Covenant Network to partner with Northern New England Presbytery
The Presbyterian Layman, March 1, 1999
John Buchanan
Covenant Network
co-moderator, Pastor of
Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and
architect of last year’s
Call to Sabbatical
“We pledge in our Covenant Statement to reach out in solidarity and compassion to all who are wounded or excluded by recent legislative actions of our church, and we are publicly committed to working for the eventual elimination of G-6.0106b,” said Covenant Network co-moderator John Buchanan, Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and architect of last year’s Call to Sabbatical. “As we’ve said all along, we believe that provision is theologically unsound, and unworkable. We believe this case will help to illustrate those points.”
Robert Bohl
Covenant Network
co-moderatorThis is a particularly important case, according to Robert Bohl, Covenant Network co-moderator and Pastor of Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, because it challenges “the freedom of conscience of a whole presbytery and the authority and responsibility of that governing body, rather than focusing on the ordination of a particular individual. We believe it will throw many of the issues surrounding G-6.0106b into sharp perspective.”
Churches need not comply with constitution
The remedial case being filed before the Permanent Judicial Council of the Synod of the Northeast concerns an action taken by the Presbytery of Northern New England to reverse an earlier decision instructing two of its congregations “to be in conformity with Book of Order G-6.0106b.” According to a report on PresbyCall, a website sponsored by the Covenant Network and New York’s First Presbyterian Church, the presbytery, by a vote of 46 to 32 on Dec. 5, 1998, “rescinds its action instructing the session of Christ Church to be in compliance with G-6.0106b.”
The reversal concerned an April, 1997 “Resolution of Dissent” adopted by Christ Church of Burlington, Vt., which declared, “we vow to continue welcoming persons living singly or in committed relationships, regardless of sexual orientation, into the life, membership and leadership of this congregation on an equal basis, including eligibility for election and ordination as a ruling elder or deacon.”
The congregation’s statement was made in response to the passage of Amendment B, now G-6.0106b of the Book of Order, which declared that candidates for ordained office must live in fidelity in marriage or chastity in singleness. Christ Church labeled the constitutional provision “a thinly disguised and dramatic reflection of the Presbyterian Church’s hypocrisy regarding inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Christians in the full life of the Church.”
The resolution continued, “we condemn this action as adoption of bad polity which will serve only to further distrust, intolerance and chaos in the Church.
“Accordingly, as a matter of conscience, the session of Christ Church, Presbyterian, reaffirms its ‘More Light’ statement as adopted on March 4, 1984 and revised on November 8, 1992. By so doing, we vow to continue welcoming persons living singly or in committed relationships, regardless of sexual orientation, into the life, membership and leadership of this congregation on an equal basis, including eligibility for election and ordination as a ruling elder or deacon.”
The Constitution defended
Initially, Northern New England Presbytery voted to uphold the PCUSA Constitution. At its March, 1998 meeting the presbytery declared:
“While affirming the right of both Christ Church and Midcoast Church [of Topsham, Maine] to express their opinions and feelings regarding the eligibility requirements for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA), the PNNE cannot affirm non-compliance with the Book of Order;
“Therefore, it instructs the sessions of both churches to be in conformity with Book of Order G-6.0106 as pertains to the ordination of elders and deacons and report such compliance to the PNNE by the March 1999 stated meeting.”
The Constitution defied
In rescinding its instruction to obey the Constitution the presbytery said it “acknowledges that Christ Church carries on a valid and sacred ministry in Burlington [and] that the [Resolution of Dissent’s] alleged inconsistencies in the Book of Order do exist.”
While its co-moderator was engaging in a call for a sabbatical, the Covenant Network has continued to seek a change in the constitution that would permit the ordination of self-affirming practicing homosexuals.