PLC’s open letter to BOP
Attempt to amend medical and pension plan violates Scripture’s clear counsel
the Layman, October 21, 2010
Thomas Paisley, Jr., Chairman
Board of Pensions of the PCUSA
2000 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-3298
Mr. Chairman,
We greet you as brothers and sisters in Christ who are prayerfully aware of the fiduciary and moral responsibilities that you have been called to bear. Scripture compels members of our faith family to care for and counsel one another at all times, especially when circumstances challenge one’s fidelity to Biblical faith. It is in that spirit that we address you today acutely aware of the depth of emotion surrounding this issue on all sides.
Our denomination’s Book of Worship identifies the institution of marriage between a man and a woman as “established by God and blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christians are called to hold this intimacy in high honor, and we are told, “Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.”
It is our belief that any policy amendment that extends favored status to same-sex alternatives undermines the institution of marriage and violates Scripture’s clear counsel that proscribes such relationships. In the name of the Lord, therefore, we respectfully implore you not to implement the 219th General Assembly’s request that you amend the PCUSA medical and pension plan to include benefits for persons engaged in same-sex relationships.
As fiduciaries of the denomination’s medical and pension plan, you are accountable for the enactment of any policies that might undermine the plan’s viability. In light of current research, the actual cost implications of providing medical and pension benefits to persons who engage in same-sex intimacy cannot be easily dismissed. Undoubtedly, there will be church sessions that will believe for Scriptural reasons they can no longer participate in the plan. The increase in the plan’s liability, combined with the loss of plan participant income, suggests financial consequences that can substantially exceed 219th General Assembly’s proffered 1% dues increase.
We are not unmindful of the obligation that your board members may feel when requested by the General Assembly to enact plan amendments that provide same-sex relationship benefits. But we remind you that an external body’s mandate does not exempt your board and its members from the moral and fiduciary consequences of their actions. We encourage you to remember early-church Christians who, according to Scripture, answered ecclesiastical “mandates” in their day with the words, “We must obey God rather than men.” It is our prayer that you will heed that counsel and by your actions bear common witness to the historic faith once delivered and continually expressed in the constitution of the PCUSA.
Sincerely,
The Presbyterian Lay Committee
Cc: members of the Board of Pensions