Presbytery overtures would delete ‘fidelity/chastity’ rule
The Layman Online, January 18, 2001
The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area in Minnesota has sent two overtures to the 2001 General Assembly that would extract the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard from the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The intent of the overtures is to allow the ordination of practicing, self-acknowledging homosexuals.
Both overtures, approved by the presbytery on Jan. 13, call for up-or-down votes by the denomination’s presbyteries, which approved the fidelity/chastity clause (G-6.0106b) in 1996-97. The question in each Twin Cities overture: “Shall G-6.0106b be deleted in its entirety?”
One overture calls for some additional housecleaning. It asks the General Assembly to issue an authoritative interpretation declaring that all previous interpretative statements “concerning service by homosexual persons … shall be given no further force or effect.”
Since 1978, the General Assembly has issued a number statements, beginning with a declaration that homosexual activity is a sin.
The vote on the overture to hold a referendum and erase past statements was 160 to 89. The overture calling for only a referendum was approved 170 to 79.
The rationale statement for the second overture calls G-6.0106b “a premature attempt to lay to rest significant questions of Biblical interpretation, ecclesiology, and pastoral sensitivities. …” Furthermore, it said the ordination standard “reflects one expression of ‘truth’ and ‘form’ and permits no differing interpretations.”
In the denomination’s current referendum, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area voted 168-80 against a constitutional amendment that would prohibit Presbyterian ministers from conducting same-sex unions.
While the Presbytery of the Twin City Area has had one of the most one-sided votes against ordination restraints, its ratio of opponents has declined slightly. In 1997, 73.2 percent of the commissioners voted against the current ordination standard. The votes in favor of the two overtures to eliminate the standard were 68.3 percent and 64.2 percent.