An out lesbian candidate has been approved for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA) by the regional San Francisco Presbytery.
After votes were taken Tuesday, November 10, Lisa Larges, of San Francisco, could be the first minister ordained in the church under a 2006 compromise policy allowing candidates to submit a statement of conscience if they disagree with a specific denomination policy.
Larges, 46, is the minister coordinator for That All May Freely Serve. She has been trying for ordination since 1986.
"I am just one of many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people of faith, some of whom are called to serve the church," said Larges in a conference call with reporters Wednesday, November 11.
She said that if Tuesday night's vote changes things for others, "then it makes me all the more proud of the San Francisco Presbytery."
There were two votes Tuesday night. The first vote, 156-149, was to determine Larges's position as a valid ministry. The second vote, 154-138, allowed Larges to move forward to ordination.
The move could still be appealed, said Larges, "and we are guessing it may very well be..."
Larges said that when she started this path, she was 23 years old.
"I've walked this journey with the Presbyterian Church and I feel like we have a covenant together," she said.
She added, "I just feel like this is where God wants me to be and if God wants me to be somewhere else, then I hope that I'll know that when the time comes."
More debate is expected at the church's 2010 nationwide General Assembly in Minneapolis. The denomination will decide whether to follow the Episcopal and Lutheran churches, which voted to allow partnered gay ministers, or to continue making exceptions to the ban.
The 2006 rule was in response to the growing number of congregations and presbyteries who want to consider openly gay and lesbian candidates for ordination.
The ban was left in place but candidates can now submit a statement of conscience.
The San Francisco Presbytery previously approved Larges's statement of conscience in January 2008 and recommended that she be considered for ordination, but opponents filed a final suit to block consideration. That suit was concluded last week, allowing the San Francisco Presbytery to move forward.
Larges, a deacon at Noe Valley Ministry, was first blocked from ordination in 1992 by a court decision of the Presbyterian Church (USA) because she was honest about being a lesbian.
A Presbyterian Church spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment earlier this week.
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