GAPJC affirms complaint against ‘lesbian’ ordination
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, October 19, 2006
The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission issued an order on Oct. 16 that requires the Presbytery of Heartland to bring to trial a complaint by one church session alleging that another session ordained a lesbian in violation of the “fidelity/chastity” requirement in the Book of Order.
The unanimous decision did not address the General Assembly’s approval of an authoritative interpretation that says ordaining bodies have the authority to decide whether to exempt candidates from the ordination requirement.
It clearly stated that the case was a jurisdictional issue and that its decision was narrowly tailored to deal only with that matter.
The case pits the session of Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Mo., v. the session of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Overland, Ks. Colonial, an evangelical congregation, filed its complaint with the presbytery, alleging that Grace Covenant violated the constitution by ordaining a lesbian.
The evidence in the case included a letter from the session to the Grace Covenant congregation, which, the GAPJC said, states in part, “we anticipate that some in the congregation may be particularly interested in discussing [ordination standards] since electing at least one of the nominees might be out of order according to one paragraph in the Constitution G-6.0106b.”
The presbytery dismissed the complaint without trial, and the case was appealed to the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of Mid-America. The synod court dismissed the case after a trial, and Colonial filed its final appeal to the General Assembly’s PJC.
The GA PJC ordered:
- That the decision of Heartland PJC be reversed. (However, the court “strongly urges and encourages” the Heartland PJC to explore alternatives to a trial, “including allowing time for the Presbytery to consider using a special administrative review of the elder-elect examination process of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church.”
- Whether the case is resolved by trial or administrative review, “the parties are enjoined to be mindful of the standards set in the Wier case.” (The GAPJC issued the standards in a 2002 ruling in Wier v. Session, Second Presbyterian Church of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., which says, in par, that “if the governing body has reasonable cause for inquiry based on its knowledge of the life and character of a candidate, it has a positive obligation to make due inquiry and uphold all of the standards of ordination and installation.”
The GAPJC also ordered that the clerk of session of Grace Covenant report the decision to the session and that the stated clerk of the presbytery report it to the presbytery – in both cases, at the first meeting after the court’s decision.
“The crux of the Complaint is whether GCPC session had reasonable cause for further inquiry of the elders-elect as to their willingness to uphold all the standards for ordination and installation,” the GAPJC said.
The court did not comment on broader issue of whether a session is authorized to ordain a practicing lesbian. “Since this appeal is limited to the preliminary jurisdictional question of whether or not the Complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted (D-8.0301), the decision must address only that narrow issue.”
The GAPJC added, “The ultimate determination of whether or not those facts alleged are indeed true is properly left to the trier of fact. If it is determined that the session’s examination of elders-elect was not sufficient, then the presbytery has the authority to require that future examinations be conducted in compliance with the Constitution.”