The commission ruled Dec. 4 that the matter was moot, because the session of First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, Connecticut -- which was attempting to install a gay elder, Wayne Osborne -- had already seated a new class of elders while the challenge to Osborne was pending in the church courts. Osborne was elected to a three-year term on the session but never installed because of the legal challenges; the term for which he had...
Parties in Stamford case had tried to expedite process in order to get a ruling on the merits of the case
The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission -- in sidestepping the question of exactly how deeply a session should be required to probe into the private life of a gay elder who has acknowledged being in a committed, life-long relationship but has declined to say whether he is sexually active -- has put the question off but has not put it to rest.
