A banner welcomes LGBT people to a Presbyterian church. (photo: Ivan Cholakov/Shutterstock)
20 June 14
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Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or PC(USA), took two major strides to
embrace same-sex couples Thursday afternoon. While convening at their
denominational convention in Detroit, Michigan, the nation’s largest
Presbyterian denomination voted to allow its pastors to officiate
same-sex weddings in states where it is legal, and passed another
overture that could change official church documents to include a more
inclusive definition of marriage.
The two pieces of church legislation embrace marriage
equality in different ways. The first is an “Authoritative
Interpretation,” or AI, which allows PC(USA) pastors to officiate
same-sex marriages in places where it is legal. The AI, which passed
with 61 percent of the vote, allows Presbyterian pastors to decide on
their own whether or not to perform same-sex weddings, and takes effect
immediately.
The second overture, which passed with 71 percent of
the vote, initiated a process of changing the denomination’s official
language on marriage. The old language defined marriage as “a civil
contract between a woman and a man,” but the overture moves to replace
it with language that includes the sentence “marriage involves a unique
commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman, to love
and support each other for the rest of their lives.” Although the motion
was affirmed by the PC(USA)’s General Assembly, it requires approval
from the majority of the group’s 173 “presbyteries,” or regional
groupings of churches, who will vote on the measure across the country
over the next year or so.
Alex McNeill, Executive Director of More Light
Presbyterians, an advocacy group that supports LGBT rights within the
PC(USA), said that the decision was a pivotal moment for the
denomination.
“Today is a historic day in the PC(USA),” McNeil told ThinkProgress.
“After study, discernment, conversation and the movement of the Holy
Spirit we have affirmed that all loving and committed couples are
capable of being married in our church, and ministers can officiate at
those wedding ceremonies without fear.”
Brian Ellison, a head of the Covenant Network of
Presbyterians, the denomination’s other major pro-LGBT group, echoed
McNeill’s joy, but noted there is still work to be done before LGBT
people are fully embraced by the denomination.
“We’re fully committed to the unity of the Church, and
we will do everything in our power to facilitate a denomination that
truly welcomes all—including those whose views may differ from the
decisions reached by the Assembly today,” Ellison wrote in a press
release. “We look forward to an ever deeper understanding, not only of
marriage but also of our common bonds of faith.”
The Presbyterian vote is part of a larger progressive
shift among several Mainline Christian denominations around the issue of
homosexuality — especially marriage equality. The Episcopal Church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the PC(USA)
have all passed overtures and resolutions allowing for the ordination
of gay priests and pastors in recent years, but until recently, the
specific issue of gay marriage has either been tabled or only partially
addressed at most denominational conventions. However, as more and more
states move to legalize marriage equality, the issue of whether or not
pastors can perform same-sex marriages has become a flashpoint for
several religious groups, with progressive Christian organizations such
as More Light Presbyterians and the Covenant Network becoming
increasingly vocal about the need for pastors to be able to perform
same-sex marriages in places where it is legal.
Unsurprisingly, the surge of activism among pro-LGBT
Christians has provoked controversy among Christians, leading some
denominations to attempt to minimize conflict by adopting policies
which, like the overture the PC(USA) just passed, offer a phased
approached to marriage equality. The Episcopal Church technically only
endorses the blessing of same-sex unions, which is theologically and
legally distinct from a religious marriage. But since individual bishops
ultimately have the power to allow priests to perform same-sex
marriages, Episcopal priests in progressive dioceses — mostly in states
where same-sex marriage is legal — have actually been performing
same-sex marriages for years. Similarly, the ELCA effectively allowed
its ministers to begin performing same-sex marriages in 2009, but the
decision to do so is left up to individual pastors and congregations,
and the denomination’s official position on same-sex marriage is one of
“bound conscience” — that is, they recognize their members hold
different positions on homosexuality.
In lieu of formal denominational votes, progressive
Christians in the United Methodist Church (UMC) are using creative,
activist-minded strategies to push for LGBT equality within their pews.
Last year Rev. Frank Schaefer, a United Methodist pastor from Central
Pennsylvania, made national news when the UMC, which does not formally
support marriage equally, reprimanded, suspended, and ultimately
defrocked him for officiating his son’s same-sex wedding. But since
then, a groundswell of progressive Methodists have shown their support
for Schaefer’s cause: at least two bishops have publicly expressed their support for his actions, a group of more than 30 United Methodist pastors from Eastern Pennsylvania jointly officiated a same-sex marriage in solidarity with his cause, and some bishops are now refusing to take up church discipline trials for Methodist pastors who perform marriages for LGBT people. Schaefer is set to appeal the denomination’s decision this weekend, with the possibility of being reinstated as a minister if the UMC Judicial Council rules in his favor.
Even conservative evangelical Christians, who are
traditionally staunchly opposed to homosexuality and have publicly
opposed same-sex marriage, are beginning to rethink their stance on LGBT
issues. Several leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) have questioned the denomination’s hardline stance against LGBT people in recent months — including one church pastor who openly espouses a gay-affirming theology — and the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is planning to meet in October
to discuss “the Gospel, homosexuality, and the future of marriage.” In
addition, Matthew Vines, a young evangelical Christian, released a book
this spring that provoked outrage and support in the broader evangelical community for making the biblically-based case for accepting homosexuality.
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