go across the board," said one Women's Ministries staff 
member. "It can't be only for NMD." 
 
    The award recipients, including Spahr, were informed of their 
selections by telephone on March 30. Spahr has since been told that her 
award "may not be forthcoming." 

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