Media Coverage After General Assembly Marriage Vote

Media coverage roundup after the General Assembly narrowly disapproved marriage equality legislation.

Presbyterians Reject Redefinition of Marriage, Associated Press

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) narrowly rejected a proposal to revise the traditional definition of marriage on Friday, a year after it struck down a barrier to ordaining gays.

The Presbyterian General Assembly, meeting in Pittsburgh, voted 338-308 against changing how marriage was defined in the church constitution from a "civil contract between a woman and a man" to a "covenant between two people." The assembly also rejected measures that would have affirmed a traditional definition of marriage or sought more theological study of the issue...

Michael Adee, executive director of the gay advocacy group More Light Presbyterians, called the outcome "a heartbreaking moment, a disappointing moment." Several delegates and observers wept after the vote. "It's a moment to grieve and it's also a moment when we pick up and keep doing the work," Adee said. "The conversation isn't over."

Presbyterians Vote to Keep Definition of Marriage, New York Times

In a close vote on an issue that has long divided mainline Protestant churches, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Friday against changing the definition of marriage in its constitution from a union between “a man and a woman” to a union between “two people.”

The vote at the church’s biannual convention in Pittsburgh was 338 to 308, with 2 abstentions. But the decisive generational shift that lies ahead for the church was made clear in a separate tally of votes by seminary students and young adult advisory delegates, known as YAADs. The students voted 82 to 18 percent in favor of changing the definition of marriage, and the young adult delegates voted 75 to 21 percent — but their votes were solely advisory.

The Rev. Katharine Rhodes Henderson, president of the Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City, said, “If the YAADs had voted, this probably would have passed.”

Presbyterian church narrowly upholds ban on solemnising same-sex marriages, UK Guardian

The US Presbyterian church has narrowly rejected a proposal for a change in its constitution that would have redefined marriage as a union between "two people", rather than between a woman and a man.

The 338-308 vote followed nearly four hours of heated debate on Friday at the church's general assembly in Pittsburgh, a biennial gathering to review policy.

The church, with around 2 million members, currently allows ministers to bless gay unions but prohibits them from solemnising homosexual civil marriages...

Following the session, Neal Presa, a pastor at Middlesex Presbyterian church in New Jersey who moderated the general assembly debate, brought the congregation together in prayer.

"Some of us weep while some of us rejoice," he said, bowing his head. "We are a divided church."

On Thursday night, the church's civil union and marriage issues committee voted 28-24 in favor of the change.

The legalization of same-sex marriage has created a quandary for some churches in the United States. While gay parishioners have pushed for churches to sanctify their marriages, other parishioners have said marriage should be reserved for heterosexual couples.

While some Protestant clergy have elected to officiate at gay weddings, churches for the most part have been unable to reach a consensus regarding gay unions.

See Also:

• Presbyterians to study marriage issue, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Presbyterians reject same-sex marriage, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
• Presbyterian Church rejects gay marriage proposal, Chicago Tribune
• Presbyterian church rejects same-sex marriage, Christian Science Monitor

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.

Video: Bishop Gene Robinson's Keynote Address at MLP Dinner

Bishop Gene Robinson, Diocese of New Hampshire, addressed over 300 people at the National MLP Celebration Dinner in Pittsburgh, PA. “So the real question for your church and mine is this,” he said, “If you’re not in trouble for the gospel you preach, is it really the gospel?”

It was not that many years ago when our churches, yours and mine and most others were absolutely certain what God thought of us...Because of your courageous work, there are a lot of confused people out there. That is a huge step forward...

I like to think of it as holy chaos...pretty much what has happened in families all over America. Kids come home and they say, "Mom, dad, I'm gay," and the family is thrown into confusion and then the parents have to decide how deep, how broad, how high is their love for their child. So the gay kid, the Bishop of New Hampshire, came home to dad, the the Archbishop of Canterbury and said, "Dad, I'm gay." And now the Anglican Communion is in confusion trying to decide how deep, how broad, how wide God's love really is.

That is holy confusion and chaos.

