LOUISVILLE – The General Assembly Special Committee on Civil Union and Christian Marriage has approved its final report — ending its journey with civility and mutual respect, but also with the clear possibility of a minority report.
The committee did not recommend any change in the definition of Christian marriage currently in the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). That definition – that Christian marriage is between a man and a woman – was off-limits to the committee, according to its mandate from the 2008 General Assembly.
Nevertheless, three evangelical members of the committee voted against the committee’s recommendations, expressing concern they might lead to some form of local option, and insisting that the church needs to speak a strong message that sex outside of heterosexual marriage is wrong.
“Let us boldly proclaim that God has a place for sex,” said a substitute proposal offered by one of the dissenters, Tracie Mayes Stewart, a pastor from South Carolina. “It is within marriage between a man and a woman and that commitment is for life.”
The recommendations the committee did pass do not call for dramatic changes in PC(USA) policy, but move more in the direction of urging further discussion and the development of resources that could help presbyteries and congregations know what they are and are not allowed to do in the complicated areas of civil unions and gay marriage, and in ministering to gays and lesbians and their families.
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And from change.org, this article on the new Catholic Archbishop of Belgium, and his words caustic words for those of us who are LGBTQ: he compares homosexuality with anorexia.
elgium has a new Archbishop, and he's not wasting any time in telling the world his thoughts about homosexuality. He's also not passing up an opportunity to offend half the world.
Speaking to his flock via Belgian television, Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard said that LGBT people and people suffering from anorexia have something in common: both are disordered.
"Homosexuality is not the same as normal sex in the same way that anorexia is not a normal appetite," the Archbishop said, showing both an immature understanding of human sexuality and of the biology behind eating disorders like anorexia.
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I must admit that I think that Jesus simply weeps when he watches our actions against one another.
In the Presbyterian Church (USA), there is great schism between members. While we do not use those words, it is a schism. Thus it wasn't surprising that three evangelicals didn't approve. Though I count myself as one of those in support of progressive trends in the church, I don't like the description in the article of proposing that "progressives" and "evangelicals" are in two different camps. We're all for the Gospel!
As for the Catholic Church and Archbishops who live in denial, well, that's what this is: denial of the reality of the situation. Homosexuality is nothing like anorexia.
For pity's sake, people...
Pace!
B
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