Giddings Ivory says she informed others of gag rule; but who and when? By John H. Adams The Layman Online Tuesday, July 20, 2004 At best, Eleanor Giddings Ivory, the Washington lobbyist for the Presbyterian Church (USA), notified "some" people on July 7 that her signature should no longer appear on a letter opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment. But neither Giddings Ivory nor her boss, Curtis Kearns, director of the PCUSA's National Ministries Division, has offered any explanation of why her name appeared on July 13 on a letter lobbying against the proposed amendment – a day before the Senate ceased consideration of the issue. In response to questions from The Layman Online, Kearns said, "I indicated to you that Elenora had written Racheal Joseph asking her to remove the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the sign-on list of religious organizations opposing the FMA. Ms. Joseph works for the organization that was facilitating the preparation and distribution of the letter. In addition to informing Ms. Joseph (Americans United for Separation of Church and State) Elenora also wrote to the other NCC heads of denominational offices in Washington. The communications went out on July 7." After reading a Layman Online story about Giddings Ivory's continued lobbying against the Federal Marriage Amendment, Jim Berkley of Presbyterians For Renewal did some due diligence himself. He forwarded to The Layman Online a copy of an e-mail he received from Giddings Ivory. "I have done no advocacy on the FMA since GA," she contended, referring to the action taken by the 216th General Assembly, which, on July 1, ordered her to not to lobby for or against the Federal Marriage Amendment. She did not explain why she waited until six days after the General Assembly's vote to do what she was told to do. She blamed the July 4 holiday, but she had July 1-3 to inform her politically leftist colleagues about the gag order. In her e-mail to Berkley, she continued, "I have pasted below my email to Racheal Joesph," misspelling both Rachel and Joseph, who works for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "It is cut and pasted from my 'sent box' just as it went to her," Giddings Ivory added. "As you can see, it is a request to remove the PCUSA from the ecumenical letter. It was sent on July 7 when I returned to the office from GA and followed up by a phone call to her. My email lets her know that we will not be speaking on the FMA, but I also put our new same gender policy in a letter form if it was needed. She said she understood, but might not be able to correct any already delivered letters." The following is what she said was the text to Joseph: "Hi Racheal, "Our General Assembly met last week in Richmond. The attached letter is taken directly from the approved overture. Although we passed this Civil Rights for same gender couples, they voted that no PCUSA entity should speak on the FMA. So you can use this letter, but take us off of the joint sign on for the FMA. if you have questions, please call me. 202-543-1126." Contacted by telephone by The Layman Online, Joseph said she contacted some people to ask them to remove Giddings Ivory's signature from the letter but that she couldn't say who they were. Asked if Ron Stief, lobbyist for the Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ, was one of those she notified, Joseph said she did not know. It was Stief who redistributed the letter signed by Giddings Ivory and 18 other representatives of liberal political action groups. Stief said he did not receive any notice from Giddings Ivory that her name should be removed from the letter. Accompanying the letter signed by Giddings Ivory et al, Stief distributed his own cover letter, titled "Religious leaders oppose Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage." His letter said the coalition – including non-Christians – opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment because it would ban same-sex marriages. Constitutionally, the Presbyterian Church (USA) says marriage is only between a man and a woman, but Giddings Ivory and other denominational leaders have said otherwise. Giddings Ivory's participation in originally signing the letter – on June 2 – and speaking at a Capitol press conference have stirred up a hornet's nest for the denomination whose leaders have been unwilling or unable to rein in constitutional defiance, even among its own staff. When she originally signed the religious coalition's letter and stated erroneously that the Presbyterian Church (USA) favored same-sex marriages, contrary to church law, she conveniently left out of her comments one of the clear statements in the Book of Order that says marriage is only between a man and a woman. The Layman reported that omission and Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick, responding to a backlash from Presbyterians in the pews, provided on the PCUSA a corrected rendering of what church law says about marriage. But neither Kirkpatrick nor Kearns has publicly admonished or disciplined Giddings Ivory.

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