Van Kuiken expects to be back in pulpit The Layman Online Tuesday, September 2, 2003 Stephen Van Kuiken, the defrocked former pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, is still "marrying" homosexuals and declaring that he will make his comeback as a minister. "Eventually, I will be a pastor again at another church," Van Kuiken told a reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer after he conducted a marriage ceremony for two men in a Unitarian congregation. Van Kuiken had conducted similar rites for homosexuals at Mount Auburn, contrary to church law in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The PCUSA does allow its ministers, with the authorization of their local sessions, to conduct services to "bless" same-gender couples. But the highest court in the denomination has said that those services cannot resemble "marriages" or sanction homosexual behavior. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbytery of Cincinnati reprimanded Van Kuiken for violating church law. Later, the full presbytery voted that he had renounced the jurisdiction of the PCUSA and ordered his removal from the pulpit. Declaring that a Presbyterian – whether a member or a minister – has renounced jurisdiction is tantamount to excommunication. However, the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Covenant, which will hear Van Kuiken's appeal, has restored Van Kuiken's status as a church member until his appeal is heard. It has not restored his ordination as a minister of Word and sacrament. The Presbytery of Cincinnati will review the status of Van Kuiken's case at its meeting on Sept. 9 in Mount Washington Presbyterian Church. Since leaving Mount Auburn, Van Kuiken, who is married and has two children, has appeared as a guest minister in pulpits in Cincinnati and the region. He received an $80,000 severance package from Mount Auburn, according to The Enquirer. Van Kuiken's latest marriage ceremony occurred at St. John's Unitarian Church in Clifton, Ohio. The couple were Kim Roots and Ken Farmer of Price Hill, Ohio, who are members of Mount Auburn. Since Van Kuiken left Mount Auburn – although he attends some services there – the congregation has had a split. About 40 members left the congregation to begin a new church.

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