Presbyterians Vote to Allow Same-Sex Marriages

While votes are still required in each local presbytery, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Thursday to change its constitution’s definition of marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two people,” and to allow its ministers to perform same-sex marriages.  The change will likely trigger hate and division in local presbyteries as far right elements selectively cling to hand picked passages even as the ignore the larger Gospel message.  A piece in the New York Times looks at the development.  Here are highlights:

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted at its General Assembly on Thursday to change its constitution’s definition of marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two people,” and to allow its ministers to perform same-sex marriages where it is legal.

Both measures, passed by large majorities, are a reversal for a church that in 1991 and in 2008 barred its pastors from performing same-sex marriages, and that has held ecclesiastical trials for ministers who violated the ban and blessed gay couples.

The Presbyterian Church, a historic mainline Protestant denomination that spans a broad spectrum from liberal to conservative evangelicals, has been mired in the debate over homosexuality for about three decades. The General Assembly’s decision in 2010 to ordain openly gay ministers caused many congregations, including some of the largest, to depart.

“There were some of us with tears of joy, and some of us with tears of grief,” said the Rev. Susan De George, stated clerk of the Hudson River Presbytery, in New York, a lesbian minister who years ago was among those brought up on charges for blessing same-sex unions. “After the vote, the first thing I did was to text a friend on the other side of the issue.”

But changing the definition of marriage in the church’s Book of Order would still require ratification by a majority of the church’s 172 regions, or presbyteries — a yearlong process. At the assembly in Detroit, the measure passed overwhelmingly — 71 percent to 29 percent — but only after an amendment that altered the language of the change from “two people” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman,” a nod to conservatives who would otherwise have voted against it.

The Presbyterians follow other religious groups that have taken similar steps, including the United Church of Christ, which affirmed “equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender” in 2005; Quakers; the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations; and the Reform and Conservative movements in Judaism.

The vote giving discretion to ministers to marry gay couples takes effect on Sunday, at the close of the General Assembly.

[I]t deeply pained those Presbyterian commissioners in the church’s conservative wing, who warned that congregations that have been on the brink of departure would leave.

About 350 of the denomination’s congregations have left since 2010, when the General Assembly voted to ordain openly gay clergy members, said the Rev. Gradye Parsons, the church’s stated clerk, in an interview. But it is still the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination, with 10,038 churches in 2013 and about 1.8 million members.

With respect to the "conservatives" within the denomination, it is a sad testimony that they can only be happy and feel sufficiently superior only when they are condemning others and trampling on the religious freedom of others. 

Charlotte Area Presbyterians Vote to End Gay Ban

In perhaps yet another sign that at least parts of North Carolina may be trending progressive is a vote by the Presbyterian church leaders representing the Charlotte area for ending their denomination's longstanding ban on gays and lesbians becoming pastors and elders. While there will be further votes before the denomination wide ban can be overturned, at least a slim majority in the Charlotte area is on record that it is accepting a progressive stance and one that is in line with modern mental health and medical knowledge on sexual orientation. Here are some highlights from the Charlotte Observer:

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In past years, the Charlotte Presbytery – the fourth largest in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – had backed the prohibition [on gay clergy]. But after a spirited, civil debate in the chapel at Johnson C. Smith University, the presbytery voted 133-124, with one abstention, to reverse itself. That means that the seven-county Charlotte Presbytery is now on record as backing a proposed amendment to the denomination's constitution that would open the door to – though not automatically guarantee – ordination of homosexuals.

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For the amendment to go into effect, it will have to be endorsed by 87 of the denomination's 173 presbyteries by mid-May. Going into Saturday, the national tally was 32 presbyteries against the change and 18 for it. “It was the right thing for the presbytery to do,” said the Rev. Tom Tate of Charlotte's Plaza Presbyterian, one of four pastors – two on each side – who addressed the gathering. “While I am glad for those affected, I am sad that the close vote says the church may be so divided.”

Presbyterians Drop Gay Clergy Ban

This vote by the Presbyterians shows that gays are slowly winning the war, if you will, and I suspect more denominations will follow suit . The ELCA hopefully being one of them when it votes next year on a new statement on human sexuality, especially now that some of its sister churches in Europe are recognizing gay unions. It truly disgusts me that supposedly Christian people who ignore all kinds of other passages in the Bible continue to cling to a few passages to condemn and discriminate against gays, even as medical research shows more and more that one's sexual orientation is not some simple choice we make. Are these folks really so insecure in their own sexuality/identity that they must have others to look down upon? Thankfully, the younger generation is increasingly ignoring the bigotry of their elders and, in time, religious denominations will need to change or wither away. I know my own children and their freinds strongly disagree with anti-gay churches and will not attend them. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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The denomination's General Assembly, meeting in San Jose, Calif., voted 54 percent to 46 percent Friday to drop the requirement that would-be ministers, deacons and elders live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." The proposed change to the church constitution requires approval from a majority the nation's 173 presbyteries, or regional church bodies - a yearlong process that has proven to be a barrier to similar efforts in the past.

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Of equal importance to advocates on both side of the debate, the assembly also voted to allow gay and lesbian candidates for ordination to conscientiously object to the existing standard. Local presbyteries and church councils that approve ordinations would consider such requests on a case-by-case basis. That vote was an "an authoritative interpretation" of the church constitution rather than a change to it, so it goes into effect immediately. The interpretation supersedes a ruling from the church's high court, issued in February, that said there were no exceptions to the so-called "fidelity and chastity" requirement.

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Jon Walton, co-moderator of the San Francisco-based Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which advocates a broader role for gays and lesbians, hailed the ordination votes Friday, calling it "a day we've been waiting almost 30 years to see happen." He also expressed hope church members can move forward together.