Janie Spahr: Minister puts her faith in 'yes': Presbyterian doctrine won't let her officiate at same-sex weddings. A lesbian herself, she says she won't quit the church she loves.

Metro Desk, © 2011 LA Times; By Maria L. La Ganga, January 4, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO -- The first time the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr was brought to trial by the Presbyterian Church, the prosecutor in the 1992 case likened her to an "addictive gambler," a "confirmed bank robber" and a "habitual child abuser."

The third time she was brought to trial, by the church she loves and refuses to leave, a religious tribunal found her guilty of violating the Presbyterian constitution. But then several of its members apologized to Spahr, and their decision admonished not the faithful minister but the faith itself.  More