SAN FRANCISCO—A Presbyterian minister was found guilty of violating church law for officiating at the weddings of two lesbian couples but given the lightest possible punishment, church and defense lawyers said Aug. 24.

A regional judicial committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ruled 6-2 that while the Rev. Jane Spahr of San Rafael “acted with conscience and conviction,” her actions were still at odds with the church’s constitution.

The court gave Spahr the mildest penalty it could have—a rebuke—which amounts to a warning not to repeat the violation. She could have been removed from ministry.

The ruling reversed a lower church court’s decision in March 2006 that found Spahr acted within her rights as an ordained minister when she married the couples in 2004 and 2005.

Spahr, who will retire at the end of this month, plans to appeal. She said she wants the church “not to tolerate us, but to accept us.”