[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. JANE ADAMS SPAHR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 19, 2007

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Rev. Dr. Jane Adams 
Spahr, a Presbyterian minister committed to justice for the lesbian, 
gay, bisexual and transgender community. A self-described lesbian and 
feminist, Janie is retiring after 33 years.
  Born in Pittsburgh, PA, with her twin sister Joanie to Chet and 
Susanna Adams, Janie was ordained a Presbyterian minister in December 
1974, to the Hazelwood Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. From 1975 to 
1979 she served as assistant pastor of First Presbyterian in San 
Rafael, CA, and in 1979-1980 was the executive director of Oakland 
Council of Presbyterian Churches where she was encouraged to resign 
after coming out as a lesbian.
  Janie began her ``out'' liberation work with and for LGBT people as 
the minister of pastoral care in the Castro area of Metropolitan 
Community Church in San Francisco from 1980 to 1982. In 1982, this 
``lesbyterian'' founded the Ministry of Light, which later became the 
Spectrum Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns. 
She served for 10 years as the executive director of Spectrum.
  In 1991, Rev. Spahr was called to serve as a copastor at the Downtown 
United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY, marking the first time a 
Presbyterian Church had chosen an ``out'' pastor. The call, however, 
was challenged, and the Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church 
refused to allow Rev. Spahr to assume the coposition. In response to 
the ruling Janie was hired by the Downtown United Presbyterian Church 
and the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tiburon, CA, who formed the 
``That All May Freely Serve'' project. She was employed to work within 
the denomination to end discrimination and increase inclusiveness for 
all people.
  In 2006, Rev. Spahr made national headlines when the Commission of 
the Presbytery of the Redwoods ruled she acted within her ``right of 
conscience'' as a Christian when she performed commitment ceremonies 
for two lesbian couples. The Presbyterian Church's highest court ruled 
in 2000 that ministers could ``bless'' same-sex unions but not preside 
over them or call them marriages. Janie challenged the church's 
constitution and won a victory for justice and inclusion, but the 
battle is not yet over as the Prosecuting Committee has filed an 
appeal.
  During her undergraduate years at Penn State, Jane met Jim Spahr whom 
she later married and had two sons, Jim and Chet. Jim now fondly refers 
to Janie as his ``wife emerita'' and the ``sister-in-love'' of Jackie 
Spahr, Jim's partner, and Bill Fenton, her sister Joanie's partner.
  Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to honor Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr 
whose courageous passion for justice and inclusion for LGBT people has 
left a legacy that is paving the way to a better future. Rev. Spahr has 
touched so many lives as a minister, and though she is retiring she 
will remain a mentor and role model to all.

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