'Practicing, non-repentant homosexual' certified as candidate for PCUSA ministry By John H. Adams The Layman Online Monday, May 17, 2004 Ray Bagnuolo, who describes himself as a "self-affirming, practicing, non-repentant homosexual," has been certified by the Presbytery of Hudson River as a candidate for the ministry of Word and Sacrament. The presbytery approved his certification during its meeting May 15 at White Plains Presbyterian Church in New York. Bagnuolo is an elder at South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., one of 16 congregations in the presbytery that have publicly declared their defiance of the "fidelity/chastity" ordination standard [G-6.0106b] in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). South Church and the Presbytery of Hudson River were involved in a key church court case, Benton et al vs. Presbytery of Hudson River, in which the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission ruled in May 2000 that Presbyterian pastors are forbidden to "marry" same-sex couples. The pastor of the congregation, Joseph Gilmore, had told The New York Times that he had "married" a number of homosexual couples in violation of church and civil law. But he later denied that they were "marriages," and no disciplinary action resulted. In 1983, Gilmore was included in disciplinary complaints targeting the defiance by sessions and ministers in the Hudson River congregations that publicly stated their commitment to violate G-6.0106b. Bagnuolo, who attended seminary in New York, is also a high school math teacher and a resource leader for a gay-advocacy teachers' group called Professionals on Sexual Orientation and Youth. His certification as a candidate for the ministry was approved as part of the report of the presbytery's Committee on the Preparation for the Ministry. Bagnuolo does Web page work for That All May Freely Serve, a drama group at the high school where he works and other groups. Certification does not necessarily mean that a candidate for the ministry will receive a call to serve a congregation or to another position. But That All May Freely Serve, one of the most aggressive groups promoting ordination of practicing homosexuals and marriage of same-gender couples, already has one of its employees ordained – the Rev. Don Stroud of the Presbytery of Baltimore. He is described as an "evangelist" for the organization. "Evangelist" is one of the criterion in the Book of Order that is an acceptable category for becoming a member of the presbytery but not serving a local congregation. In most presbyteries, however, the term would not apply to anyone using "evangelist" for political reasons rather than as one commissioned to proclaim the gospel. The presbytery's certification of Bagnuolo means, according to the Book of Order, that he is "ready for examination for ordination, pending a call."

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