Watch Bishop Robinson's Keynote Address



Media Coverage

From the Pittsburgh Gazette:

“This is hard work, but we can do it because it is worthy work and it is Godly work,” Bishop Gene Robinson, 65, of New Hampshire told those attending a dinner hosted by More Light Presbyterians, a pro-gay rights group of the Presbyterian Church (USA), in the Westin Convention Center Hotel, Downtown. “We will live to see the day that the church of Jesus Christ, in whatever form it is, will repent from what it has done to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people the way it has repented for slavery.”...

Robinson, who plans to retire next year, said he finds inspiration from the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He called what is happening now in the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches “holy chaos.” Gay equality work in both denominations has caused a sense of confusion, which he called a step forward from the certainty that most Christians felt when it came to what God and churches thought of homosexuals.

Christian history teaches that standing for the right thing often comes with a price, Robinson said.

“So the real question for your church and mine is this,” he said, “If you’re not in trouble for the gospel you preach, is it really the gospel?” 

From Unbound: An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice:

On Saturday, More Light Pres­by­te­ri­ans – work­ing for the “full par­tic­i­pa­tion of LGBT peo­ple of faith in the life, min­istry, and wit­ness” of the church – gath­ered for their National Cel­e­bra­tion Din­ner. I got to sit at a table reserved for mem­bers or alumni of BGLASS, Prince­ton The­o­log­i­cal Seminary’s LGBTQQI and allies stu­dent orga­ni­za­tion, and the recip­i­ent of this year’s National More Light Chap­ter Award.

As I sat there, sur­rounded by friends, I real­ized that, despite the tran­si­tions and mobil­ity so com­mon to our gen­er­a­tion, we take our com­mu­ni­ties with us. BGLASS was always more than an orga­ni­za­tion for me. It was fam­ily. And like fam­ily, the peo­ple of BGLASS helped me know my own iden­tity and my call­ing. In 2009-10, I had the priv­i­lege of co-moderating BGLASS. That year, we decided we weren’t going to be on the defen­sive any­more; we were going to cel­e­brate and to advocate.

Those two words, cel­e­bra­tion and advo­cacy, set the tone for the More Light gathering.

Just like the night before, this was a time for shar­ing sto­ries, hon­or­ing allies and LGBTQ lead­ers, and review­ing the Gen­eral Assem­bly oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges to equal­ity. More Light par­tic­u­larly hon­ored Michael Adee, found­ing MLP Exec­u­tive Direc­tor and Orga­nizer, who will soon begin work lead­ing the Global LGBT Faith Project and whose love for peo­ple is unmistakable.

Later in the evening, the room became sud­denly quiet, expec­tant, as Gene Robin­son, the first openly gay Angli­can bishop, took the podium to deliver his keynote address. When he opened by say­ing that we have done an amaz­ing job, we were all expect­ing that sen­tence to end with some­thing like, “of mak­ing the church a more inclu­sive and wel­com­ing place.” Instead, he said, “You have done an amaz­ing job of… cre­at­ing con­fu­sion in the church.” He referred to this con­fu­sion as the “holy chaos” of peo­ple begin­ning to ques­tion what they once held certain.

Chaos is of course not always pop­u­lar among the “decently and in order” Pres­by­te­ri­ans, but this was a night for a new kind of church.

That new church, though, needs to own up to its past before it can move for­ward. Bishop Robin­son was frank: 95% (a sta­tis­tic he admits to mak­ing up) of the hate, dis­crim­i­na­tion, and homo­pho­bia has been caused by reli­gious peo­ple. “We,” he said, “taught them to hate.” And so it’s up to reli­gious peo­ple to turn the tide.

More Light Pres­by­te­ri­ans ral­lied at the call to take back the Bible. The Bible, Bishop Robin­son said, was orig­i­nally given to African Amer­i­cans in order to keep them docile and quiet. The prob­lem was that they actu­ally read it! They read a Bible of free­dom and dig­nity, of lib­er­a­tion and covenant. “And we gay peo­ple,” he added, “are read­ing our Bibles too.”

So, friends, wel­come to the church of holy chaos, the church of bold love and even bolder grace, the church you might not remem­ber, but the church we were always meant to be.

