United Church of Christ endorses same-sex marriage
The Layman Online, July 5, 2005
The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has overwhelmingly approved a resolution endorsing same-sex “marriage.”
According to a report by the Associated Press, approximately 80 percent of the church’s 884-member General Synod voted to approve the resolution on July 4.
The resolution, in part:
- “affirms equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage;
- “calls for an end to rhetoric that fuels hostility, misunderstanding, fear and hatred expressed toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons,
- “calls upon all settings of the church to engage in serious, respectful and prayerful discussion of the covenantal relationship of marriage and equal marriage rights,
- “calls upon congregations, after prayerful, Biblical, theological and historical study, to consider adopting Wedding Policies that do not discriminate against couples based on gender, and
- “urges congregations and individuals of the UCC to prayerfully consider and support local, state and national legislation to grant equal marriage rights to couples regardless of gender, and to work against legislation, including constitutional amendments, which denies rights to couples based on gender.”
Since UCC churches are autonomous, the resolution is non-binding on the UCC’s approximately 5,700 congregations.
The Rev. John H. Thomas general minister and president of the UCC said the resolution “does not presume a consensus of opinion among our members or our local churches, which are free and responsible to come to their own mind of this as on any other (issue). The General Synod speaks to and not for our local churches.”
Ministers on both sides of the issue noted that the vote took place on Independence Day.
“On this July Fourth the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has acted courageously to declare freedom, affirming marriage equality, affirming the civil rights of same gender couples to have their relationships recognized as marriages by the state, and encouraging our local churches to celebrate and bless those marriages,” Thomas said.
On the conservative side, the Rev. Brett Becker said, “This is truly Independence Day for the UCC – we have declared ourselves independent from the teachings of Jesus and the clear teachings of Scripture.”
Becker said the vote was not representative of most church members: “If we had put it to a vote of the people in the pews, it would have failed overwhelmingly.”
According to a story on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Web site, “The vote set off a celebration in the Georgia World Congress Center. Gay couples hugged one another. Some wiped away tears. A group of UCC delegates joined hands afterward and sang, ‘Amen.'”
Also commenting on the vote was Rev. David Runnion-Bareford, executive director of the Biblical Witness Fellowship, the largest renewal in the United Church of Christ. He said that “the United Church of Christ tragically declared independence from the Ecumenical Christian Church worldwide, and the truth of God’s Word. God is still speaking, but the General Synod of the UCC by passing the resolution in support of equal marriage rights for all, has arrogantly supposed to speak for God. Marriage between one man and one woman is a reality established by God in creation and reflected in the church itself. This resolution does not validate same sex relationships but only invalidates and de-legitimizes the UCC as a religious body. This decision will force many congregations to disassociate and will cause the further decline of this historic denomination that is already a loss leader among protestants. Today the UCC has abandoned its commitment to its motto ‘that all may be one.’ We are deeply saddened by this tragic day in the history of our church that once had a faithful witness for Jesus Christ.”
Dr. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary who frequently does national TV commentary on religious issues, responded to the UCC vote with a column titled, “A Time to Mourn – A Denomination Crosses the Line.”
“The UCC has been moving steadily leftward over the last several decades, and the main trajectory of the denomination has been consistent in rejecting the authority of Scripture. Yesterday’s vote did not emerge from a vacuum. A line of doctrinal accommodation and theological compromise necessarily produces such a development. Without the norming authority of Scripture, anything becomes possible, if not inevitable. If the Bible does not serve as the authoritative norm, anything can be normalized – even what the Bible condemns.”