wfn.org | Amendment A looks increasingly less likely to pass

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7026 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

24-January-2002
02036

Amendment A looks increasingly less likely to pass

Three-quarters of presbyteries so far have voted 'no'

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - With more than a third of votes in, Amendment 01-A - which would effectively lift the church’s ban on the ordination of sexually active gay and lesbian members to church office - is being rejected by roughly 75 percent the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s presbyteries.

	As of Jan. 22, the unofficial tally stood at 17 presbyteries in favor and 49 opposed. A majority of the church’s 173 presbyteries must vote in favor of the amendment to delete G-6.0106b from the PC(USA) Book of Order in order for it to be removed.

	G-6.0106b, which was voted into the Book of Order by a 97-74 margin in 1997, states: "Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament."

	The PC(USA) constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

	A similar amendment to delete G-6.0106b, proposed the year after it was ratified, lost 114-57. In order for the amendment to pass, therefore, nearly 30 presbyteries that voted "no" at that time would have to "switch" their votes and vote "yes" now for the measure to pass.

	To date, no presbytery has switched it's vote from "no" to "yes" and five presbyteries - Maumee Valley, Minnesota Valleys, North Central Iowa, Ohio Valley and Western Kentucky - have switched from "yes" to "no." If all remaining presbyteries vote the same way this year as they did in 1997, the measure would lose 121-52.

	The unofficial vote:

FOR (17): Baltimore, Cayuga-Syracuse, Chicago, Denver, Des Moines, Eastern Oregon, Genesee Valley, Giddings-Lovejoy, Hudson River, Milwaukee, National Capital, Newton, Northern New York, Redwoods, San Francisco, San Jose, Twin Cities Area.

AGAINST (49): Boise, Carlisle, Central Florida, Central Washington, Charleston-Atlantic, Coastal Carolina, Dakota, Donegal, East Tennessee, Eastminster, Foothills, Holston, Inland Northwest, John Calvin, Kiskiminetas, Lehigh, Los Ranchos, Maumee Valley, Midwest Hanmi, Minnesota Valleys, Mississippi, Missouri River Valley, Muskingum Valley, New Harmony, Noroeste, North Central Iowa, Northeast Georgia, Northumberland, Ohio Valley, Olympia, Peace River, Peaks, Pittsburgh, Riverside, San Diego, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Joaquin, San Juan, Seattle, Sheppards and Lapsley, Southern Kansas, Transylvania, Tropical Florida, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Whitewater Valley.            
------------------------------------------
Send your response to this article to pcusa.news@pcusa.org

------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send an 'unsubscribe' request to

pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org