Anti-‘O’ moderators served during years of decline
The Layman Online, February 7, 2001
Much is being made over a letter signed by 19 former Presbyterian moderators who say they oppose Amendment O, which would prohibit ministers from conducting same-sex unions.
The letter includes the signatures of moderators dating back as far as 1965. Since 1965, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its predecessor denominations have had 54 moderators.
Also, 1965 was the year when the denominations that now make up the PCUSA hit their peak in membership: 4,254,597. Since then, the denomination’s membership has declined by 39.83 percent, to 2,560,201. The moderators who signed the anti-“O” amendment are supporting the kind of issue that has prompted much of the flight from the Presbyterian Church.
The letter includes the signatures of nine moderators who served in the former United Presbyterian Church (USA) and Presbyterian Church U.S. before those denominations reunited in 1983.
Since reunion, there have been 18 moderators. Eight did not sign the letter opposing Amendment O: William Wilson (1985), Kenneth Hall (1988), Joan Salmon Campbell (1989), Price Gwynn (1990), David Dobler (1993), Marge Carpenter (1995), Pat Brown (1997) and Syngman Rhee (2000).
The 19 moderators’ letter raises objections that are not based on what Amendment O says.
For instance, the letter says the amendment would prohibit the baptism of a child being raised by homosexual parents.
“The amendment does not address funerals, baptism or marital counseling,” says Terry Schlossberg, executive director of Presbyterians Pro-Life and a leader in the Presbyterians Together renewal team. “There are constraints on these matters of pastoral ministry in the Book of Order, but not in this amendment. The wording of the amendment is clearly limited to the blessing and approval of relationships.”
The 19 moderators also say Amendment O suggests a kind of “pastoral gag order,” prohibiting ministers from exercising pastoral discretion, sensitivity and leadership.
But Presbyterians Together’s Nancy Becker says, “The argument ignores the fact that pastors and sessions already exercise their freedom of conscience within certain bounds set by our constitution. All officers voluntarily bind their conscience to our confessions in their ordination vows (G-6.0108b and G-14.1504b). Within these boundaries, for example, pastors cannot re-baptize someone, or invite a non-believer to the Lord’s Supper for the sake of inclusion, or choose a non-Scriptural text for the sermon, or take it upon themselves to approve teachers without the session’s review, or act as a trustee for the congregation.”