[Episcopal News Service]
An amendment to church law that would have permitted the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy in the Presbyterian Church (USA) was defeated by a vote of presbyteries at the local level.
“This says we still honor the Scripture and our tradition, despite the message coming from the world pressuring a change,” said Tom Sweets, organizer of a coalition to defeat the amendment. “This is not about excluding homosexuals from the church,” he added. “But the point is, who do we lift up as officers in the church?” Church law requires church leaders to “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.”
The church’s General Assembly voted last year to amend a church law that prevents non-celibate homosexuals serving as clergy or elders but the decision required approval by a majority of the church’s 173 presbyteries. The deciding vote in opposition was cast February 19 by the 87th presbytery. Supporters of the amendment promise a continued fight for the change.
“We have been aware that no matter how the votes go at the national level, it’s what happens in the local church that makes a difference,” said Mitzi Henderson, co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians, an organization that promotes full participation by gays and lesbians in church life.
Last year 58 percent of presbyteries voted to allow congregations to bless same-gender relationships as long as they are not called marriages.
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