On upholding the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) WHEREAS, all officers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have vowed to be governed by our church' s polity and abide by its discipline; WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) requires those w ho are called to office in the church to lead a life in obedience to the Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church; WHEREAS, among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness; WHEREAS, persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of Word and Sacrament; WHEREAS, the recent attempt to remove this ordination requirement from the church' s Constitution (Amendment A-01) was defeated by almost a 3:1 margin; WHEREAS, according to PCUSA NEWS, " two PC(USA) churches and two PC(USA) pastors have said in open letters that they will not abide by [this] constitutional provision;" WHEREAS, the stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has pointed out in letters to synod and presbytery stated clerks that the denomination's Constitution " provides no right of defiance;" WHEREAS, the recent 214th General Assembly affirmed that presbyteries and synods are charged with enforcing the Constitution when non-compliance is an issue, and with working pastorally with defiant officers and congregations; WHEREAS, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, as stated clerk, has concluded that the judicial process "must be honored if the integrity of the judicial system is to be maintained;" WHEREAS, the effectiveness of our constitutional form of government depends on the willingness of Presbyterians to honor the vow s they have taken and on governing bodies to exercise their pastoral and administrative responsibilities under the Constitution; WHEREAS, refusal to comply w it h t he Constitution, left uncorrected, creates a constitutional crisis; WHEREAS, our constitution provides only three acceptable responses when decisions are made with which not all agree: (a) actively to concur with the Constitution, (b) passively to submit t o the Constitution (until such time that the decision is changed), or (c) peaceably to withdraw from our communion without attempting to make any schism; now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Presbytery of Baltimore, to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church, commit itself to upholding the entire Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); and be it further RESOLVED, That the presbytery, as charged by the 214th General Assembly, enforce the Constitution whenever non-compliance is an issue, working both administratively and pastorally with officers and congregations w ho, by their public statements or behavior, have declared their unwillingness or inability to comply with the constitution.

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