Prbyterians uphold pastor's censure for gay weddgs | Rters

Contents:

• ECO, THE NEW ANTI-GAY PRBYTERIAN DENOMATN: COWARDLY LNS
• PRBYTERIAN CHURCH'S GAY CLERGY BAN OVERTURNED
• U.S. PRBYTERIAN CHURCH OKS CLERGY PERFORMG GAY WEDDGS
• PRBYTERIANS UPHOLD PASTOR'S CENSURE FOR GAY WEDDGS
• CHURCH OF STLAND MOV CLOSER TO ACCEPTG MORE GAY CLERGY
• PRBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY: GAY MARRIAGE IS CHRISTIAN
• PRBYTERIANS ADVANCE GAY CLERGY PROPOSAL

ECO, THE NEW ANTI-GAY PRBYTERIAN DENOMATN: COWARDLY LNS

ECO, the New Anti-Gay Prbyterian Denomatn: Cowardly Lns. As you may know, this past summer the Prbyterian Church (PCUSA) cid to allow the ordatn of gay clergy. They’re agast gay people beg ordaed as misters, and so started their own sub-nomatn where that would be prohibed.

They won’t say that they’re a one-issue anizatn, that they exist solely opposn to PCUSA’s sanctng the ordatn of gay people. Yterday’s Rters story about ECO is tled Prbyterian group breaks away over gay clergy. Yet you n search high and low throughout ECO’s webse, and nowhere will you fd a sgle, solary word about gay people or homosexualy.

PRBYTERIAN CHURCH'S GAY CLERGY BAN OVERTURNED

Jt say that you’ve formed bee you believe that gays shouldn’t be ordaed! It means they’re as unfortable as, God knows, they should be about excludg gay people om full participatn the life that J so passnately offered to all. Related Post: Our [Prbyterian] Church: “Sign This Anti-Gay Statement, or Leave”.

(UPDATE: A menter to this post wrote: “As a PCUSA pastor I n tell you a big reason why ECO was formed was bee the pastors the anti-gay lobby receive very genero pensn and medil benefs om the PCUSA that they are aaid to leave behd should they follow their nscience to disaffiliate om the nomatn. ” Gee, what a surprise: anti-gay Christian lears whose nscience ends where their wallets beg. On the heels of a landmark California Supreme Court lg that overturned a ban on gay marriage, the Prbyterian Church (USA) has done the same thg regardg the ordatn of gays and lbians as misters: Lears of the Prbyterian Church (USA) overturned a long-standg ban on the ordatn of gays and lbians Friday, providg yet the latt example of a relig nomatn stgglg wh how, and whether, to rporate homosexualy to church the same time, the church's natnal erng body, meetg San Jose, refed to alter s fn of marriage, llg a "venant between a woman and a man.

They also follow the cisn of a gatherg of Methodists om Southern California and Hawaii, who went agast their natnal church by votg to support same-sex upl who marry and the pastors who wele Prbyterian Church is among many male Prottant nomatns stgglg to rencile nflictg beliefs about biblil thory and the role of gays.

U.S. PRBYTERIAN CHURCH OKS CLERGY PERFORMG GAY WEDDGS

Relatedhealthy livgPrbyterian Churchhomosexual-rightsgay mistershomosexualsMORE IN WellnsMORE IN LIFE.

A number of Christian nomatns have grappled recent years wh how to addrs the wish of gay and lbian upl to marry, which is now legal 19 U. Stat and the District of Columbia, acrdg to the gay rights group Freedom To Prbyterian Church has prevly removed prohibns on openly gay clergy and has a long tradn of baptizg children of same-sex vote by a group of church elrs and misters to allow clergy to solemnize gay weddgs was 371 favor to 238 opposed, said Gradye Parsons, clerk of the church’s General new l, which take effect on Saturday, give clergy the choice of whether to pri over same-sex marriag stat where gay nuptials are legally regnized while providg lol church uncils discretn over whether to host such ceremoni, Parsons same body Detro also voted to change the language of the church’s Book of Orr to state: “Marriage volv a unique mment between two people, tradnally between a man and a woman.

Jane Spahr means that Prbyterian misters ntue to face church disciple for followg their nscience treatg gay and lbian upl the same as heterosexuals when to se surroundg Spahr, a 69-year-old grandmother, highlights ep divisns wh the Prbyterian Church U.

