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The order by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission overturns the ruling of a lower court that found the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr in violation of the constitution of the church by officiating at weddings for lesbian couples in New York in 2004 and California in 2005.

The order issued Tuesday said, "The ceremonies that are the subject of this case were not marriages as the term is defined (by the Book of Order). These were ceremonies between women, not between a man and a woman. ... It is not improper for ministers of the Word and Sacrament to perform same sex ceremonies."

The church's Book of Order says, "Marriage is a civil contract between a man and a woman," and does not prohibit blessings of same-sex couples that are not determined to be marriages.

The high court said in the ruling that the lower court had erred by finding Spahr guilty "of that which by definition cannot be done. One cannot characterize same sex ceremonies as marriages for the purpose of disciplining a minister of the Word and Sacrament and at the same time declare that such ceremonies are not marriages for legal or ecclesiastical purposes."

FLEMINGSBURG — It is as normal a morning as mornings get in the ag barn at Fleming County High School, and suddenly someone yells, ”Peanut is loose.“

Like a well-oiled machine, students head off all the passes — the large front and back openings, the classroom door, the horse stalls. The lambs, which have been lying down, are standing up for the show. The calves moo in appreciation. The elder statesmen bunnies are way over on the other side of the barn and are used to these shenanigans by now.

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Question: My cholesterol numbers: total cholesterol, 125; LDL, 69; HDL, 32; and triglycerides, 119. My liver enzymes have been slightly high for years, and I recently was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Is there a safe, effective way to increase my HDL through specific foods or ­supplements?

Answer: Most people would gladly take those lipid numbers and run. They are very good except for the HDL level of 32, which is lower than the recommended minimum of 40.

HDL cholesterol (the good kind) is the type you want more of because it helps mop up cholesterol that might otherwise find its way into artery-narrowing plaque.

Women tend to have a higher HDL than men. The average in women is 55 and in men 45.