The change is not com­plete; there is still much work to be done. But, to bor­row an image from Bishop Robin­son, we are danc­ing to the cen­ter of the church, where we have known we always belonged.

It's All About Love: Presbyterians Should Not Fear Same-Sex Marriage

Community House Presbyterian Church

A local Presbyterian pastor, Rev. Wayne Peck, offers a word of hope and encouragement to his colleagues in ministry coming to Pittsburgh for the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Peck serves as pastor of Community House Presbyterian Church, a welcoming and affirming More Light church in Pittsburgh. Community House Presbyterian Church will receive the 2012 More Light Church Award at the National MLP Dinner on June 30 at the Westin on the opening day of the Assembly.

From the Pittsburgh Gazette:

This weekend, my denomination, the 2.1-million-member Presbyterian Church (USA), will convene in Pittsburgh to discuss policy and the future direction for the church. One of the biggest questions on the table is whether the church will recognize marriage among same-sex couples.

Like parents raising a family, these faith leaders have the responsibility to make a choice that will affect our community for generations.

I know there are those who fear this. I hear my colleagues in ministry saying things like, "If we extend a full welcome to gay and lesbian people and recognize their marriages, our unity will be threatened." Or worse, they feel that the Bible says something that prohibits marriage among same-sex couples.

As I see it, this choice comes down to love. For if love is the everyday miracle of God through which "we taste the kindness of the Lord" (1 Peter 2:3), then marriage is surely the quintessential practice through which loving and committed relationships are sanctified, strengthened and blessed by God.

In love we must strive to be as generous as Jesus was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee where He transformed water into wine. He made it clear there is enough wine to go around for everyone, enough love in God for all of us. So how can we not offer the blessings of marriage to all those who love? Especially to people who are saying yes to each other, yes to God, yes to the promise of a faithful relationship that goes the distance till death they do part.

When a faith community offers the blessings of marriage to those who love each other, we are not just connecting two people. We are creating a connection between that couple with God and with the larger community. These connections are crucial to all couples and families, and it is critical that we don't deny them.

Marriage Equality in the Media as General Assembly Nears

As the start of the 220th General Assembly nears, the media is starting to cover the decisions about marriage equality facing the assembly. A number of pro-LGBT voices were interviewed this week including Michael Adee and Rev. Janet Edwards from More Light Presbyterians and Rev. Brian Ellison from Covenant Network.

From the Christian Post:

Michael J. Adee, executive director of More Light Presbyterians, a pro-gay organization within PC (USA), told The Christian Post that his organization is supportive of these efforts.

"More Light Presbyterians support both kinds of marriage equality overtures," said Adee, referring to the Authoritative Interpretation Overture and the Amendment Overture.

"I hope and pray that the General Assembly meeting soon in Pittsburgh will stand on the side of love and the right side of history."

When asked whether a potential change in the PC (USA)'s constitution on marriage definition would lead more congregations to leave the denomination, Adee said that congregations have left before.

"I am sad when any church feels it must leave because of the removal of barriers to faithful, qualified LGBT persons serving God in ministry within and through the Church," said Adee.

"There is no accurate way to know if a church might leave the denomination when it offers pastoral discretion with same-sex marriage. It is my hope and prayer that no church will leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) over same-sex couples seeking to be faithful in their relationships."

From the Pittsburgh Gazette:

The Rev. Janet Edwards, a member of Pittsburgh Presbytery who has been an advocate for gay marriage, resigned her voting commission to the General Assembly in order to care for her husband after surgery. But she believes that on issues where there is no consensus in the church, there should be freedom for each congregation to act on its own beliefs.

She argues that the Presbyterian Church has historically followed civil law on marriage, so that clergy in states where gay marriage is legal should be allowed to offer marriage ceremonies. The church currently allows blessing ceremonies but insists that they not be called marriages.

"The heart of marriage is the love and commitment between the partners, and we all know couples of two men or two women who show all the qualities that we recognize as marriage," she said.

