Fourth N.C. presbytery votes against G-6.0106b
By Edward Terry, The Layman, April 22, 2009
GREENSBORO, N.C. – After more than two hours of discussion and debate, Salem Presbytery joined three other North Carolina presbyteries by switching its vote to oppose the “fidelity/chastity” standard in the PCUSA’s constitution. The 156-149-1 vote came after a long morning of debate in which nearly 50 speakers – split evenly for both sides – cited Scripture, personal experiences and what’s in the best interest of the church in support of their position.
Coastal Carolina, the state’s fifth presbytery, was the only North Carolina presbytery that kept its vote consistent with previous years support of the ordination requirement. Charlotte, Western North Carolina, New Hope and on Tuesday Salem joined a growing movement to support Amendment 08-B. The amendment would not prohibit the ordination of homosexuals as deacons, elders and ministers.
Participants in Tuesday’s Salem Presbytery meeting in Greensboro, N.C. head back into the sanctuary for more debate on the Amendment 08-B issue after a lunch break. Photos inside the sanctuary where the debate was taking place were forbidden by the presbytery.
At the center of the pulpit of First Presbyterian’s sanctuary hangs an ornate cross, flanked by beautiful carvings and colorful stained glass. To the left and right of that cross, Presbyterians on both sides of the Amendment 08-B issue passionately, yet respectfully, debated their positions Tuesday at the 82nd meeting of North Carolina’s Salem Presbytery.
“It’s surprising that it went this way today,” Salem Presbytery Moderator Margaret Elliot said, adding that the presbytery had previously supported the “fidelity/chastity” standard. “I do think the process worked. I really do believe in our parliamentary procedure and our process to make a decision.”
There were so many individuals wanting to speak that the debate, which began in the morning, was paused for a lunch break and continued into the afternoon. Prior to opening the debate, two ministers on opposing sides of the issue made their pleas.
The Rev. Clay Brown of First Presbyterian in Mooresville gave the first presentation representing opposition to Amendment 08-B. He spoke about his pastoral concerns, said the amendment’s rationale is flawed and that it would subordinate God’s Word.
“This amendment makes a strong attempt to divide Christ from the Scriptures,” said Brown, who added that he has a gay family member and struggles with the issue. “It would not be appropriate to counsel behavior that goes against the Biblical witness. I would not be a good pastor if I counseled that nor if I allowed for the theology that provided for a way to supposedly ascertain Christ’s will that would speak against what’s revealed in scripture.”
In urging the presbytery to vote against the amendment, Brown cited the clarity of the current “fidelity/chastity” standard as opposed to adding the “innocuous church jargon that does no one any long-term good.” Brown said he fears that passage of the amendment will lead to more followers leaving PCUSA.
“It will cause more to decide to vote with their feet, with their checkbook … It will lead to significant dissension and turmoil with congregations as well as with judicatories like ours,” he said. “Bad theology and bad polity are not a winning combination.”
In expressing support for Amendment 08-B, the Rev. Stewart Ellis, who is retired from Salem Presbytery, told of abuse, hatred and discrimination aimed at homosexuals. He spoke specifically about the treasurer of a Christian group lobbying for the welcoming of homosexuals into churches who was killed in an alleged hate crime.
“It doesn’t seem right to beat up on gay people in the name of the God of love of the Bible,” he said, adding that his views have changed over the years as he has gotten to know several homosexual Presbyterians and their partners. “I have discovered that these couples are just as moral and faithful and monogamous and loving and committed as my wife and I who have been married for 42 years.”
Ellis told the audience that the Bible has only nine passages that mention same-sex relationships and “Jesus says nothing.” He also mentioned that the Rev. Peter Gomes, Harvard University’s professor of Christian morals, has helped him better understand the issue. Referring to the Scriptures that condemn homosexuality, Ellis pointed to Leviticus as an example.
“The code explicitly bans homosexual acts. It also prohibits the planting of two different kinds of seeds in the same field, which I did this week in my garden. And wearing garments of two different kinds of yarn, which I’m doing today,” he said, referring to Gomes’ teachings. “There’s no mention of homosexuality in the four Gospels of the New Testament. Moral teachings of Jesus are not concerned with the subject.”
In referencing Saint Paul’s teachings from Romans, I Corinthians and I Timothy, Ellis said Paul was against lust and sexuality for everyone, including heterosexuals. He said the same-sex relations that are condemned in the Bible are the same ones that are condemned for heterosexuals: prostitution, abuse, rape, incest, adult-child relationships, adultery, casual sex and promiscuity.
“Those of us who are for 8-B are against those things as well,” he said. “What we are for is love, fidelity, commitment and monogamy for gay and straight alike. That is the foundation of Biblical evidence.”
He told the packed sanctuary about the Trinity Presbyterian Church (Winston-Salem) Knitting Fellowship, which makes rainbow scarves and stoles that are given to homosexuals with a prayer message extolling God’s love for all people. Several in attendance were wearing the colorful stoles. He urged a similar spirit of acceptance at Salem Presbytery.
Subsequent speakers alternated between “for” and “against” for nearly two hours. They came from both urban and rural areas, as well as small and large congregations. Speakers included ministers, elders, educators and laity. Several speakers stood in line nearly the entire debate period for the right to speak.
Several speakers, on both sides of the issue, expressed their weariness in dealing with the fidelity/chastity issue. Others compared it to the civil rights movement and the controversy over the ordaining of women. There were only a few reactions from the audience, which offered a few “amens” after comments from both sides and the occasional admonition when a speaker refused to sit down after the two-minute time limit was exhausted. Once the debate was over, voters were given the opportunity to mark their secret ballots before passing them to the center aisle where they were taken up for tallying. Vote counters used a room a few doors down from the sanctuary and returned the results just before the end of the meeting. The only reaction after the final vote tally announcement was the official dissent from four presbytery members.
“There will be rejoicing tonight in the bathhouses of San Francisco and the bordellos of New York,” said David Long, who did not identify his church affiliation, in logging his dissent.