The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted at its General Assembly on Thursday to change its constitution’s definition of marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two people,” and to allow its ministers to perform same-sex marriages where it is legal.
Both measures, passed by large majorities, are a reversal for a church that in 1991 and in 2008 barred its pastors from performing same-sex marriages, and that has held ecclesiastical trials for ministers who violated the ban and blessed gay couples.
The Presbyterian Church, a historic mainline Protestant denomination that spans a broad spectrum from liberal to conservative evangelicals, has been mired in the debate over homosexuality for about three decades. The General Assembly’s decision in 2010 to ordain openly gay ministers caused many congregations, including some of the largest, to depart.
The convention hall fell silent as the vote counts were announced, in deference to a plea by the church’s moderator, leading the session, to be respectful of the divide.
“There were some of us with tears of joy, and some of us with tears of grief,” said the Rev. Susan De George, stated clerk of the Hudson River Presbytery, in New York, a lesbian minister who years ago was among those brought up on charges for blessing same-sex unions. “After the vote, the first thing I did was to text a friend on the other side of the issue.”
This is a pretty huge deal, frankly. It's NOT the first big mainstream Protestant denomination in the US to announce this policy, as has been pointed out in the comments, and hopefully more will follow.
Maybe even in your lifetime.
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4 comments:
Zandar, I love you like a brother but you need to pay attention to current events. The ELCA Lutherans adopted their Statement in 2009, recognizing marriage equality and gay clergy. My cousin was married last summer to his partner of forty years in the most beautiful ceremony you could imagine.
The Presbyterians are also discussing dropping their investments in companies that support the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/24434-presbyterian-divestment-contesting-representations-of-the-jewish-community
That's actually very cool, and I stand corrected. Shows you how much I pay attention to religions in general, I guess.
Victory! The announcement has been made.
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