 Once again, Presbyterians debate gay-ordination ban By John H. Adams The Layman Online Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Actually, there were three hearings on three different proposals to the 215th General Assembly - outright repeal of the constitutional ordination law and two requests that the commissioners approve separate authoritative interpretations that make clear to Presbyterians what the law requires. Most of the speakers – more than 50 – addressed the overture to repeal the standard. Many of the names, faces and statements were recycled from previous years. This time, there are three sides: 1) those who want to repeal G-6.0106b from the Book of Order; 2) those who want to keep it in place; and 3) those who want the denomination's Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity to come up with a recommendation that will calm everyone down. There may have been signs of weariness over the issue. Instead of referring to G-6.0106b, most speakers simply called it "G-6." There was standing room only in the committee's meeting room when speakers began queuing up to the microphone. Most of the speakers – rallied to the meeting room by More Light Presbyterians and other special-interest groups – favored outright repeal. But there might have been a few surprises, including Erin Swenson, who introduced herself as the "T-person that you probably thought you never thought you would meet." Swenson, in the vernacular of the gay-lesbian movement, is a transgender. She once was the Rev. Eric Swenson, a male clergyman. She said she decided years ago to become a woman. Saying that her own presbytery, Greater Atlanta, has "surrounded me with love and support," Swenson called for the repeal of G-6.0106b. Her experience, she said, is that the "church is not the place to hide from the truth." Without G-6.0106b, she argued, people won't have to hide. 'Hate' theme prominent The "hate" theme was central to the remarks of some of the speakers. Charles Booker-Hirsch of the Presbytery of Detroit said his church members asked him to raise two questions: 1) Why are we so concerned who and how people love; and 2) why are we not more concerned about how and who people fear and hate? Michael Adee, a Santa Fe elder who works for More Light Presbyterians, contended that "the anti-gay bias underlies" the ordination requirement. He claimed that many people who support the standard do not believe a person can be gay and Christian. "They're using it as a bar to people becoming members of our beloved church," he said. "They're separating families." But the proponents of the ordination standard did not agree that the standard rose out of hatred. The issue, they said, is about God's standards for holy living, love that seeks purity and sanctification. "It's definitely not hate," said Jim Berkley, speaking in favor of the ordination law. Berkley, the issues analyst for Presbyterians for Renewal, countered, "Love drives us … a tough love that does not allow us to remain in our sin." Tom Hobson of the Presbytery of Southeast Illinois said the ordination standard doesn't exclude people from the church "any more than Jesus excluded the rich young man." But, he said, "God's word on sex is the union of man and woman taught by Genesis, Jesus and Paul. Genesis, Jesus and Paul rule out anything that violates that." Mike Garrett of the Presbytery of Denver said, "To delete G-6 is to deny the need for one aspect of sanctification." Furthermore, he said, eliminating the standard would "reintroduce local ordination" while ordination is, according to the constitution, "an act of the whole church." One speaker, Kenneth Collison of Grosse Point, Mich., caused a stir when, while arguing for the repeal of the ordination standard, declared that "between one-fourth and one-third of the people who are opposed to gay-lesbian ordination have been sexually molested." Asked by The Layman Online where he got those numbers, Collison said that was his conclusion after hearing the issue debated before the 1996 General Assembly. Other comments Some other comments during the hearing: Martha Juillerart, director of the Shower of Stoles project: "We've been waiting for 25 years for the church to right these wrongs. Pass this overture and let the church wrestle with it again." Sylvia Smith: "I urge you to vote a resounding yes" to repeal the ordination standard. It "makes a mockery of Isaiah's vision of a house of prayer for all people." "A House of Prayer for All People" is the theme of the 215th General Assembly. Nancy Maffett, an elder from Pueblo Presbytery, opposed repealing the ordination law. A divorcee, Maffett says people sometimes ask her why she doesn't have a sexual relationship outside of marriage for her own enjoyment. "I think that says that I can't trust God," she said. "I would rather have God in charge of the truth that guards my life." Bryan Shafer urged the committee to repeal the law and "trust congregations and presbyteries" to ordain "people who have the gifts of the spirit." Lucy Harris, who told the committee she will graduate from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond with a 4.0 average, contended that churches are unwilling to call her because she is openly gay. "I am a Presbyterian and a lesbian," she said. "I can't change either of these." Bill Moss, an elder from San Francisco and the co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians, said that because of G-6.0106b, "over 25 charges have been filed alone this year by one individual. Those charged are all people this person has never met." Moss called for "ending the witchhunts … removing this onerous provision from our Book of Order." Mitzi Henderson, the co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians and an elder in San Jose, made a personal appeal to repeal the ordination standard: "When the church first adopted the negative position on gays and lesbians, my husband and I learned that one of our children was gay." She said the denomination's constitution requires tough choices – "a choice between their church and their child, and their faith and their family." Susan Craig, a campus minister in California, gave three reasons for repeal: "Evangelism, evangelism, evangelism. Many students refuse on principle to join our church because our constitution excludes their friends. Many who attend refuse to join because they won't be part of an organization that withholds full rights. Lastly, my son has now joined a UCC Church [United Church of Christ] because he can't be a part of a denomination that discriminates against his mother." Bruce Johnson, a retired college professor, said, "G-6 has already done enough damage in suppressing dialogue and promoting dishonesty." |
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