06-13 On Amending F-1.0403 and G-2.0401 to Eliminate the List of Those Whom We Refuse to Discriminate Against

The following Overture was submitted to the 219th General Assembly from the Presbytery of Western New York.

RECOMMENDATION

The Presbytery of Western New York respectfully overtures the 220th General Assembly (2012) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendments to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative vote:

1.  Shall the second paragraph of F-1.0403 be amended as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“The unity of believers in Christ is reflected in the rich diversity of the Church’s membership. In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism into the one body of believers regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction human sensibilities, constructs, or categories. There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shall guarantee strive to ensure full participation and representation in its worship, governance, and emerging life to all persons or groups within its membership. No member shall be denied participation or representation for any reason other than those stated in this Constitution.”

2.  Shall G-2.0401, Election of Ruling Elders and Deacons, be amended as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“Ruling elders and deacons are men and women elected by the congregation from among its members. The nomination and election of ruling elders and deacons shall seek to express the rich diversity of the congregation's membership and shall guarantee strive to ensure participation and inclusiveness (F-1.0403). [The balance of G-2.0401 would remain unchanged].”

RATIONALE

This overture would strike the list of those whom we refuse to discriminate against, noting instead that “God unites persons into the one body of believers regardless of human sensibilities, constructs, or categories.” The list that this new language would replace keeps growing. It is very tempting—given our present denominational dynamic—to add “sexual orientation” to the list. Yet, when do we stop expanding this constitutional registry? We might also add “body mass,” or “physical deformity,” or “personality type.” We could be yet more inclusive and say regardless of “economic standing,” or “social status,” or “mental acuity;” and the list goes on. Instead of continuing to lengthen the list, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) should take the bold step of simply declaring that we refuse to discriminate and leave it at that: “God unites persons ... regardless of human sensibilities, constructs, or categories. There is no place in the life of the church for discrimination against any person,” period.

The laudable goal of expressing “the rich diversity of the congregation's membership” and of guaranteeing “participation and inclusiveness” may not be attainable in practice. For example, persons who are in a minority within “the congregation's membership” may decline to serve when asked; leaving that group or individual without representation. This same situation conceivably could occur in the higher councils of the church as well. Therefore, this goal should remain just that, a goal and not a mandate. The suggested changes, “seek to express” and “strive to ensure,” will preserve the goal without enshrining it as a dogmatic requirement.

The statement in F-1.0403 that “God unites persons through baptism” imputes a causality to “baptism” that surpasses a Reformed understanding of the Sacrament as a symbol that publicly proclaims what God has already accomplished. An individual is a member of “the one body of believers” from the moment he or she repents and believes the Gospel. Baptism celebrates this truth, but does not induce it. The words “through baptism” should be stricken.

Links:

• Overture Submitted (see above)
• Overture on PC-Biz

13-08 Hudson River Marriage Overture to Amend W-4.9000

Concurrences: New York City, Western New York

The Presbytery of Hudson River voted (voice majority) to overture the General Assembly to Amend W-4.9000 in the constitution of the PC(USA) as follows:

The Presbytery of Hudson River overtures the 220th General Assembly (2012) as follows: THAT the Directory For Worship of The Book of Order be amended in the following manner: (strike through indicates portions to be deleted; italics indicate additions)

W–4.9001    Marriage is a gift God has given to all humankind for the well-being of the entire human family. Marriage is a civil contract covenant between a woman and a man two people, and according to the laws of the state also constitutes a civil contract.  For Christians marriage is a covenant through which a man and a woman two people are called to live out together before God their lives of discipleship. In a service of Christian marriage, two people make a lifelong commitment is made by a woman and a man to each other publicly witnessed and acknowledged by the community of faith.

W-4.9002    a. In preparation for the marriage service, the teaching elder shall provide for a discussion with the two people man and the woman to be married concerning

(The remainder of this section remains the same)

W-4.9004    The service begins with the scriptural sentences and a brief statement of purpose. The man and the woman The two people to be married shall declare their intention to enter into Christian marriage and shall exchange vows of love and faithfulness. The service includes appropriate passages of Scripture, which may be interpreted in various forms of proclamation. Prayers shall be offered for the couple, for the communities which support them in this new dimension of discipleship, and for all who seek to live in faithfulness. In the name of the triune God the minister shall declare publicly that they the woman and the man are now joined in marriage.

(The remainder of this paragraph remains the same)

W-4.9006    A service of worship recognizing a civil marriage and confirming it in the community of faith may be appropriate when requested by the couple. The service will be similar to the marriage service except that the opening statement, the declaration of intention, the exchange of vows by the husband and wife two people and the public declaration by the teaching elder reflect the fact that they the woman and the man are already married to one another according to the laws of the state.

RATIONALE

Marriage is beyond gender.  It refers to the commitment of two people to live beside each other with a love expressed as tenderness and justice.  It refers to the deep promise to live together through the thick and thin of their journey together through the years.  It refers to the mystery in which the love of God meets, is joined to and made manifest in the love of two people whose hearts are a home place to each other. The notion of marriage is demeaned by any lesser definition. Recognizing this, some states are already ahead of the Church in moving the legal definition of marriage beyond gender.

Changing the definition of marriage in the Directory of Worship would allow the Church and its officers the option of also recognizing the life-long same gender commitments that many of our members are now choosing to make.  It would make it possible for the Church to celebrate the love of God as it is embodied in their love for each other. In states like the six, along with the District of Columbia, which already permit gay marriage, teaching and ruling elders would be relieved of the fear of ecclesiastical charges and would be able to respond equitably and pastorally to marriage requests by all, not just some, members of their congregations. No teaching elder or session would be required to perform services of marriage which would violate conscience. Changing the Directory for Worship in this way would move the Church away from
fear and reprisal, and closer to its own teaching on the hospitality of God and the welcome which that implies.

The proposed change allows us to step more fully in line with the Bible and the Book of Confessions and to be the Church that both our scripture and our constitution have continually imagined, a church open to changes that support love of God and one another. (Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-37) We join those in the early church by stepping into line behind people like Philip, who, in his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, was moved to overturn his previously narrow perceptions and prejudices and make the circle of God’s family much wider than his previous religious upbringing had allowed him to imagine (Acts 8:26-38) and Peter, who was given a vision that the lines he had previously drawn between clean and unclean were too narrow and had to be abandoned to embody God’s loving way. (Acts 10:9-22). And we join those who, throughout the history of our denomination, have recognized the need to move away from previous barriers in the direction of love and care.

“In God’s reconciling love God overcomes the barriers between brothers [and sisters] and breaks down every form of discrimination… The church is called to bring all men [and women] to receive and uphold one another as persons in all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights…. Congregations, individuals, or groups of Christians who exclude, dominate, or patronize their fellowmen, however subtly, resist the Spirit of God and bring contempt on the faith which they profess.” (BOC 9:44 emphasis added)

The proposed changes would grant all loving couples the right to have their marriages performed in our congregations, strengthening all our communities and families, gay and straight, since they allow us to recognize the love of two hearts declaring themselves to be a home to each other, before God, with gratitude.

Links:

• Overture Submitted
• Overture on PC-Biz