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Last week the Presbyterian Church of the United States [PCUSA] voted to allow same-sex weddings to be performed inside their churches, making them on of the largest Christian denominations to allow its entire congregation equality.
And it wasn’t one of those, Oooh, narrow victory kind of voted either; it was passed by a 76% to 24% vote—meaning nearly three times as many members stand for equality as don’t. In addition, naturally, the General Assembly also made it clear that they will take no issue with any pastor in their ranks who chooses to perform a same-sex wedding in states where they are legal, and delegates approved new language about marriage in the church’s Book of Order altering references to “a man and woman” to “two persons.”
Now, to make this queer, the change will not become church law until a majority of the 172 regional presbyteries vote to ratify the new language, but given that this vote was 3-to-1 for approval, it seems approval is expected.
The Presbyterian Lay Committee, which opposes same-sex marriage, urged congregations to launch a financial boycott out of protest:
“The Presbyterian Lay Committee mourns these actions and calls on all Presbyterians to resist and protest them. … You should refuse to fund the General Assembly, your synod, your presbytery and even your local church if those bodies have not explicitly and publicly repudiated these unbiblical actions. … God will not be mocked, and those who substitute their own felt desires for God’s unchangeable Truth will not be found guiltless before a holy God.”
In other words, those folks who believe that everyone is equal both in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of their God, might be going to Hell because they approve same-sex marriage, but my feeling is that if The Gays and The Gay Allies are all going to Hell because we believe in equality, then Hell might be the best party ever!
Congratulations to the PCUSA and let’s hope that, as this vote is spread throughout the churches in this country that the vote for equality stays strong.
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Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Presbyterians Vote For Marriage Equality By 3-to-1 Margin
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bless their hearts :-)
ReplyDeletefwiw, this momentous decision happened at their conference in downtown detroit. hearing that made me a little more hopeful that the state AG's stay on marriage equality that allows everyone to marry will be overturned and justice restored to the feral mitten.
ReplyDeletexxalainaxx
Congrats to the PCUSA
ReplyDeleteYAYZ!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the kind of steady progress that makes ever more ridiculous the claim that Christians have a 'right' to exercise their conscience, as though ALL Christians feel the same anti-equality way, when it's clear that every Christian has a choice as to what to believe - though some don't want to think about that.
ReplyDelete(Another thing that gets my goat is the assumption that we atheists CANNOT have a conscience, when the truth is that we can and do decide for ourselves rather than say what some kind of celestial wizard told us what to think.)
More power to the Presbyterians; it is results like this that give hope that all peoples will be equal in some glorious utopian future
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't consider myself a Christian anymore, I grew up in the Presbyterian Church and this makes me very happy. I went to services and classes at other denominations and always noticed the difference, even then.
ReplyDeleteHopefully this is the beginning of a sea change in the religious community to accept equal marriage, and the entire LGBTQ community.
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