From the Huffington Post:

"One thing that could pass is having the assembly issue an 'authoritative interpretation' of the constitution, which would say ... 'It's OK for presbyterian ministers to officiate same-sex marriage if it is legal in the state where they are officiating,'" said the Rev. Brian Ellison of Parkville Presbyterian Church near Kansas City, Mo. That option has been proposed by five presbyteries and is supported by the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a pro-LGBT organization for which Ellison was recently tapped to become the executive director. The proposal is also more appealing to some gay rights activists because it would not change the constitution, thus bypassing any need for approval from individual presbyteries.

 From the Tribune-Review:

A leading voice calling for Presbyterians to extend marriage equality and other rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered members belongs to the Rev. Janet Edwards of Squirrel Hill.

“My deepest hope is that we will open our eyes to do what God is already doing,” said Edwards, 61, a board member of the Pittsburgh Presbytery Foundation and More Light Presbyterians, a pro-gay organization within the church. “We can already see how God blesses the marriages of gay and lesbian couples.”

Definition of marriage

Edwards wants the assembly to endorse a change to the definition of marriage. She relinquished her rights as a voting assembly member to help care for her ailing husband, Alvise, and abandoned her campaign to become moderator of the General Assembly — the denomination’s highest elected position. The Pittsburgh Presbytery, for which she served as moderator in 1987, declined to endorse her candidacy.

Still, Edwards said she plans to attend sessions, particularly those related to gay and lesbian issues. The church twice put Edwards on trial for conducting the 2005 marriage of a lesbian couple. The first ended on a technicality, the second in acquittal.

She hopes congregations do not leave the church.

“For me, the way to do that is to talk to one another, and to talk about the issues we most tenderly disagree about,” said Edwards, who was ordained in 1977.

Media coverage leading up to General Assembly:

• Presbyterians to tackle gay marriage, divestment, Washington Post
• PCUSA Mulls Overtures for Redefining Denomination's Marriage Definition, Christian Post
• 2 denominations primed to debate same-sex issues, Pittsburgh Gazette 
• Presbyterians To Vote On Gay Marriage, Divestment, At General Assembly, The Huffington Post
• Presbyterians to tackle gay marriage, divestment, Religion News Service
• Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches to Grapple With Same-Sex Marriage, Gay Ordination, Christian Post
• Presbyterians confront exodus over sexuality, Tribune-Review
• Presbyterians To Vote On Gay Marriage, Divestment, At General Assembly, PCUSA News Service
• Proposals differ on whether to change church’s definition to ‘two people’, PCUSA News Service

Standing on the Side of Love

The Christian Post interviewed Michael Adee, MLP's Executive Director & Field Organizer, about marriage equality overtures at the upcoming 220th General Assembly. "I hope and pray that the General Assembly meeting soon in Pittsburgh will stand on the side of love and the right side of history."

From the Christian Post:

According to Presbyterian News Service, the presbyteries of East Iowa, Hudson River, New York City and Redwoods submitted Amendment Overtures, which demand that PC (USA) change its definition of marriage from "a woman and a man" to "two people."

Five presbyteries – Boston, Genesee Valley, Cayuga-Syracuse, Baltimore, and East Iowa once more – have sent Authoritative Interpretation Overtures, which demand that Presbyterian churches in states that have legalized same-sex marriage should be allowed to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.

Michael J. Adee, executive director of More Light Presbyterians, a pro-gay organization within PC (USA), told The Christian Post that his organization is supportive of these efforts.

"More Light Presbyterians support both kinds of marriage equality overtures," said Adee, referring to the Authoritative Interpretation Overture and the Amendment Overture.

"I hope and pray that the General Assembly meeting soon in Pittsburgh will stand on the side of love and the right side of history."

When asked whether a potential change in the PC (USA)'s constitution on marriage definition would lead more congregations to leave the denomination, Adee said that congregations have left before.

"I am sad when any church feels it must leave because of the removal of barriers to faithful, qualified LGBT persons serving God in ministry within and through the Church," said Adee.

"There is no accurate way to know if a church might leave the denomination when it offers pastoral discretion with same-sex marriage. It is my hope and prayer that no church will leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) over same-sex couples seeking to be faithful in their relationships."