PRBYTERIANS UPHOLD PASTOR'S CENSURE FOR GAY WEDDGS

And s 2 ln members, as well as other mastream Prottant nomatns, over gay marriage as clergy are creasgly asked to bls such ’s lawyers timate at least 10 percent of ngregants the Prbyterian Church, which recently removed prohibns on openly gay clergy and has long baptized the children of same-sex upl, intify themselv as gay or lbian. The six dissenters, pl a seventh missner who sid wh the majory upholdg the rebe, all lled on church thori to rencile what they saw as a nflict between church doctre excludg same-genr matrimony and the Bible’s directive for the church to fully wele dissenters wrote that Spahr’s censure perpetuat the notn that gay upl “are children of a lser God. ”“As Christians, we claim the high goal of lovg and cludg all, then seek to exclu the (gay) muny.

Treatment proclaims the hypocrisy of our prent terpretatns, ” they said she was optimistic that the church legislative assembly might amend Prbyterian doctre to fally allow gay marriage when that body next meets July Prbyterian Church would not be the first relig fah to do so. Tuday’s Prbyterian cisn, followg a hearg before the judicial missn on Friday San Anton, Texas, as secular support for gay marriage has gaed ground feral urt and the legislatur of several stat recent Washgton state the ernor last week signed to law a measure to legalize same-sex matrimony, and a mtee of the Maryland state Senate approved a gay marriage bill on Tuday. Circu Court of appeals hand gay rights advot another victory by clarg a voter-approved gay marriage ban California to be 2010 church censure of Spahr stemmed om her officiatg the nuptials of 16 same-sex upl were among some 18, 000 gay weddgs performed and legally regnized that state durg a six-month wdow between May 2008, when the California Supreme Court stck down a ban on same-sex matrimony, and November of that year, when voters approved a state nstutnal amendment restatg was the California gay marriage ban that the 9th Circu stck down, though the effect of s lg remas on hold while judicial review of that se ntu.

Ordaed 1974, two years before g to the self-realizatn she was a lbian, Spahr ma headl 1992 when she beme the first openly gay pastor asked to pri over a U. Prbyterian church urts nied her the Rochter, New York, parish, they have never moved to strip Spahr of her ordatn, and she went on to mister to gays and lbians throughout the untry as a travelg church last sprg formally opened the ranks of s clergy to homosexuals a move that triggered a schism the nomatn, promptg a group opposed to gay clergy to form a new church lled the Evangelil Convent Orr of was censured once before, Augt 2007, for performg lbian marriag California and New York 2004 and 2005, before gay marriage was legal eher state. But the high missn later lifted that rebe, fdg then that Spahr did not vlate Prbyterian law prohibg homosexual marriage bee church doctre regnized no such thg.

CHURCH OF STLAND MOV CLOSER TO ACCEPTG MORE GAY CLERGY

Wrg by Steve Gorman; Edg by Tim Gaynorfor-phone-onlyfor-tablet-portra-upfor-tablet-landspe-upfor-sktop-upfor-wi-sktop-up.

PRBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY: GAY MARRIAGE IS CHRISTIAN

The Church of Stland, which has been threatened wh schism sce nfirmed the appotment of an openly homosexual mister two years ago, voted at s general assembly yterday to move toward the acceptance of gay and lbian ndidat for ordatn. Andrew Coghill said prbyteri would be forced to accept gay misters and homosexual ductns would multiply the length and breadth of the untry.

Lley Stewart scribed such talk as sremongerg, sayg she did not expect a sh of openly gay misters to e forward. RELATED: Prbyterian Church Ameri lears say those who intify as gay are not qualified for ordatn.

But a separate policy change that tak effect at the end of this week's meetg, legat voted to allow misters to pri at gay weddgs stat where the unns are legal and lol ngregatnal lears approve.

PRBYTERIANS ADVANCE GAY CLERGY PROPOSAL

The vot, durg a natnal meetg Detro, were a sweepg victory for Prbyterian gay-rights advot. The nomatn 2011 elimated barriers to ordag clergy wh same-sex partners, but misters were still barred om celebratg gay marriag and risked church penalti for dog so. Alex McNeill, executive director of More Light Prbyterians, a gay advocy group, said the amendment was "an answer to many prayers.