Presbytery voting:
No surprises so far
The Layman, November 19, 2010
Though many presbyteries are holding off their votes on proposed amendments to the Book of Order and Book of Confessions until next year, several wasted no time casting ballots.
According to The Layman’s vote tracking, there have been no surprises thus far.
Amendment 10-A
Early in the voting on Amendment 10-A, which would reword ordination standards in the Book of Order and exclude the existing fidelity-chastity requirement, presbyteries have been consistent with the 2008-2009 voting results. However, some presbyteries already have seen far more “yes” votes for the constitutional amendment than in past years, while a few others have strengthened the “no” vote.
The current vote will be the fifth time since 1996 that the PCUSA has voted on sexual standards for ordained officers. In all four previous votes, the denomination has upheld the fidelity-chastity standard.
As of Nov. 19, the vote total stands at 4 (yes) – 11 (no) in favor of changing the standard. Pittsburgh Presbytery is among the most recent to debate the issue and vote on the amendment, which if passed by a majority of the presbyteries would remove the requirement that ordained officers be faithful in marriage between a man and woman, or chaste in singleness.
Pittsburgh rejected Amendment 10-A on Nov. 18 in a 80-163 vote. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there was a 20-minute debate on the issue. The Rev. Sheldon Sorge was quoted in the story in his defense of maintaining the current standard: “Some people see this as being about GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) persons being included, and others see beyond that to whether we have meaningful behavioral standards at all on a national level for officers.”
From the presbyteries voting against Amendment 10-A, those seeing a higher number of votes in favor of removing the standard include Cherokee, The James, Mississippi, New Covenant, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Shenandoah. Alaska, Redstone and Stockton saw support of the standard increase in recent votes, when compared to 2008-2009.
The Layman Online will track voting on Amendment 10-A throughout the process, updating totals as they are reported. To report voting dates and results, please email information to laymanletters@www.layman.org.
For additional information on Amendment 10-A, and the Presbyterians For Renewal campaign to uphold Biblical standards, visit the online resource center.
nFOG
Far fewer presbyteries have voted on the new Form of Government (nFOG) proposal, which would revamp the FOG section of the Presbyterian Church (USA) constitution, but plenty are discussing it. Several presbyteries are hosting information and education sessions on the proposal, and in some cases, nFOG experts have been present.
PCUSA Moderator Cynthia Bolbach, who was co-moderator of the nFOG task force that brought the proposal to the 219th General Assembly, was the featured speaker and preacher at the Oct. 12 St. Augustine Presbytery meeting. Also present for the meeting was St. Augustine Stated Clerk Paul Hooker, who served with Bolbach on the task force. At the same meeting, St. Augustine Presbytery voted “yes” on the proposal. On Nov. 15, Hooker was scheduled to lead a study of nFOG at the Mid-Kentucky Presbytery meeting, but the nFOG vote will be at a later meeting. Hooker also spoke on nFOG at the Grace Presbytery, which approved the measure by a vote of 190-57, meeting earlier this week.
As of Nov. 19, the vote total for nFOG is 4-2 in favor of it.
The Layman Online will track voting on nFOG throughout the process, updating totals as they are reported. To report voting dates and results, please email information to laymanletters@www.layman.org.
For additional information on Amendment 10-A, and the Presbyterians For Renewal campaign to uphold Biblical standards, visit the online resource center.
Belhar Confession
So far, PCUSA presbyteries have voted by a more than 2-to-1 margin in support of adding the Belhar Confession to the denomination’s Book of Confessions. As of Nov. 19, the vote total is 13-6 in favor of the proposal. To be approved, the action requires a two-thirds majority vote of the 173 presbyteries.
The confession was written in 1986 by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa to call Christians away from the sin of segregation by race in Church and society. But some opponents of adding it to the PCUSA’s Book of Confessions worry that it could be used to press issues aside from racism, namely the removal of constitutional restrictions on sexual practice outside of traditional marriage.
The Layman Online will track voting on nFOG throughout the process, updating totals as they are reported. To report voting dates and results, please email information to laymanletters@www.layman.org.
For additional information on Amendment 10-A, and the Presbyterians For Renewal campaign to uphold Biblical standards, visit the online resource center.