 
Stamford church barred from installing openly gay elder By Bob Davis The Presbyterian Review |
||||
Mere days before the First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, Conn., was scheduled to install an elder involved in a “same-sex relationship, contrary to Amendment B,” three members of the Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of Southern New England Presbytery issued an order preventing his installation. “Contrary to Amendment B” The language “same-sex relationship, contrary to Amendment B” (more technically G-6.0106b, the so-called “fidelity and chastity” clause of the PCUSA’s ordination standards), appears in the approved minutes of the session. The session had consulted with presbytery council and had been informed of the consequences of pursuing this course of action. Nonetheless, it persisted. At the session examination, the elder refused to answer any questions about his relationship with his partner, saying only, “I believe I am living chaste in the eyes of God.” The session made no further inquiry and approved him for installation. It was this decision about which church members complained. With their “stay of enforcement” decision, the PJC members found reason to believe an irregular action had been taken by the session. They faxed copies of the stay to the church. Members of the church also hand-delivered copies to their ministers. The elder, who had been ordained after a previous election, was not installed during the ordination and installation service. During the service, ministers did not explain to the congregation what had occurred. Ordination planned as challenge The Stamford session had planned the installation as a challenge to G-6.0106b, the Constitution’s requirement that church officers observe chastity in singleness and fidelity in marriage. In 1997, the session signed a “Covenant of Dissent” from the ordination requirement. The covenant announced that the session was declaring a “scruple” from the Constitution; that is, that “G-6.0106b” was an “unnecessary and unessential” part of the Constitution that could be ignored. Kirkpatrick issues advisory opinion However, the session’s opinion is not shared by the PCUSA’s stated clerk, Clifton Kirkpatrick, who has circulated a memorandum offering the following advisory opinion: • “G-6.0106b is clearly constitutional. • “There is no ‘G-6.0106b-Free Zone’ in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The whole Constitution applies to the whole church. • “Persons should not be ordained and/or installed as elders who are unwilling to live a life that reflects ‘fidelity in marriage or chastity in singleness’ (G-6.0106b).” Full hearing needed The stay of enforcement does not constitute a permanent injunction against Stamford’s installation of the elder. While three members’ signatures are sufficient to issue a stay of enforcement, the entire PJC will rule on the substance of the case after a full hearing. Members of the church who opposed the session’s decision to approve the elder for installation requested the action by the Permanent Judicial Commission. |
||||
|
The Presbyterian Layman, July/August 1998 contents |
||||
|
Home,
· Archives,
·
Breaking News, |
||||