Media Coverage of Marriage Equality at General Assembly

Civil Union & Marriage Committee

As the committee work nears an end at the 220th General Assembly, here is a roundup of the media coverage this week. A number of pro-LGBT voices were interviewed including Michael Adee and Patrick Evans of More Light Presbyterians, Rev. Janie Spahr and Rev. Paul Rodkey.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

A committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted Tuesday night to recommend that its national governing body change the church constitution on marriage to say it is between "two people" rather than "a woman and a man."

If the change is adopted by the wider church, it would allow pastors in states where gay marriage is legal to conduct marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples [actually, the amend overture passed].

The 28-24 vote came after the committee had rejected other measures that both supported and opposed gay marriage, but had called for a two-year study on the matter. If this week's 800-member General Assembly, meeting at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, passes this proposed amendment, it will have to be approved by a majority of 173 presbyteries to become church law.

The committee meeting lasted two days and was filled with stories of anguish both from pastors who wanted to marry gay couples and those who had already experienced the pain of church splits over such issues.

The committee voted 29-23 to recommend the denomination spend two years in a grass-roots study of Christian marriage and report back to the national governing body of the church in 2014. The vote came after the defeat of a similar plan for a four-year study...

The committee spent most of Monday listening to advocates on both sides of gay marriage...

Some advocates for gay marriage said the Bible has no consistent standard of marriage, that it includes polygamous marriages, incestuous families and other arrangements that don't fit the Presbyterian standard.

"All of these were blessed," said Patrick Evans, the interim executive director of More Light Presbyterians, an advocacy group for gays. "We are called into a new understanding and let's not pretend that the Bible only says a certain limited thing. 

From the Tribune-Review:

The 220th General Assembly is expected to address the subject of gay marriage and the church before its biennial conference wraps up on Saturday in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. Groups on opposing sides of the debate met separately on Tuesday as the church’s committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues considered proposals both for and against gay marriage...

“Love is not limited by gender or race,” said Michael Adee, executive director of More Light Presbyterians, a pro-gay group within the church that sponsored a luncheon and panel discussion on marriage equality in the Westin Hotel. “We stand on the right side of love, on the right side of history.”..

“I’ve got a dog in this fight, and I am tired of being told by my colleagues that this isn’t an important issue,” said the Rev. Paul Rodkey of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Wash., who is the father of two gay children. “Presbyterian pastors have been absolutely shameful, and they’ve been to seminary.”

The civil union and marriage committee is considering several proposals. Some want the committee to recommend that the General Assembly confirm the denomination’s definition of marriage as “between a woman and a man,” while others call for a constitutional amendment to change the marriage definition to between “two people.”

From the Christian Post:

The Civil Union and Marriage Issues Committee at the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has agreed upon two items to be considered by the assembly, one of which would amend the church's definition of marriage.

Those on the committee voted 28-24 on Tuesday in favor of sending the proposal, which could change the church's definition of marriage "between a woman and a man" to being "between two people," to the General Assembly for consideration. The proposal would also change the definition of marriage from being a "civil contract" to a "covenant" that "according to the laws of the state also constitutes a civil contract."

According to a live blog about the committee, they also approved sending another proposal, which would move the entire denomination "into a season of serious study and discernment concerning the meaning of Christian Marriage." This "season" would last until the next General Assembly in 2014, when the topic would be readdressed.

This proposal also would require the denomination's Office of Theology and Worship to distribute educational materials to all of its presbyteries in order to further inform church members.

"These materials should include the relevant scripture key methods of biblical interpretations current understanding of our constitution and some suggested guidance for prayerful and reconciling ways of listening to one another," the legislation states, according to a website about the General Assembly created by More Light Presbyterians.

From the San Francisco Examiner:

One proposal is to change how church doctrine defines marriage. Another would interpret the constitution's language on marriage as descriptive, rather than prohibitive, and allow pastors in states where gay marriage is legal to immediately begin performing same-sex weddings.

Both measures would allow ministers to officiate at gay weddings but would not compel pastors to perform the ceremonies.

"I'm hoping that the General Assembly will be touched by the spirit, and they will see our marriages not as second class but as equal with our brothers and sisters," Spahr said from San Francisco, where she lives.

The gay-marriage question highlights deep divisions within the Presbyterian Church and its 1.9 million members, as congregants increasingly ask ministers to bless same-sex marriages. Civil gay marriage is now legal in six U.S. states.