Baltimore overture would
redefine marriage in PCUSA
By Edward Terry, The Layman, October 13, 2009
At its Sept. 24 meeting, Baltimore Presbytery had the first reading of an overture that would strike any references to marriage being a civil contract between a man and woman from the Directory of Worship in the Book of Order. Related Articles
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Instead, the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s constitution would say that marriage is a “covenant” between “two people” if the overture is approved by the General Assembly in 2010 and ratified by a majority of denomination’s 173 presbyteries. The overture also replaces “husband and wife” with the word “couple” and recognizes state laws that create a “civil contract.”
Submitted by the session of Govans Presbyterian Church, with at least 10 other Baltimore congregations concurring, the overture gets a second reading at the presbytery’s Nov. 19 stated meeting.
The proposal is identical to Baltimore’s overture to the 218th General Assembly, which was defeated by a vote of 540-161 in 2008.
In its comment on the overture, the General Assembly Council said: “The church’s Statement on the Gift of Marriage would not make sense if ‘two persons’ were substituted for ‘a man and a woman.’ The change called for by the overture would require a new understanding and a different statement of what constitutes God’s gift of marriage.”
Baltimore’s 2008 overture was backed by Presbytery of Hudson River, but the presbytery is predicting additional support in 2010.
“We in Baltimore have been in touch with contacts in seven other presbyteries and appreciate that actions have already been take to introduce a similar marriage overture or discussions are in progress about doing so,” said Don Stroud, speaking on behalf of the 11 sessions and That All May Freely Serve at the Sept. 24 meeting. “We in Baltimore urge others in other progressive presbyteries to introduce a similar overture in their presbyteries. We feel strongly that other presbyteries should not wait for Baltimore to act in order to concur with Baltimore. Although we shall work as diligently as we did to get this overture before the 218th GA, we do not want to put all our eggs in one basket.”
Stroud suggests that other presbyteries write their own rationale if they are passing their own overture or concurring with another presbytery. Witherspoon offers a template of the overture on its Web site.
Like the suggested amendments, the rationale for Baltimore’s overture has not changed from 2008 to 2009.
“Broadening the language to offer marriage to any two people removes the religious barriers faced by ministers, sessions, church member and other Christians while continuing to honor the laws of each state. Changing the language in this way emphasizes that the Directory for Worship defines marriage within the bounds of our denomination and does not determine what is legal or illegal in civil law.”
The issue has been heavily debated recently in both ecclesiastical and secular forums. The Episcopal Church (USA) and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America both took actions that lifted restrictions on gay marriage and ordination earlier this year. Several states also have new laws recognizing and/or allowing gay marriage.
Addressing the Human Rights Campaign on Oct. 10, U.S. President Barack Obama promised to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevents open homosexuals from serving in the military and the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as being between a man and woman. He also said he backs the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act, which extends family benefits to federal employees in same-sex relationships.
The ongoing debate in the PCUSA most recently focused on the special committee studying civil unions and Christian marriage release of a preliminary report stating that it could not reach consensus. After receiving input from approximately 1,000 individuals and groups, the committee has asked for additional input until Nov. 15. The group is to make its final report to the 219th General Assembly, which is scheduled for July 3-10, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Responses are limited to 1,000 words and can be e-mailed to civilunion.marriage@pcusa.org.