Charles “Chip” Hardwick and Charles A. Wiley III
DETROIT, Mich. –On Saturday morning the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Office of the General Assembly sponsored several Riverside Conversations for commissioners and observers to learn more about key issues coming before the 221st General Assembly, which began later that day.
“Christian Marriage in the PCUSA Study” was one of the six Riverside Conversations held and was led by Charles “Chip” Hardwick, director of Theology, Worship & Education and Charles A. Wiley III, coordinator, Theology & Worship, both part of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Wiley first briefed the GA commissioners and observers on the history of same-sex marriage debate in the denomination. He said in 2008, when the issue first began appearing in the denomination, there were only two states where same-sex marriage was legal — Massachusetts and Connecticut.
. He then gave a brief description of events in the denominationThe first big move was the Special Committee on Civil Union and Christian Marriage which was commissioned by the 2008 General Assembly. Their report, submitted to the 2010 GA, was approved the by GA committee that debated the issue, but during the plenary debate, the commissioners voted to send it and a minority report which more strongly emphasized traditional Christian marriage to the presbyteries and congregations for study.
At the 2012 GA, Wiley said there were a number of overtures “similar to what we have this year.” That General Assembly asked the Office of Theology, Worship and Education (OTWE) to develop a study on Christian marriage focusing on the Bible, The Book of Confessions and The Book of Order for the denomination to use before the 2014 assembly.
OTWE produced both a six week study and a two-hour study on Christian marriage.
Comments from the study
In recent months, OTWE sent a survey to presbyteries concerning the marriage study. In his part of the presentation, Hardwick gave the results the office received.
Of the 104 presbyteries that responded to the survey, 66.35 percent engaged in a marriage study following the 2012 assembly, and a majority of the studies – 52.63 percent – took place at a presbytery meeting.
The OTWE’s “Christian Marriage in the PCUSA” study guide was used by 90.63 percent of those participating, while 28.13 percent used other marriage study materials, including the supplemental materials prepared by the Covenant Network of Presbyterians.
“There were no reports about if [the study] changed minds,” Hardwick said, “but some churches did send back some pretty thorough notes.”
“You are hearing what we heard,” he said.
The comments from the study included:
- “Our unity is in Jesus Christ. Discussing this topic would have fractured our unity, since no one is seeking ‘to’ discern; our presbyters have already discerned and are firm … in their beliefs.”
- “We have been so busy finishing up with gracious dismissals, dealing with the closing of two congregations and dealing with a complete change in presbytery staff that there has not been time for Foothills to engage this study.”
- The leadership of [this presbytery] felt that the study provided by the Office of Theology and Worship was …not usable. … Regretfully, [the presbytery] did not have the time or resources to seek out or develop other study resources on this important topic.
Other insights from participants of marriage studies included:
- “We believe that pastors should be free, but not required, to counsel same-sex couples who wish to marry in their churches, just as they would counsel heterosexual couples. If the pastor feels there is a healthier partnership, the pastor should be free to perform a marriage ceremony for these people.”
- “The invisible consequences of not following the created order can be devastating to relationships. When [relationships are] taken out of order, it cases pain, hurt and damage.”
- “Love and commitment between two persons in the eyes of God are not restricted to heterosexual couples but are between two persons
- This is a very divisive issue for a small number of people. Some of these people may get upset enough to leave the church if they don’t like the outcome, but this number is probably about equal on both sides of the issue.”
“God’s creation is not random, but orderly. God’s social system, (e.g. marriage) are to reflect His nature. God created a man and woman to be equal, image-bearers of God. The complementary nature of the genders is meant to lead to enriching cooperation in marriage, procreation and family life.”- “In our time and culture marriage exists amid much individualism, with an economy that drives many to competition, self-interest, over-consumption, and environmental harm …
- “… so that then the covenant of marriage exists as a prophetic word to a deeper reality of collaboration, union, self-giving and love above all else. Marriage is a confession of a need for others which is all too often denied in our present culture of individualism and self-interest.”
- “There was little consensus about whether marriage can be a true Christian marriage if the partners are the same gender … Both in the small group discussions and in the wider wrap-up discussion there was some sentiment that this issue should not be so challenging for the church, “Why is this so hard?’
Question and answer period
When asked how he felt about the results of the survey, Hardwick said that he would have “loved to have heard more about the conclusions people drew.” He added that he wished the survey had asked more penetrating questions.
Asked if there was any research regarding the growth of the church when talking about marriage, Hardwick said it was not mentioned in any of the written responses. He did add, however, that when visiting in different PCUSA presbyteries and churches, there was some communications “about hopes for growth, but most comments were about the church splitting,” if changes were made to marriage.
The Riverside Conversation ended with a time of small group discussion and prayer.