Breaking: Presbyterians Give Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage

[Hissyspit]

Source: New York Times

Presbyterian Church votes to change definition of marriage in church's constitution to include same-sex marriage - @nytimes

Presbyterians Give Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
MARCH 17, 2015

After three decades of debate over its stance on homosexuality, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Tuesday to change the definition of marriage in the church’s constitution to include same-sex marriage.

The final approval by a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies, known as presbyteries, enshrines a change recommended last year by the church’s General Assembly. The vote amends the church’s constitution to broaden marriage from being between “a man and a woman” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman.”

The Presbytery of the Palisades meeting in Fair Lawn, N.J., put the ratification count over the top on Tuesday on a voice vote. With many presbyteries still left to vote, the tally early Tuesday evening stood at 86 presbyteries in favor and 41 against and one tied.

“Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gays and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community,” said the Rev. Brian D. Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which advocates gay inclusion in the church. “There is still disagreement, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but I think we are learning that we can disagree and still be church together.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/us/presbyterians-give-final-approval-for-same-sex-marriage.html

[Omaha Steve]

1. I've been a Presbyterian for life

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. I had heard their was a split in the church

and so some are not supporting gay marriage????

[Omaha Steve]

3. Look up the fight we had over $10,000 that was donated to Angela Davis's defense (1971?)

We have in house fights all the time. In 1837, the church was split by the Old School-New School Controversy.

I haven't been to church in years. For the most part of the last 17 years I had to work Sundays.

OS

[mercuryblues]

4. So this

means if you are Presby in Oklahoma, you can legally get married. Gotta love the irony.

[Ilsa]

5. I expect a few churches will leave PCUSA over this if

they can afford to go. Property ownership might be a factor in whether they can go.

I hope most of them stay and get with the program! Great news!

[Coventina]

14. I know of one that did.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. Wow, only took them three decades to figure that one out, huh?

Better late than never I guess.

[awoke_in_2003]

20. Good point...

but they are still ahead of a lot of main stream religions. Better late than never.

[RoccoR5955]

7. And here I thought that marriage was a legal contract. n/t

[slumcamper]

8. Comment and question--

My limited (rural Iowa) experience and interaction with Presbyterians leads me to conclude that this is a Big F Deal!

I suspect the rural congregants in many rural communities with populations of 500 or less--like the one I grew up in--will be hyperventilating, foaming at the mouth, and wishing for a Protestant equivalent to the Spanish Inquisition. So be it. At the very least, there will be some goddamn serious "soul searching" going on.

I realize that rural Iowa Presbys may certainly not reflect the predilections of the leadership of the broader congregation but I suspect that my read of the rural pulse is fairly accurate. Be that as it may, I'd suggest that this move toward liberalization of marriage is a manifestation of a broader cultural and institutional shift that is occurring along rural and urban lines wherein the insular, conservative rural congregations are mired in fear and opposition to ANY social progress that might challenge their static weltanschauung. Equality be damned!

So be it.

The question: Given the force of change, will the institutional frameworks of religious denominations adapt and endure? Or will they fracture and fragment into internecine strife, becoming rival pieces of a former whole? Either way, social progress compels profound institutional transformation.

At the base of it all, I suspect the answer to this lies in the extent to which ancient Christian scripture can be reconciled with modern political and legal realities. Not an easy lift.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Surprising number of Pres. in the South

because of that Scotch-Irish population way back in the day.
So I am happy for any moves to progress down here.

[jberryhill]

10. "Presbyterian" is not a single denomination

Strictly speaking "Presbyterian" is a form of church governance.

The PCUSA is pretty much considered apostate by the conservative Presbyterian organizations.

[NutmegYankee]

11. PCUSA is the largest, but there are some very backward small denominations.

[progressoid]

12. Yes, it is a big F deal.

My parents are Iowa Presbyterians (who support this). But there are grumblings in some smaller churches to leave the Presbytery.

[treestar]

13. Wow that's good!

It's a big denomination.

[phylny]

15. This is my denomination- I'm so happy to hear this! n/t

[Cal Carpenter]

16. Wow!

That's a great thing to hear.

Good for the church.

[Agony]

17. As If anybody needs their approval...

it's a crazy freaking world out there!

[Beartracks]

18. Their clergy will be ready to approve Oklahoma marriages if that time comes.

=====================

[awoke_in_2003]

19. This atheist applauds them. nt