Committee rejects ACSWP's family paper; approves one written by its own members Paula R. Kincaid The Layman Online Wednesday, May 28, 2003 215th General Assembly Denver, Colo. May 24-31, 2003 General Assembly news index DENVER – A committee has rejected a report on "diverse families" that would include single-parent families and homosexual couples and their adopted children as acceptable examples of God's purpose for families. Instead of the "Living Faithfully with Families in Transition" report from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), the Committee on National Issues voted to approve a statement written by committee members and send it to the 215th General Assembly. The statement was approved Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 32-22-1, and recommends that commissioners approve the two-page document, which reads in part: Christian families have the responsibility of teaching and practicing the beliefs and values that exhibit faithfulness to the God revealed in Jesus Christ in whatever culture they reside." "The church therefore celebrates that 'Marriage is a gift from God that has been given to all humankind for the well-being of the entire human family. Marriage is a civil contract between a woman and a man. For Christians, marriage is a covenant through which a man and woman are called to live out together before God their lives of discipleship." "The church therefore understands the seventh commandment to teach that we should 'live chaste and disciplined lives, whether in holy wedlock or in single life.'" "The Bible presents God as working through persons in diverse family structures, including structures that were not in conformity with God's commandments as revealed at that time and structures that may not be in accord with the values of equality and mutual service that we now see as God's intention for us. Therefore, we are assured that God's reconciling Spirit continues to reach persons regardless of the form of their family." "The 215th General Assembly calls upon all Presbyterians to so order their lives by God's power that personal impulses and desires be subjugated to the good and gracious will of God as revealed in Jesus Christ through Scriptures, for all the welfare of the individual, of the family, of children, and of society as a whole, and calls upon all Presbyterian entities to strengthen and nurture the Christian understanding of their members as they work to transform a culture in rebellion against God." Committee members spent two days asking questions and debating the issue, and attempts were made to disapprove the ACSWP paper, and to refer it to back to ACSWP and the Office of Theology and Worship for more work on emphasizing marriage, before the committee approved its two-page report. The Rev. Marjorie Working of Santa Barbara Presbytery, who presented the statement approved by the committee, said: "I think the church needs to speak positively on this … I think what we have done is to retain some of the main affirmations of the original work and, yet, we have also lifted up a Biblical view … We have spoken to affirming people in all sorts of situations, but calling them into life with Jesus Christ." Youth Advisory Delegate Chris Jessen of Ohio Valley Presbytery spoke in favor of the paper written by committee members, saying that there is no such thing as "the ideal family. It is a concept we need to work around. … It brings out the significance of the bond of marriage and has a stronger theological and moral basis." The Rev. Taylor Hill of Tampa Bay Presbytery, speaking in favor of the ACSWP report, said, "I do not believe the changes lift up the Biblical perspective nearly as much as the original does. … I do not want to lower the standards of the church. I want to raise the standards of the church. … I believe the Bible, but some of us understand what Jesus said a little bit differently." Elder Janice Harris of Newton Presbytery said she favored the ACSWP statement because it had more depth and much more Biblical grounding. "We can go back and forth on Biblical things," she said, adding that there are "Christians that happen to be gay, there are Christians that happen to be single." A minority report is being prepared and will be presented during the committee's report to the full assembly later this week.

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