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Presbyterian Church (USA) Rejects Pro-Homosexual Amendment 3/6/2002 Presbyterian Church (USA) Rejects Pro-Homosexual Amendment The latest attempt by homosexual activists to eliminate the “fidelity and chastity” provision in the Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order has failed, with a majority of presbyteries rejecting the pro-homosexual measure. Pro-family Christians expect the final tally to be a resounding defeat of the attempt to alter the Biblical provision. Last summer, an amendment to eliminate the Book of Order’s section G-6.0106b — which calls for church officers to “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” — was passed in a contentious debate during the PC (USA) General Assembly. In order to become church law, the amendment had to gain a majority among the denomination’s 173 regional church bodies. But as the vote progressed, it quickly became evident that the amendment would face a heavy defeat. On February 19, the Presbytery of South Louisiana cast the 87th “no” vote. The outcome was even more decisive than a March 1998 vote that rejected a similar amendment proposed by homosexual rights activists. Alan Wisdom, who directs the Institute on Religion and Democracy’s (IRD) Presbyterian Action committee, hailed the vote and projected that some 125 presbyteries will reject this latest attempt to abolish the Biblical marital standard. “This is the largest margin yet within the Presbyterian Church (USA) to uphold the fidelity and chastity standard,” said Wisdom, who noted that in 1997, when the standard was first written explicitly into the church's Book of Order, 97 of 171 presbyteries had voted in favor. A year later, 114 presbyteries voted against an effort to gut the standard. The continued push for acceptance of homosexuality in the PC (USA) has seriously challenged unity within the 2.5-million member church and led to the birth of the Confessing Church Movement (CCM), which advocates a reaffirmation of historic Christian values. Since its inception in March 2001, the CCM now comprises 1,217 congregations representing more than 409,605 Presbyterians. The total represents 10.9 percent of the denomination’s 11,178 churches and 16 percent of its membership. 1% WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT “I’m disappointed, and I think it will discourage gay and lesbian Presbyterians inside the church, and also those who might want to join the church … but I still think it is just a matter of time before the church catches up with the rest of society,” said Atlanta native Chris Glaser, who was the only openly homosexual member on a task force formed by the Presbyterian Church in the late 1970s to study the church’s response to homosexuality. “I’m sad at the tactics the opponents have used, including inciting fearfulness, accusations of apostasy and threats of schism,” said Michael Adee, national field organizer for More Light Presbyterians, a coalition of pro-homosexual churches with 108 member congregations around the country (just under 1 percent of all PC (USA) churches). But IRD’s spokesmen said it was the tiny but vocal network of pro-homosexuality activists who were doing the intimidating within the denomination. “In the face of an intense three-decade-plus lobbying effort by pro-homosexual groups, the church has not been persuaded and it has not been intimidated,” Wisdom said. IRD President Diane Knippers added, “That even the mainline denominations continue to reaffirm traditional Christian morality is significant in America's culture, in which opposition to homosexuality is sometimes caricatured as a prejudice of bigoted, ignorant extremists. “Pro-homosexuality activists try to portray the success of their cause as inevitable. But it is not. The churches can stand against the tide of relativism and libertinism in our culture. And they can help to reverse the tide, restoring marriage to its proper place of honor,” Knippers said. Adee, a homosexual who was ordained as an elder by First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, New Mexico in defiance of the denomination’s ban, disagreed with reports that the PC (USA) is “weary” of the issue. “What the church is weary of is … the idea that if you behave in a certain way, you aren’t a good Presbyterian,” he said. FAITHFUL ENCOURAGED Referencing a text in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Purves likened the PC (USA) to a ship “traversing a very stormy sea … a killer storm in which we’re swamped by wave after wave of controversy, to the point where it feels as if our ship may be breaking apart underneath us. … Should we take to the lifeboats, or ride out the storm?” Her answer was succinct: “Don’t jump this ship! [The CCM] is calling the church back to Scripture, to holiness, to true faith. … Don’t forget whose ship this is. Jesus is the captain of this ship, in all His glory.” The Rev. James H. Logan Jr., pastor of Bread of Life Christian Ministry, a PC (USA) congregation in Charlotte, North Carolina, said: “We have shut the Lord out of His church long enough. We’re here to reopen the door to Jesus. …We all bear the responsibility for the sorry condition of the church. …The Confessing Church Movement has cracked it open a little bit, but Jesus is still outside. We all need to go further and do more. …We’ve been accused of drawing a line in the sand…Well, friends, I’ve drawn a highway!” The Presbyterian Church (USA) will hold its next General Assembly in June in Columbus, Ohio. Peter LaBarbera contributed to this article. |
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