Showing posts with label Presbyterians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Presbyterians. Show all posts

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Presbyterian Church says okay to gay marriage.

Courtesy of MSNBC:  

The 1.75 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has updated its constitution to recognize same-sex marriage, bringing the laws of the nation's eighth-largest Protestant denomination in line with its already accepted practice. Individual churches will still be able to decline to perform such marriages if they believe them inappropriate, the church said Tuesday. 

The General Assembly of the PC (U.S.A.), the largest of several U.S. Presbyterian denominations, approved the amendment to its Book of Order last year, but the change had to win the approval of a majority of the 171 local governing bodies, or presbyteries, to become official. The church said Tuesday that the Palisades Presbytery, based in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, had become the 86th local body to approve the amendment. 

The Book of Order currently defines marriage as "a civil contract between a woman and a man." The new wording reads: "Marriage involves a unique commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman, to love and support each other for the rest of their lives." 

Pastors — traditionally known as "teaching elders" — have already been allowed to perform same-sex marriages in states where they're legal since last June. The new amendment leaves the discretion of whether to conduct such ceremonies with individual ministers.

Well this is good news. One more step forward fro equality and acceptance, and one step back for homophobia and using the Bible as an excuse to discriminate. 

Hey you know as a baby I was baptized Presbyterian.

Rumor has it that the water boiled when it touched my forehead and the smell of sulfur cleared the church vestibule but that's probably an exaggeration.

Probably.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Leaders of the Presbyterian church reread the Bible and decide, you know what, gay marriage IS Christian.

Courtesy of NBC News:

 The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted by large margins Thursday to recognize same-sex marriage as Christian in the church constitution, adding language that marriage can be the union of "two people," not just "a man and a woman." 

The amendment approved by the Presbyterian General Assembly requires approval from a majority of the 172 regional presbyteries, which will vote on the change over the next year. But in a separate policy change that takes effect at the end of this week's meeting, delegates voted to allow ministers to preside at gay weddings in states where the unions are legal and local congregational leaders approve. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage. 

The votes, during a national meeting in Detroit, were a sweeping victory for Presbyterian gay-rights advocates. The denomination in 2011 eliminated barriers to ordaining clergy with same-sex partners, but ministers were still barred from celebrating gay marriages and risked church penalties for doing so. Alex McNeill, executive director of More Light Presbyterians, a gay advocacy group, said the decisions Thursday were "an answer to many prayers."

Oh man, this is going to make conservative's heads explode. 

I swear it's almost a shame NOT to be gay in this day and age.