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Voting Nears 16-October-1996 
 
 
96413     "Fidelity and Chastity" Amendment Supporters  
                Devise Strategies as Voting Nears 
 
                          by Alexa Smith 
 
CHICAGO--Supporters of the "fidelity and chastity" amendment to the 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) "Book of Order" gathered here Sept. 16-17 to 
worship and strategize about passage of the measure in a coming vote that 
many of its backers say is too close to call. 
 
     The gathering, sponsored by the Presbyterian Coalition, a loose 
alliance of individuals and some 20 self-defined "renewal" groups in the 
denomination, drew a predominantly male crowd of about 425 Presbyterians 
from 114 of the PC(USA)'s 172 presbyteries, where voting on the amendment 
will take place between now and next year's General Assembly in Syracuse, 
N.Y.  A majority of the presbyteries must ratify the amendment for it to 
become part of the church's constitution.   
 
     If approved, church officers will be required to repent of any 
"self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin."  The amendment 
derives its nickname from the provision that declares acceptable sexual 
behavior as "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a 
woman or chastity in singleness." 
 
     Conference-goers heard advocates of the amendment such as the Rev. 
Roberta Hestenes of Solano Beach, Calif., and former General Assembly 
moderator the Rev. David Dobler of Anchorage, Alaska, tell them to go to 
their presbyteries as polity-savvy Presbyterians, but to shun the history 
of finger-pointing and anger that has characterized denominational debate 
about sexuality for the past 20 years.  The Rev. John Huffman of St. 
Andrews Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, Calif., was also a keynoter 
 
     "It is possible for us to win this battle but lose the war if we come 
with the wrong weapons and the wrong spirit to accomplish the wrong things, 
" said Hestenes, who chaired the General Assembly's Committee on Ordination 
and Human Sexuality in July that drafted the amendment that was approved 
for presbytery voting by the Assembly.   
 
     "If we come to these debates with a hardness of heart that does not 
communicate the caring of Christ, we will lose," she said.  "And we  will 
deserve to. ... We are ourselves persons in need of God's transforming 
power," said Hestenes.  
 
     Some presbyteries will vote as early as November.  The bulk of the 
voting, however, is expected between January and March. 
 
     But organizing more compassionate debate on such a volatile topic 
begins now, according to a number of event speakers who called for less 
recrimination of others and more self-examination.  At least two workshop 
leaders urged amendment advocates to organize concretely by lobbying 
presbyteries to schedule the debate at an "optimum" or well-attended and 
well-publicized time.  Others  suggested that retired clergy and elders in 
racial-ethnic, large and small churches -- who tend, according to Coalition 
leader the Rev. Harry Hassall of Dallas, to be "more biblical, evangelical, 
moderate or traditional" -- be persuaded to attend and to vote. 
 
     "Whoever gets the vote out is probably going to win,"  Hassall  told 
the packed seminar for those who consider the vote in their presbyteries 
"too close to call."  He insisted that a vote favorable to an evangelical 
or traditional position requires more retired pastors and elders than high 
concentrations of "specialized" clergy. 
 
       While pushing for debate that does not "demonize" those who disagree 
or use "battle" language, Hassall told the gathering to pay close attention 
to procedure, seeking 
 
          agreement ahead of time to vote by written ballot, to "help 
provide a more honest 
          reading of the true heart of a governing body" 
          assurance that all speakers be members of presbytery and that 
there be a careful 
          accounting of those who vote, so that only authorized 
commissioners vote 
          debate that is characterized by language that is not legalistic 
or judgmental and does not 
          use "scripture as a rod to punish opponents." 
           
     What confuses the issue, he said, are tactics that include employing 
multiple parliamentary procedures, private opinions and "stories focusing 
on human pain and suffering and pastoral needs," as well as pressure by 
"power persons," such as counselors, professors, presbytery executives and 
"eloquent speakers."  Hassall said that perhaps the most fundamental issue 
is clarity in debate and in parliamentary process on the presbytery floor. 
 
     "When things are done aboveboard, without tricks and with fairness ... 
with all the information, Presbyterians tend to make the right decisions," 
he said, describing only 30 presbyteries in the denominations as actually 
"too close to call," based on his analysis of their voting traditions. 
Hassall told the press that about 75 presbyteries are leaning toward 
affirming the amendment, while 67 are inclined to reject it.  In "optimum" 
circumstances, he said, about 120 would vote to adopt the amendment. 
 
     But what matters most in these debates is not just clarity, but the 
personal credibility of the person who is making the case before the 
presbytery.  And Dobler hit that point hard in the closing worship, telling 
the gathering that this amendment speaks to "all kinds of sin." 
 
     "This amendment speaks directly to you and to me. ... It's not about 
pointing  to other folks and saying,  Your sins we can no longer condone,'" 
said Dobler, insisting that pastors and elders cannot just pretend to 
conform their lives to God's word or God's way.  He cautioned that the 
amendment is about much more than homosexuality, describing standards for 
church officers that ought to shape the entire Christian life from sexual 
morality to economic choices.  
 
      "We can no longer lead idle, unexamined lives," Dobler continued. 
"This is not just about sexual morality, but about how we spend our money, 
about how we treat folks," he said. "The challenge before us is to start 
living the gospel, not just praying about it ... and to spend as much time 
in prayer for myself as I am for other folk." 
 
     And while Hestenes made a similar case, calling for gentleness of 
spirit, there was a pragmatic edge to her remarks as well as she told the 
gathering to speak clearly, use compassion and to get more diverse voices 
on presbytery floors than was in the predominantly male, predominantly 
white crowd in Chicago -- representation that Hestenes called a "major 
problem." 
 
     "You are speaking to the muddled middle.  It's important to keep clear 
in your head that's your primary audience," Hestenes said.  Amendment 
supporters must be prepared for -- and not confused by -- persons who have 
never spoken before in presbytery meetings and must stay compassionate and 
reasonable with those who may disagree, keeping in mind what will be 
persuasive to others as well as attentive to what can still be learned in 
this long-running debate. 
 
     "The right spirit should govern how we come to this," said Hestenes, 
drawing on Philippians 4:5: "Let your gentleness be known to all."  "When 
you get done with this debate in your presbytery, will they be able to say 
that about you?  Gentleness -- that's the right spirit." 
 
     The Coalition is setting up prayer networks now.  Written resources -- 
and some financial support -- may be obtained for presbytery groups working 
for passage of the amendment by contacting the Coalition's resource person, 
Betty Moore of Florence, S.C., at (803) 669-1137. 

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