Story on membership decision corrected
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, July 3, 2001
LONG BEACH, Calif. — No one who professes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ should be excluded from church membership. That message, already affirmed in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), was restated by the 212th General Assembly.
The commissioners voted 384-185 in favor of an amended overture submitted originally by the Presbytery of Twin Cities.
The gist of the original overture — which was to state explicitly that sexual orientation was not a reason to exclude someone from membership — did not pass the full assembly’s gauntlet.
In its original form, the overture title referred to “welcoming gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people,” and said, “No persons shall be denied membership because of race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, worldly condition, or any other reason not related to profession of faith.”
Commissioners voted instead to say that “no person shall be denied membership as long as they confess their faith in Christ.”
Currently, the Book of Order says, “The congregation shall welcome all persons who respond in trust and obedience to God’s grace in Jesus Christ and desire to become a part of the membership and ministry of his Church.” It also says church membership is contingent only on profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And the denomination has repeatedly said that sexual orientation is not a basis for excluding people from membership, communion or attendance.
But that was not enough to satisfy the advocates of the Twin Cities overture. Marney Wilde of Pacific Presbytery cited as an example a widow in her congregation who decided to leave the church because she had a homosexual son. “She felt her presence would be an embarrassment,” Wilde said. “There are many people who need some word of welcome.”
Richard Gates of Sheppards & Lapsley, speaking against the overture, said his congregation included “people who have with drug addiction and people who have been convicted of felonies.” He said he believed there was no reason to single them out for special welcome to the church — nor special reason to single out people according to their sexual preferences.
Greg Roth of the San Francisco Presbytery said that the Advisory Committee on the Constitution deemed the proposed constitutional amendment unnecessary — because there are no membership prohibitions against homosexuals and others singled out for welcome.
But Karen Zieger of Western New York Presbytery, citing “hate crimes against gays and lesbians,” said the church must let all know, “They are welcome.”