Group: ‘Irresponsible’ and ‘sad and poor stewardship’ if sessions don’t approve overtures to delete G-6.0106b
By Craig M. Kibler, The Layman Online, January 1, 2006
A group seeking to overturn the denomination’s ordination standards is urging church sessions throughout the Presbyterian Church (USA) to get an overture to that effect passed by their presbyteries, saying that it would be “irresponsible” and “sad and poor stewardship” not to have such action completed by the summer or fall in advance of the 217th General Assembly.
In an article posted on its Web site, More Light Presbyterians – which describes itself as “a network of people seeking the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of faith in the life, ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA)” – states that:
“The more Presbyterians, clergy, elders, commissioners to presbytery, commissioners to GA 2006 get exposed to: the consideration of an ordination overture; LGBT concerns and the presence and gifts of LGBT within every congregation; the anti-gay discriminatory barriers within our church life, polity and Book of Order, and what it means to be a genuinely welcoming and affirming church – the better.”
The organization also provides a list of questions and answers to be used in formulating such an overture. In one section, it urges church members not to wait for the results of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Purity and Unity of the Church, saying that:
“It’s the position of More Light Presbyterians that what the PCUSA needs first, and immediately, is removal of all legislated forms of anti-LGBT discrimination. Only then can our denomination begin a process of healing and a process of working towards peace, purity and unity.”
In another section, the group urges that each presbytery writes its own rationale for such an overture, rather than duplicating any other overtures, because “general practice at General Assembly is to grant official ‘Overture Advocate’ standing as well as time on the appropriate GA committee agenda to each presbytery whose rationale is different from that of the presbytery that proposed the same overture. So if many presbyteries send the same overture with different rationales, our movement gets more committee testimony and education time as a whole.”
Heartland Presbytery on April 19 voted 109-92 to approve an overture seeking to overturn the denomination’s ordination standards and rescind its “authoritative interpretation” regarding homosexual behavior. on the issue to the 217th General Assembly, which will meet in Birmingham on June 15-22, 2006. The overture, similar to one defeated in 2004, asks commissioners to:
- “1. Provide the following authoritative interpretation: Interpretative statements concerning ordained service of homosexual church members by the 190th General Assembly (1978) of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the 119th General Assembly (1979) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and all subsequent affirmations thereof, have no further force or effect.
- 2. Direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendment to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes: Shall G-6.0106b be stricken?”
The Authoritative Interpretation is a thorough assessment of what the Bible teaches about homosexual behavior. It unequivocally says that homosexual behavior is contrary to the will of God and that self-acknowledged, practicing homosexuals could not be ordained.
G-6.0106b is the Book of Order requirement that says candidates for deacon, elder and minister must demonstrate either fidelity within the marriage of a man and a woman or chastity in singleness to be eligible to serve as officers. The action, if approved by the General Assembly, would nullify the 1978 and 1979 Authoritative Interpretations – first adopted by the United Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbyterian Church U.S. and later affirmed by the Presbyterian Church (USA) – and reaffirmed by later assemblies and court decisions after those predecessor denominations reunited in 1983.