Covenant Network claims some support By Parker T. Williamson The Presbyterian Layman Following the landslide defeat of Amendment A by two-thirds of the presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church (USA), an organization called the Covenant Network has issued a press release claiming that it still has some support across the denomination. The Covenant Network was formed in order to win approval of Amendment A, a proposal that would have watered down standards of sexual behavior for ordained leaders. The network's campaign allies included Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, the Stonecatchers, the Witherspoon Society, and Voices of Sophia. In its June 8 press release, the network claimed it has signatures on its "Call to Covenant Community" from |
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| · | 1,200 of the denomination's 20,858 ministers | |
| · | 1,000 of the denomination's 185,465 elders and deacons | |
| · | 100 of the denomination's 11,295 local sessions | |
| · | Milwaukee Presbytery, one of the denomination's 183 presbyteries | |
| Milwaukee Presbytery
made denominational news when its resolution declaring that it would
defy the Constitution's ordination standards was struck down by the
Synod of Lakes and Prairies. The synod declared Milwaukee's action "irregular,"
rendered it null and void, and issued an order that Milwaukee leaders
read the text of its decision at the next presbytery meeting. The
decision was read, but the presbytery made no move to reconsider its
action. The Covenant Network claims that sixteen former moderators of the Presbyterian Church (USA) signed its covenant statement. Some of the moderators are: |
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| · | Robert Bohl and John Buchanan, co-moderators of the Covenant Network | |
| · | Herbert Valentine, who opened the Minneapolis General Assembly communion service with a "smudging" ceremony designed to drive out evil spirits | |
| · | Isabel Rodgers, who so heavily packed the General Assembly Human Sexuality Committee with gay/lesbian activists that the succeeding General Assembly ordered its moderator to try to balance the group with additional appointments | |
| · | Dorothy Bernard, one of the denomination's chief proponents of COCU, a mega-church merger proposal that was resoundingly defeated by the presbyteries | |
| Included in the "Call to Covenant Community" are several "commitments," including: | ||
| · | reach out
in solidarity and compassion to all who are wounded or excluded by
recent legislative actions of our church |
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| · | trust sessions and presbyteries to ordain … persons … whose 'manner of life demonstrates the Christian gospel in the church and the world' (G-6.0106a of the church's Book of Order) | |
| Notably absent from the covenant's Book of Order citation is the second paragraph (G-6.0106b), the section that specifies standards of sexual behavior for ordained leaders of the Presbyterian Church (USA). | ||
| Breaking News contents | ||
