Presbytery to consider ordaining lesbian, 'Re-Imagining' activist By John H. Adams The Layman Online Tuesday, February 15, 2005 The Presbytery of Milwaukee will meet on Feb. 22 to consider the recommendation of its Committee on Ministry that Elisabeth "Eily" Marlow, a lesbian activist, be validated as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Marlow, who serves as a chaplain at Macalester College, a Presbyterian-related school, once said that the final decision on her quest for ordination would determine "whether mine is a story of resurrection or one of rage." Marlow was formerly employed by That All May Freely Serve, an organization that seeks the repeal of the denomination's constitutional requirements that prohibit same-sex marriages and the ordination of self-acknowledged, practicing homosexuals. The presbytery's packet for commissioners to the Feb. 22 meeting includes material that suggests that Marlow is eligible for ordination because she had not self-acknowledged that she was in a homosexual relationship with another woman. Besides her efforts to repeal the denomination's ban on ordaining homosexuals, Marlow has been a long-time activist for the Re-Imagining god women's movement, which the General Assembly declared in 1994 to be beyond the bounds of the Christian faith. The movement was renounced after Presbyterians in the pews expressed shock over elements of the conference, including Sophia-worship, a denial of the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the use of milk and honey (feminist symbols) in a communion-like ritual. In 2003, Marlow was one of the speakers at the 10th anniversary celebration of the national Re-Imagining god conference that was co-sponsored by the PCUSA. In 1998, Marlow was one of the leaders in a successful effort that convinced the 210th General Assembly to rescind an adjournment-eve vote that ended denominational support for the National Network of Presbyterian College Women. The network is an activist group that promoted homosexuality and many of the elements of the Re-Imagining movement. In a story about the 10th anniversary of the Re-Imagining Movement, The Layman Online quoted Manly Olson, currently a member of the General Assembly Council and an ongoing supporter of the Re-Imagining movement, as working to make the demise of the network shortlived. "Some of us of us – Eily and I – spent most of the night crafting the report" for the commissioners to consider on the final day of the 210th General Assembly, Olson said. On the Saturday morning session, just before adjournment, the commissioners voted for a compromise, giving the Presbyterian college women a second chance and establishing a task force to review the organization and report back to the 212th General Assembly. The 212th General Assembly approved the task force's proposal, which included discontinuing use and dissemination of its published material that promoted Sophia-worship rituals and lesbian relationships. Marlowe told the participants at the 10th anniversary celebration that some conservatives were "naming us demonic, the prodigal daughters who won't repent. It was some of the most ostracized that came to our cause – the crones and a handful of lesbians. Our struggle to maintain the integrity of our faith had been carried on the broad shoulders of women, as well as the very broad shoulders of our beautiful god Sophia." In addition to serving as the chaplain at Macalester College, Marlow has been employed as director of outreach of the Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, an organization that promotes unrestricted abortions. She has also held a number of staff jobs in the denomination, including the PCUSA's United Nations Office and as a program assistant in Louisville, Ky., the headquarters of the denomination. The presbytery's Committee of Ministry reported that it was satisfied by Marlow's answers to a number of required questions, including: "Having read what the Constitution requires, do you wish to acknowledge any impediment to your ordination or installation?" The committee's report said her response to that question was no. The PCUSA Constitution requires single candidates to live in chastity and married candidates to shun adultery.

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