21 presbyteries seek repeal of ordination requirement
The Layman Online, January 31, 2006
The presbyteries of de Cristo and Redwoods have asked the 217th General Assembly to call for repealing G-6.0106b, the constitutional “fidelity/chastity” ordination requirement in the Book of Order, bringing to 21 the number of presbyteries sponsoring identical or similar overtures.
That’s more than twice as many as the 10 presbyteries submitting overtures in 2004 to repeal G-6.0106b and/or the current General Assembly Authoritative Interpretation that undergirds it. In a strategic vote during the 216th General Assembly, the repeal advocates came within four votes of repealing the Authoritative Interpretation upon which the constitutional standard is based.
Redwoods Presbytery has consistently voted against the ordination requirement in three national referendums. In 1997, Redwoods voted 79 percent against the G-6.0106b; in 1998, 63.7 percent; and in 2001, 63.7 percent. De Cristo also voted against the ordination requirement in the national referendums, but by a much smaller margin.
The Comparative Statistics for the Presbyterian Church (USA) show that the 21 presbyteries seeking repeal of the ordination standard have a combined membership loss of 47,613 from 1997 to 2004. On a percentage basis, the total loss for the presbyteries since 1997 is 20 percent higher than the denomination’s loss.
Profile of presbyteries opposing ordination requirement