Congregation reports ‘marriage’ of gay couple despite prohibition
The Layman Online, February 12, 2002
Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, a congregation whose leaders have declared publicly that they have defied and will defy the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard of the Presbyterian Church (USA), has repudiated PCUSA rules in another matter.
The congregation’s February newsletter – titled The Weekday – includes a congratulatory message: “Congratulations and best wishes to Tim Swaim and Jim Haffner, who were married here on December 30th by Hal Porter, Pastor Emeritus.”
Marriage of two people of the same gender is forbidden in the PCUSA.
In a response to a church court case evolving out of “holy unions” conducted at Presbyterian churches, the highest court in the denomination said in May 2001 that such services must not been viewed as or resemble marriages. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly said a marriage ceremony in the Presbyterian Church should unite only a man and a woman, and not two people of the same gender.
That decision said, “Ministers should not appropriate specific liturgical forms from services of Christian marriage or services recognizing civil marriage in the conduct of such ceremonies. They should also instruct same-sex couples that the service to be conducted does not constitute a marriage ceremony and should not be held out as such.”
The court’s decision did not prevent ministers from conducting ceremonies in which two people of the same gender are blessed.
“[T]he Directory for Worship affirms the value of worship services in the practice of pastoral care and gives great latitude to ministers and sessions in addressing the pastoral care of members,” the court said. “A same-sex ceremony celebrates a loving, caring, and committed relationship. Therefore, it would be appropriate for this worship occasion to be in the form and spirit of W-6.3010 and W-6.3011. Such a same-sex ceremony does not bless any specific act, and this decision should not be construed as an endorsement of homosexual conjugal practice proscribed by the General Assembly.”
Mount Auburn has repeatedly expressed its defiance of the denomination’s standards on matters pertaining to homosexuals. It also has announced that it practices “open communion,” serving the elements to non-Christians. The denomination prohibits serving communion to nonbaptized people who have not professed faith in Christ.