Presbytery accepts former ordained gay as inquirer for PCUSA ministry
The Layman Online, November 16, 2006
Commissioners at the Nov. 14 meeting of John Knox Presbytery voted unanimously to enroll Scott Anderson, the only openly gay member of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity, as an inquirer on track for ordination as a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister.
While many, including some evangelicals, believe the 2006 General Assembly’s authoritative interpretation does not open the door to ordaining practicing homosexuals, Anderson believes it does. Anderson and other members of the task force recommended the authoritative interpretation after four years of deliberations – many of them in closed meetings.
“Given the action of the General Assembly, I felt this might be an opportunity. It gives some clarity to the scrupling process,” Anderson told The Layman Online in a story that was published on Nov. 6.
He is seeking to be re-ordained as a minister. In 1990, after being “outed” by two members of his congregation in California, Anderson withdrew his ordination and began working for the California Council of Churches. He now is the director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches.
Anderson is a member of Covenant Church in Madison, Wis. He has been endorsed as an inquirer by the session of Covenant Church.