Gray elected moderator of 217th General Assembly By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, June 15, 2006 217th General Assembly Birmingham, Ala. BIRMINGHAM -- Joan Gray, an Atlanta minister who is considered an expert on polity, was elected moderator of the 217th General Assembly Thursday night. She received 62 percent of the votes on the third ballot to gain the necessary majority over the other three candidates. Gray, who expressed moderate to conservative views about the denomination's ordination requirements and the recommendations of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity, is a former moderator of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission. She co-authored Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers. Deborah Block, a former co-moderator of the Covenant Network, finished second with 152 votes, or 31 percent. Block was vying to become the seventh Covenant Network member to be elected in the last 10 General Assemblies. (Story continues below the chart.) Candidate First Ballot First Ballot Second ballot Second ballot Third Ballot Third Ballot Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Block 143 28 160 32 152 31 Carson 109 22 69 14 19 4 Gray 139 28 205 41 307 62 Halverson 113 22 69 14 20 4 Kerry Carson of Iowa and Tim Halverson of Cape Coral, Fla., were the other candidates. All of the candidates are ministers. Gray told the commissioners that, with their approval, Bob Wilson of Huntsville, Ala., an elder who is the past president of the National Council of Presbyterian Men, will be her vice moderator. Like her predecessor, Rick Ufford-Chase, Gray will serve a two-year term as moderator of the biennial assembly. She was installed Thursday night. In response to a question about ordaining practicing homosexuals, Gray said, "I have a great deal of respect for gay and lesbian people who want to be accepted for who they are." But she added, "I have not yet been able to get my mind around the idea that homosexuality is God's gift. I have decided to stay uncomfortable." However, she also said that the moderator acts as an officer of the constitution of the church. "It's very clear to me. If the church moves the moderator moves and stands on the constitution." When she was asked about the recommendation of the Theological Task Force on Peace Unity and Purity that would allow ordaining bodies to approve homosexual candidates, Gray noted that "it seems to me the church had spoken with a good and strong voice" on the issue. "Recommendation No. 5 is not going to solve our theological differences in the church. We're still going to have to struggle with that."

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