Church that has defied ‘fidelity/chastity’ ordination standard since 1999 is listed as ‘Featured Congregation’ by the PCUSA
The Layman Online, August 31, 2007
On the home page of its Web site this week, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has listed as its “Featured Congregation” Christ Church, Presbyterian, in Burlington, Vt. – a congregation that continues to defy the directives of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission regarding the denomination’s “fidelity/chastity” clause in the Book of Order.
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In 1999, the congregation approved a resolution in which it publicly declared its intent to defy G-6.0106b, the “fidelity/chastity” clause in the Book of Order. That clause requires that deacons, elders and ministers “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or in chastity in singleness.”
In September 2000, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, ruling in a case called Londonderry v. Presbytery of Northern New England (Minutes, 2001, Part I, p.581), ordered the presbytery to require Christ Church to comply with church law. The order said a statement of intent to defy the constitution was tantamount to defiance itself.
“This commission reaffirms the right of decorous dissent,” the order said. “An appropriate dissent may be expressed in various ways; however, it may not include an intent by those who have vowed to be governed by the church’s polity to violate the Constitution.
“This commission,” the court said, “finds that there are no constitutional grounds for a governing body to fail to comply with an express provision of the Constitution, however inartfully stated. Assertions of inconsistency, confusion or ambiguity may justify the right to protest. They do not create a right to disregard any part of the Constitution.”
The court ordered the presbytery to work with Christ Church, pastorally if possible but with disciplinary action if necessary, to end its earlier statement of defiance.
For nearly two years after the court’s decision, Christ Church continued to publicly declare its defiance of church law with a resolution posted on its Web site.
Furthermore, Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick failed, as was his duty, to report the court’s decision to the 212th General Assembly in 2001 and how that decision was being handled by the presbytery and Christ Church.
The Presbytery of Shenango in western Pennsylvania submitted an overture to the 213th General Assembly that called on Kirkpatrick to make his required report to the General Assembly and for the General Assembly to take steps to ensure that the court order was being followed by the presbytery.
Days before the General Assembly convened in June 2002, Christ Church announced that it had set aside its resolution of defiance. Kirkpatrick, in his report to the General Assembly, assured commissioners that the presbytery and Christ Church were working pastorally toward complying with the court’s order.
In voting against the Shenango overture, commissioners declared that “the Presbytery of Northern New England is making significant progress toward compliance. … In hopeful anticipation of their success, their model should become a model for the rest of the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
Just months after the General Assembly ended, in an action that was denounced by renewal groups in the PCUSA, Christ Church again defied the court directive to comply with the Constitution by issuing a statement in which it said:
- The Bible and church law do not say that homosexual practice is sinful.
- Sodomy is not sodomy.
- Chastity does not mean homosexual couples must refrain from sex.
- Repentance does not require someone to end a sinful practice.
- Ordaining practicing gays does not violate church law.
The church’s statement declared that its own officers have the right to “faithfully and properly” interpret the denomination’s Constitution – and, by implication, that the highest court in the denomination had failed to meet that interpretation standard.
In the statement, adopted Nov. 11, 2002, and made public Dec. 9 of that year, the session of Christ Church said it no longer would honor its agreement to “set aside” its 1999 resolution in which it publicly declared its intent to defy G-6.0106b. Instead, the session said it will consider practicing homosexuals eligible for ordination as elders and deacons.
“With full confidence that we are abiding with the Constitution, including the provisions of G-6.0106b, the session of Christ Church, Presbyterian vows to continue welcoming persons living singly or in committed relationships, regardless of sexual orientation, into the life, membership and leadership of this congregation on an equal basis, including eligibility for election and ordination as a ruling elder or deacon,” the statement said.
On its Web site today, Christ Church maintains the same stance, saying:
“We welcome everyone to our work and worship, celebrating the diversity of human beings God has created. [Christ Church, Presbyterian] is a ‘More Light’ congregation, which means we welcome all persons to the full life and leadership of the church, regardless of sexual orientation.”
The session statement made public Dec. 9, 2002, also said:
- “We have studied Scripture, including the six passages of Old and New Testament that are commonly cited as condemning homosexuality. When placed in their proper historical context, these passages are subject to differing interpretations – especially so when viewed through the twin lenses of science and human experience. Does the Bible clearly condemn homosexuality and loving homosexual relationships? We believe that it does not.”
- Referring to the condemnations of “unnatural lust” and “sodomy” in the Larger Westminster Catechism, the statement concludes that “there is no clear agreement on how these terms are to be defined and used. ‘Unnatural’ could apply to a homosexual involved in a sexual relationship with a heterosexual. ‘Lust’ may be understood as uncontrolled, illicit, or obsessive sexual interest – not the kind of sexual sharing manifested in a loving and faithful relationship. ‘Sodomy’ has many meanings, some of which include heterosexual acts. Other interpretations include rape, injustice, oppression, cruelty, deceit, greed, idolatry, inhospitality and hypocrisy. We find no indictment of loving and committed homosexual relationships.”
- Noting that the constitutional standard requires practicing homosexuals to repent of their sin, the statement says: “Many homosexuals believe that their relationship with a same-sex partner is a gift from God, a good and natural part of God’s creation that can be responsibly acted on. Further, our Confessions state that ‘repentance is a sheer gift of God and not a work of our strength.’ Accordingly, ‘refusing to repent’ should not be assumed from a mere refusal to acquiesce in the views of a narrow majority.”