wfn.org | Synod judicial decision upholds installation of gay elder in

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Note #6271 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Connecticut
16-November-2000
00414

Synod judicial decision upholds installation of gay elder in Connecticut

An appeal to the top ecclesiastical court is under way 

by Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Although an appeal is under way, the Permanent Judicial
Commission (PJC) of the Synod of the Northeast has upheld a Connecticut
church's decision to install a gay elder to serve on its session -- after
answers were gotten for what it had earlier deemed as inadequate sections of
the elder's original examination.

	A stay of enforcement, however,  has been granted to stop Elder Wayne
Osborne from being installed as a member of the session of First
Presbyterian Church of Stamford, Conn. -- a barrier that has been in place
since the 700-member congregation re-elected Osborne as an elder nearly
three years ago.

	In fact, Osborne's three-year-term may expire before his case is fully
adjudicated -- raising yet another set of questions about what that may mean
should the synod PJC's decision be upheld by the General Assembly PJC, the
denomination's highest ecclesiastical court which is the complainant's only
source of appeal now.

	The Stamford case was among the first in a series of judicial cases to
erupt after the denomination added a provision to its constitution --
G-6.0106b -- prohibiting the ordination of unmarried members who do not live
in "chastity," a word from church tradition that the writers of the
amendment used to mean not sexually active.  Since the provision also
defines marriage as "between a man and a woman," sexually active gays and
lesbians, whose unions are not recognized by the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), cannot serve as church officers -- unless they chose to live
celibate lives.

	Osborne's case is the first time the courts have attempted to interpret how
far sessions must go to inquire about the sexual behavior of potential
church officers.  It is also the first case to determine how practices which
the church's historic confessions call sin -- such as homosexuality -- must
be "self-acknowledged," which is another clause in the same constitutional
provision which its drafters said, at the time it was written, was included
to prevent witch-hunts.

	In his first examination by the session, Osborne refused to answer a
question about his sexual activity and called himself "chaste in God's eyes"
-- answers both the session and then the presbytery's PJC upheld.

	 But when the case reached the synod PJC last year, it said both matters
needed further questioning before any installation could proceed. The
session did so at its regular Jan. 18 meeting.

	 At its Nov. 6 hearing in Newark, N.J., the synod PJC it deemed the
re-examination adequate: rejecting, by a 7-3 vote, the assertion that
Osborne's examination was irregular because he is "ineligible for active
service on session" under G-6.0106b and G-6.0108b, another provision which
puts limits on freedom of conscience for church officers.

	By a 6-4 vote, it rejected the claim that the examination is still
"incomplete and inconclusive," insisting, instead, that the session's
follow-up exam was "sufficient, procedurally and substantively."

	"This reaffirms the church and the session's position that we have indeed
interpreted the Book of Order properly.  Now we'll wait to see what the
General Assembly says once it is appealed," said Steve Hart, an elder at
First Presbyterian Church in Stamford, Conn., who is the congregation's
designated spokesperson.

	Acording to Hart, what is at issue in the case is who discerns what
questions are appropriate when examining a candidate for church office. 
"Congregations and sessions have the right to install somebody that we feel
is called to that office," he said.  "That's the bottomline ...

	"We don't feel it is a homosexual issue.  If you put it in secular terms,
it is a state's rights issue."

	Osborne's answers -- as recorded by the session in the PJC papers -- were
more complex this time.

	Asked whether or not he is sexually active, Osborne again did not answer. 
He said declining to answer is acceptable under the constitution of the
PC(USA) because the provision requires "self-acknowledgment" of a practice
-- which gives him a choice of how to answer.  Osborne also contended that
questions about sexual activity are discriminatory, singling him out as a
gay man.

	Further, Osborne said scripture defines chastity much more broadly than
mere sexual abstinence.  He cited 2 Corinthians 7: 11, where the apostle
Paul describes presenting oneself as "a chaste virgin" to Christ, as
evidence, where the two words would be redundant if meaning sexual activity
alone.  Osborne pointed out that the Heidelberg Catechism says God condemns
all unchastity and requires the faithful -- married or single -- to live
chaste lives.

	Citing texts in Hebrews and, again, the Heidelberg Catechism, Osborne said
that during his initial questioning, he understood the word 'chaste' to mean
"purity, holiness and righteousness," gifts imputed out of grace by Christ's
holiness and sacrifice.  He said that Christ, the high priest, has done the
work of salvation and sinful humans can stand boldly in the presence of God.
 In that sense, he told the session, he believes that he is chaste, holy and
pure, in "the merciful eyes of God."

	The PJC had ordered the session to question Osborne, too, about a prior
statement where he alleged that some sins mentioned in the Book of
Confessions are outdated and that the church does not adhere to every sin
described.  He cited the Scots Confession which says that Roman Catholic
ministers are not true ministers of Christ and that the Holy Ghost does not
permit women to preach or baptize.  He said the Confessions prohibit
creating images of God or Christ and that they also require strict Sabbath
day observance.  The Westminster Confession rejects dancing and attending
stage plays, calling both sin.

	What does that exam tell the wider church?

	The Rev. Stewart Pollock, stated clerk of the Presbytery of Southern New
England, where the Stamford church is located, isn't entirely sure.  "I
think it means when we examine candidates, we need to be sure to have
follow-up questions when they say things that are troubling.  But if they
offer an explanation for what is said or for declining to answer a specific
question that is asked, it seems to be permissible for the governing body to
be satisfied with that ...

	"If," Pollock said, pausing, "this ends up being the ultimate rule for the
church."

	Judicial action was initiated several years ago by two members of First
Church -- Mairi Hair and James McCallum.  The two argued that Osborne's
election to the session violated G-6.00106b, requiring "fidelity within the
covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." 
It also alleged that the session's examination of Osborne was not
procedurally or substantively sufficient.

	The presbytery's PJC first heard the case and ruled that the session's
examination of Osborne, while imperfect, "satisfactorily discharged its duty
to inquire," and that Osborne's acknowledgment of his homosexual
orientation, falls short of the voluntary self-disclosure of homosexual
practice that G.0106b requires.  Pressing for more answers, it said, it said
is a step down "the slippery slope that leads to inquisition."

	That's when the synod PJC ordered the re-examination.

	The plaintiff's representative, Elder William Prey of Old Greenwich, Conn.,
told the Presbyterian News Service that an appeal is under way but he would
not disclose the grounds.

	Four members of the synod PJC did file a dissent in the case, charging that
Osborne is still ineligible for active church service because his definition
of chastity does not correspond with the intent of the denomination's
constitution, where it means sexual purity.  For singles, in effect, that
means celibacy, the dissent stated.

	Further, citing G-6.0108b, the dissent says that there are limits to
freedom of conscience for church leaders.  The boundary includes "the Word
of God as interpreted in the standards of the church."

	Osborne previously finished a term on the congregation's session in 1994. 
Reportedly, he began living openly with another man between then and when
the case was first filed.

	The General Assembly PJC meets Feb. 2-4 in Orlando, Fla., but of the Office
of the General Assembly says it is unlikely that the Stamford appeal will be
ready for review by the PJC at that meeting.

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