California Clergyman Acquitted in Legal Civil Marriage Case

In 2009, the Rev. Erwin Barron, an author and professor of ethics at several Bay Area colleges, began the process of transferring his membership to San Francisco Presbytery from the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, where he had previously served as a parish minister.  But an accusation by three members of that presbytery (who did not know him) halted the process.  They had learned from on-line sources that the Rev. Barron had entered into a civil marriage with his partner during the period in 2008 when such unions were legal in California.On February 28, the PJC of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area acquitted him of violating the constitution of the PCUSA by contracting this civil marriage.  The PJC deadlocked 3-3.  Conviction – which could have resulted in the loss of his ordination  - would have required a two-thirds majority.  The seventh member of the PPJC had recused himself from the hearing, since he had earlier upheld the decision of an earlier Investigating Committee not to press charges on substantially the same accusation.The Minneapolis Star-Tribune described the case in a story that was widely reprinted.Rev. Barron is an active participant, educator, and frequent worship leader at Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco.  He authored the Leader’s Guide to the Call to Covenant Community and the Study Guide for Covenant Network’s award-winning video Turning Points: Stories of Life & Change in the Church.