Leaders of another N.Y. church defy constitution
The Layman Online, August 13, 2002
The pastor and elders of another New York congregation have issued a public statement expressing their “refusal to abide with this ungracious statement” – the “fidelity/chastity” ordination clause in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The latest declaration of public defiance was issued by the Rev. Jean A. F. Holmes and 12 elders at Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church in Pearl River, N.Y.
The leaders of the 128-member congregation said they support others who have publicly declared that they are defying – and disobeying – the constitution.
Referring specifically to Don Stroud, a Baltimore Presbytery minister who has publicly declared that he is a practicing homosexual, A. Stephen Van Kuiken, pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, and the leaders of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., the Nauraushaun letter said, “They do not stand alone. We stand with them.”
The letter also mentioned Paul Jensen, a Reston, Va., lawyer who brought charges against several ministers who publicly declared that they have violated or will violate the denomination’s constitution. “We believe the actions of Paul Jensen, and others bringing charges within our denomination, to be acting contrary to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ,” the letter said. “They must be challenged and stopped.”
So far, no presbytery has taken action that would require ministers and elders to end their defiance of the constitution. In Stroud’s case, an investigating committee was disbanded after recommending that the Presbytery of Baltimore not pursue disciplinary action.
The Presbytery of Hudson River – of which the Nauraushaun and South churches are members – sent out a questionnaire to congregations, but has not recommended disciplinary action.
The Presbytery of Cincinnati has yet to name a committee to review the charges Jensen has filed against Van Kuiken and Harold Porter, the retired pastor of Mount Auburn.
The acts of defiance go further than ordination issues. Both the leaders of Mount Auburn and South Church say they conduct “marriages” for same-gender couples. Presbyterian law recognizes marriage only between a man and a woman. The highest court in the denomination, while permitting services that bless couples of the same sex, has declared that they cannot resemble marriages and that they must not sanction homosexual activity.