Evening star., 1948-12-14
D. {. Presbytery
Hits Publicity
On Late Reports
Asks District Court
To Remedy Law on
Filing Of Marriages

The Washington City Presbytery
Yesterday strongly protested the
unnecessary and injurious pro-
cedure" the Office of the clerk
OF the District Court and the press
followed recently in naming certain
ministers for alleged failure to re-
port marriages on time.
The Presbytery, noting that none
of its ministers was named in the
newspaper stories appearing on De-
cember S, charged publicity was
given the cases before the ministers
were notified or had an opportunity
to make an explanation. District
regulations require that q pastor
report a marriage he performs
within 10 days of the ceremony.
1T appears that the clerk of the
court, by whose Office the said pub
licity was made possible, destroys
the envelopes in which the returns
tof marriage reports are made so
that his Office is without authori-
tative information as to the date of
the resolution declared.
1T further appears that the clerk
keeps no record as to the date of
receipt of the return by his office"
Law Held Defective.
The statement further asserted
the present District marriage statute
is defective in not providing that
a copy of any license issued for
marriage shall be promptly sent to
the minister named therein" 1t
pointed out there is mo requirement
in the existing statute for prompt
use of any license" During the dis
cussion 1t was noted that the name
of a minister may be put on
license without his knowing any,
thing about it, and that frequently
couples having such licenses are
married by other ministers.
The District Court was asked by
the Presbytery ito cooperate in OBJ
tanning such amendments to the
statutes as will remedy inadequacies
which contribute to the unfair and
result referred to in this
resolution"
Says Press Notified Earlier.
j. Austin Latimer. a local attorney
and an elder of the Sixth Presby-
terian Church, told the gathering
the information in the cases was
made available to the press from
"a to 48 hours before any of the
ministers knew anything about it,
except as they read it in the press"
One minister, he said. was awak-
ened at II pm. Monday to receive
notice to appear In the Corpora
ton Counselis office. Another was
given the notice by a policeman in
uniform in the presence of his wife
and two children.
The meeting, held in Northmin-
ster Presbyterian Church, passed a
budget for 1949 of $8,764. The mem
bers elected the Rev. Richard Pur-
sell OF Congress Heights Presbyte-
rian Church, as enrolment clerk
and the Rev. Robert Sheriff.. pas
tor OF the Washington Heights
Church, as recording
clerk for the coming year.
Borrowing Approved.
The Vienna (Va.1 Presbyterian
Church was granted permission to
borrow $1,000 from the denomina-
tons Board of National Missions
to build an additional Sunday
school structure. Cost of the prof.
ect was estimated at $4,000, OF
which $4,000 will be raised by other
means.
Eighty-seven per cent Of the
Presbyterian ministers in the area,
returning queries on the question of
performing ceremonies involving
divorced persons, said they have
ofhciated only in marriages of inno-
cent parties of a divorce, according
to the Rev. James F. LundQuist,
pastor of Lewinsville Presbyterian
Church, Mclean, Va.
DR.. j. Hillman Hollister, retiring
moderator of the Presbytery and
pastor of Chevy Chase Presbyterian
Church. spoke on his experiences at
the first World Council of Churches
meeting held last summer at Am
sterdam, Holland. He is being sue
ceeded by James T. Sherrier, an
elder of the New York Avenue Pres
byterian Church. The new modera-
tar fokae oA4,n p,~yk