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Note #6672 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Assembly rejects proposal for
sexual orientation resources
13-June-2001
GA01114

Assembly rejects proposal for
sexual orientation resources

By Alexa Smith	

LOUISVILLE, June 13 - Citing inconclusive evidence on the effectiveness of
'transformational' therapies to change an individual's sexual orientation,
the 213th General Assembly opted not to offer such resources to individuals
struggling with their sexual identity and other sexual practices.
	The report came to the floor tonight from the Assembly Committee on
Christian Education and Publication.
Seventy-five percent of the commissioners took the committee's
recommendation and voted to affirm statements by previous General Assemblies
questioning whether 'conversion' therapies produce lasting reversals in
sexual orientation, while simultaneously affirming that "God is able to do
far more abundantly than we could ask or think," and that God wills us all
to be a part of the "New Creation' that is possible in Jesus Christ."
	Commissioners did vote to create a resource on sexual addictions - an aid
that Congregational Ministries Division staffer the Rev. Ed Craxton told the
Assembly will cost approximately $12,000 to produce.
	The overture to create transformational resources (01-41) came from the
Presbytery of San Joaquin.  But arguments like the one leveled by Hudson
River Presbytery Elder Georgia Hooper-Peek, a psychologist, was the majority
voice, cautioning that many homosexuals who undergo such therapy "risk
accepting an additional burden of shame" that may only further deepen
psychological problems.
	In other actions, commissioners approved Overture 01-18 from the Presbytery
of Baltimore, that adds the deadlines for General Assembly business to the
denomination's annual planning calendar.
	Two commissioners' resolutions - one supporting the Boy Scouts of America
and the other questioning whether the organization excludes gays - were
referred back to the General Assembly Council (GAC).  Although the GAC has
renewed a covenant agreement with the National Association of Presbyterian
Scouters, an independent group, a dialogue is already under way on these
matters.

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