Ministers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can preside at same-sex marriages in states where they are legal following a vote this afternoon at the denomination”˜”s top legislative body.
And in the coming year, the denomination’”s regional presbyteries will vote on whether to change its marriage definition church-wide to include two people regardless of gender.
Strong applause broke out after the overwhelming votes, which came after debate of more than two hours at the denomination”˜”s General Assembly here at the Detroit Cobo Center. But the decisions also came with plenty of anxious words about the looming possibility that more conservatives will join an exodus of estimated 350 congregations that have left for more conservative denominations in recent years as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shifts to increasingly liberal stances on sexuality. In 2011, the denomination voted to authorize the ordination of gays and lesbians in non-celibate relationships.
And another “church” reforms to the dictates of secular society.
One has to admire their efficiency, compared to TEC.
PCUSA makes it easier for churches to leave. Then their numbers shrink accordingly. Then they have one view on the matter and win by a sizeable majority.
[i] Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust…[/i]
-Queen: “Another One Bites the Dust” 1981
Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…cause we did away with that evil rule in the last election.
Okay, so another mainline denomination condemned to decay and irrelevance.
The important thing is that orthodox Christians who may be in this denomination must not allow themselves to be dragged down in the crash.
They changed the marriage definition to “between two people, traditionally between a man and a woman.†This clearly would include two brothers or two sisters, son and mother etc.
I find the speed of change surprising: only two years ago, PCUSA had a “fidelity & chastity” rule that forbade elders from homosexual behavior (as well as adultery and general fornication); the previous GA got rid of it, but it was argued that this didn’t represent any change, because there was no positive rule permitting sexual misbehavior, and the Book of Order still defined marriage traditionally. But now, a very short time later, the PCUSA has sped past TEC in redefining marriage.
I think reappraisers may have made a strategic mis-step. I don’t think they realize how important official statements are for reasserters. It’s easy to convince us to stay with an organization with sloppy practice, as long as lip-service is paid to orthodoxy. The reappraisers in TEC have tiptoed around changing the BCP, and so have been able to claim that nothing substantial has changed. But this new development in PCUSA has put blasphemy directly into their governing documents.
This change represents a disaster for moderates in PCUSA. If the amendment passes; they will be faced with a terrible painful choice: to leave or lose a large percentage of their congregation. I would expect the “auguring into the ground” that Sarah Hey speaks of to start in earnest. As the reappraisers celebrate their historic victory, they are right to be worried about the future of the PCUSA.
This will transform the conservatives who leave into missionaries. Its not enough just to leave – the aim must be to re-establish the denomination from the ground up. That mean mission and church-planting.