FULL RECOGNITION OF GAY MINISTRY MOVES AHEAD IN PC(USA)
The Presbyterian Church (USA) which disciplined and excommunicated J. Gresham Machen in the 1930s took another step to a full recognition of homosexual ministers. Joanna Adams, vice moderator of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians and co-pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, said during the Covenant Network's annual General Assembly luncheon that the organization remains committed to the removal from the Book of Order of G-6.0106b, the provision that says officers of the Presbyterian Church (USA) must be faithful in marriage between a man and a woman or chaste in singleness.
Adams added, "We do not want to call the question until we have the votes to win. We do not want another negative vote. We do not want to send out another message that we are still locked into the flawed policy of exclusion."
At the same time, after more than three hours of debate, the Committee on Church Orders and Ministry at the General Assembly went ahead to approve an overture that calls for the deletion of the "fidelity and chastity" provision of the PC(USA) constitution.
If the Assembly concurs, the 173 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA) would undertake a third up-or-down vote on the measure. In previous votes after the Assemblies of 1997 and 2001, efforts to delete failed by large margins in votes of the presbyteries.
In addition to calling for the deletion of G-6.0106b, the overture would modify G-6.0106a, which describes the qualities or "gifts" a candidate for ordination should exhibit; and adopt an "authoritative interpretation" that would in essence annul previous Assembly actions having to do with the ordination of gay and lesbian Presbyterians.
The overture, 03-07, from the Presbytery of Des Moines, was approved by a vote of 35-29-2.
+ Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, 126 E. Chestnut St., Chicago, IL 60611 + Covenant Network of Presbyterians, c/o Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA 94115 http://www.covenantnetwork.org/
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