The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted tonight to amend the denomination’s Book of Order in a move that clears the way for the church to begin ordaining non-celibate lesbian and gay clergy, deacons and elders, according to a number of online reports, including this one from Reuters.
Michael Adee
The denomination’s General Assembly voted last summer to amend the Book of Order by removing a requirement that clergy live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.” But the change had to be ratified by a majority of the denomination’s 173 regional presbyteries, and the 87th and deciding vote was cast tonight by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Presbytery.
Ratification comes at the end of a long battle, including a vote just two years ago refusing the amendment. However, by the time the Minneapolis-St. Paul Presbytery voted tonight, 19 of the regions that voted against the change two years ago had already voted in favor of the amendment this time around.
Michael Adee, the executive director of More Light Presbyterians which has been pushing for the change for several years, on Tuesday told The Huffington Post, “This is quite a day of celebration. We’ve restored the longstanding Presbyterian understanding of ordination: that the most important qualifications are related to faith, not marital status or sexuality.”
The timing could not be more strategic. The United States is becoming a more secular nation. Fewer people than ever are attending church services, particularly the younger generation. Mainline denominations are losing members–as of two years ago, when I looked at the poll results, not a single mainline denomination had grown over the last ten years. All suffered declines in overall membership. The Presbyterian Church’s action sends a clear message to those mainline denominations who continue to spread fear, hatred and who continue to preach messages of arrogant condemnation: change (and grow spiritually in the process) or die.