Cincinnati--Dozens of people lined the street in front of Immanuel Presbyterian Church to support a minister accused of defying his denomination’s ban on marriage and ordination of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Holding banners that said “Stop Spiritual Violence and “We Are All Equal in the Eyes of God,” members of Soulforce, a pro-gay interfaith organization, met in Cincinnati April 7 and 8 to “shine some light in the darkness” at the trial of Reverend Stephen Van Kuiken of Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church.
Van Kuiken is accused of violating the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) by performing marriage ceremonies for same-gender couples and ordaining GLBT deacons and elders. The same charges were filed against 19 other Presbyterian ministers, including Mount Auburn pastor emeritus Rev. Harold G. Porter, but Van Kuiken’s case is the first such case to go to trial.
“This is a big one,” said Soulforce publicity coordinator Laura Montgomery Rutt. “This is the first trial of its kind in the Presbyterian church, and Soulforce is here to stand in solidarity with Rev. Van Kuiken and the courageous people of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church. We know we are equal in the eyes of God even if the Presbyterian Church USA hasn’t figured it out yet.”
After charges were filed against Van Kuiken, the investigating committee offered him an “alternative resolution” provided he admit that what he did was wrong and promise not to do it again. Van Kuiken rejected the offer, saying that he believes his actions are the right thing to do and that he will continue to ordain and marry GLBT people.
Nearly 100 people attended an event at Mt. Auburn on April 7 to be trained in the Soulforce principles of non-violent resistance and prepare themselves for the following day’s vigil and trial.
Rev. Mel White, founder of Soulforce, led the Monday evening training.
“This issue is not about Stephen or gay marriage or ordinations,” White said. “This issue is about fundamentalists taking over the Presbyterian Church and using tomorrow’s trial to ‘straighten up’ the congregations. Tomorrow, we’re trying to take back the church and give it back to Steve and his congregation where it belongs.”
Van Kuiken was in good spirits on the eve of his trial, thanking Soulforce for their “nourishment and support” over the past year. He held up a humorous sign made by members of his congregation in anticipation of his trial. The sign’s message, will preach for food, was a testament to his congregation’s “sense of humor and support through this whole ordeal,” Van Kuiken said.
While admitting that the whole experience of being put on trial by his denomination has been “pretty intense,” Van Kuiken seized upon the opportunity to shed light on what he says are very critical issues facing the denomination.
“There is a crisis in the Presbyterian church, and that crisis has to do with real people, it’s not just a theoretical issue,” he said. “It is a crisis when people are being pushed out of the church, people are forced to live in fear and threat and intimidation and it’s tremendously painful. The kind of violence that the church is inflicting upon its GLBT and progressive members is just intolerable.”
The second crisis the church is facing is a theological one, Van Kuiken added.
“There is a new fundamentalism that is happening in the Presbyterian church. There is a growing intolerance, a lack of respect for different progressive views of the Bible,” he said. “There is one narrow, literal perspective on certain verses of the Bible that are being forced on everyone in the church, so even progressive straight folks like me are forced into the closet. We have to keep our mouths shut and not act upon what we believe in our hearts for fear of retribution or prosecution.”
His trial provides an opportunity for those people that Van Kuiken refers to as the “silent middle” to “assert themselves” and “foster the kind of acceptance and compassion and dedication to justice that Jesus stood for.”
Soulforce members gathered with a delegation from the Mount Auburn and several other supportive churches for a 4 pm press conference on Tuesday.
Speakers included Van Kuiken, Rev. Jimmy Creech, a former United Methodist minister who was defrocked for performing a holy union ceremony for two men, Rev. Sharon Dittmar of the First Unitarian Church in Cincinnati, and Rabbi David M. Horowitz of Akron.
Dittmar said that, despite attempts by some to portray Van Kuiken as a “renegade Presbyterian,” he is “not the only Presbyterian, nor is he the only clergyperson to support the marriage of gays and lesbians and the full inclusion of GLBT members in religious community.”
“I want to thank Reverend Van Kuiken for reminding us that God’s love is bigger than our own,” Dittmar said.
Access to the trial in front of the Cincinnati Presbytery’s seven-member Permanent Judicial Commission was open only to presbytery members and Van Kuiken’s wife. He filed a formal objection to this.
“I have raised this objection because by closing this trial, it means my members will not be able to attend, my friends will not be able to attend, the press will not be able to attend, and by extension, Presbyterians at large will not be able to have full access to the proceedings today,” Van Kuiken said.
Outside the trial, openly gay Cincinnati attorney and Mount Auburn member Jack Harrison read Van Kuiken’s official response to the charges at the same time that Van Kuiken was reading the statement to the commission inside.
If found guilty, possible punishments range from a simple rebuke to removal from the ministry. Van Kuiken cautioned the commission that a rebuke would not bring resolution to this issue.
“I am convinced that [a rebuke] will only bring more accusations and more charges against me,” Van Kuiken said. “This will happen because I will continue to participate in the ordinations of ‘non-repentant practicing homosexuals,’ and I will continue to officiate and participate in services of Christian marriage for same-sex couples.”
A decision in Van Kuiken’s case is expected in a week to ten days. Once a decision is reached, formal notice is required and subsequent meetings will be open to the public.