Protest is filed after presbytery accepts lesbian activist as member The Layman Online Wednesday, September 14, 2005 Twin Cities becomes 6th presbytery seeking repeal of ordination standards The Layman Online Besides granting membership to a lesbian activist, the Presbytery of Twin Cities voted 101-39 Tuesday in favor of an overture that calls for overturning the constitutional ordination requirements in the PCUSA. It became the sixth presbytery to overture the 217th General Assembly, which will meet in Birmingham, Ala., in June, to repeal G-6.0106b, the constitutional "fidelity/chastity" standard, and the Authoritative Interpretation that undergirds it. The denomination's Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity has suggested in its final report that the General Assembly not change the ordination standard. However, the task force does suggest a constitutional change that would permit the ordination of practicing homosexuals if the ordaining bodies do not regard their behavior as a violation of "essential" requirements. The Presbytery of Twin Cities in Minnesota has received into its membership as a minister of the Word and Sacrament Elisabeth "Eily" Marlow, a self-described lesbian activist. She was approved by a large majority in a voice vote Tuesday, but one minister, Timothy Held of Warrendale Street Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, immediately filed a protest. Held argued that Marlow was 1) a practicing lesbian, 2) not living a life of conformity with G-6.0106b, the constitutional "fidelity/chastity" ordination standard in the Book of Order, 3) disturbing the peace, purity and unity of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and 4) effectively renouncing the jurisdiction of the PCUSA. Eily Marlow Held's protest, which is not a disciplinary action, was read to the commissioners. He told The Layman Online today that a remedial action might be filed. Marlow, who is an associate chaplain of Macalester College, a PCUSA-related school in St. Paul, has promoted defiance of the PCUSA's Biblical and constitutional policies for years. She was ordained by the Presbytery of Milwaukee after she received a master of divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in 2002. Held said presbytery officials provided no information regarding Marlow's sexual orientation before the vote was taken on her request for membership. "It looked like an ordinary situation," Held said. "The chairman of the Committee on Ministry did not indicate that there was anything unusual. This was done well under the radar." But Held had read previously about Marlow's long-time activism for homosexuals, bisexuals and transgendered people and, "when the vote came up, I just had to stand up and say this is a problem." The Macalester College Web site describes Marlow as being "intensely involved in the national movement for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons within religious communities." She has also been involved in the "Re-Imagining God" movement, which the General Assembly declared to be beyond the bounds of the Christian faith. Adherents in the movement worship a God named "Sophia" and celebrate through a communion-like service using honey and milk, which they say are symbols of female birth-giving and life sustenance. In material provided by the Presbytery of Milwaukee before it approved her ordination, Marlow was described as having worked as "an instructor, a student hospital chaplain, as program staff for synod projects, PCUSA staff at the U.N. office [and as a] program assistant with PCUSA Louisville staff." She also has worked as an intern in the Chicago office of That All May Freely Serve, which describes itself as "working for ordination of qualified gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates in the Presbyterian Church (USA) as elders, deacons and ministers." In a September 4, 2002, story posted on the TAMFS Web site, Marlow said that "empowerment came when she realized, 'It's not about anyone taking away your call, but about them recognizing your call. At TAMFS I met people who recognized my call and saw my ministry.'" "I'm not called to knock on the door of the heterosexual church, but to invite people into this (more inclusive) church," Marlow said. "Our movement is a gift. I am so eager to be an evangelist and bring people to the church and to faith, in the context of TAMFS and other welcoming group movements." The story stated that Marlow "was exposed to feminist theory, awakened to the realities of hierarchical social structures, and made more deeply aware of issues ranging from eating disorders, to rape, to sexuality. Eily rejected the institutional church as 'irrelevant' and 'hierarchical' … 'GLBT people brought me back to the church' … 'I needed an embodiment of God that says, 'Christ is GLBT.' I came to Christ through coming out as a lesbian." During the 10th anniversary celebration of the "Re-Imagining God" movement, Marlow was one of the speakers. She talked then about her quest for ordination and said that whether or not she succeeded would determine "whether mine is a story of resurrection or one of rage."

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