The Witherspoon Society
A policy on issues of
justice, inclusiveness, and ordination
September 20, 2003
We will respond to God's call for justice
Events at the 215th General Assembly, and in the months
leading up to that gathering, have made it clear that our church will
continue to struggle with issues of justice, inclusiveness, and ordination
for some time to come. The Executive Committee of the Witherspoon Society
believes that we must develop a positive strategy by which we might
contribute to the resolution of these issues. We do this for the sake of
justice, and for the restoration of health and integrity in the life of our
Church.
God's call for us to do justice in our time and in our
church must involve us in the struggle for a truly inclusive church in which
all members are respected and their gifts are valued - including
acknowledgment by ordination when their gifts are for ministry or other
leadership in the church. God's call for justice makes us deeply aware of
the distinctions drawn in our church between the privileged who are eligible
for roles of ordained leadership, and those who are excluded by virtue of
their relational orientation.
We will act with those denied justice
We believe that God calls us to work not simply for those
who suffer injustice, but with them, in concert with them, and guided by
them. While we will not be controlled by any other group in this struggle,
we will be guided by those who are most deeply engaged in it, and whose
lives are most deeply at stake.
Lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender Presbyterians are by no
means voiceless in this struggle, and out of respect for their experience
and their voice, the Witherspoon Society will not claim to speak for them.
They do welcome allies, however, who will work alongside them responsively
and respectfully, for our common goals of a more just and inclusive
Presbyterian Church. We will seek to be faithful as partners in this role.
We will support a variety of forms of witness and
action
Over the past few years a number of strategies have
emerged as different groups have sought changes in the policies of the
Presbyterian Church (USA). They include:
1. Legislative efforts to eliminate "Amendment B"
(G-6.0106b) from our Book of Order
2. Legislative and judicial efforts to eliminate the
Authoritative Interpretations that have buttressed the exclusion of LGBT
(lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) persons from ordination
3. Judicial efforts to defend those accused of violations
of G-6.01016b and other provisions of the Book of Order, and to encourage
more just interpretations of existing rules
4. Educational efforts to create a healthier climate at
all levels of the church, both through theological and ecclesiological
reasoning and through opportunities for personal contact with the women and
men who are most affected by policies of exclusion
5. Gathering and dissemination of materials that set forth
the biblical and theological bases for faithful living in an inclusive
church.
We do not believe that these strategies are mutually exclusive; indeed, all
of them should be pursued with all possible energy and determination. We
will therefore urge all groups that seek a more inclusive church to work
diligently at whichever of those strategies seems most appropriate to them,
while actively supporting other groups working for similar goals.
We recognize that there are differences of opinion about
which of the strategies promises to be most effective right now. We believe
it is not always clear which is the "best" way, or even to predict which
might yield the best immediate results. Therefore we believe we must strive
first to be faithful to our guiding principles and our discernment of God's
call to justice.
We therefore affirm that above all we must persist in our
efforts to move our church toward justice - every year, at every General
Assembly, in as many ways as possible. Such efforts to call for faithfulness
may generate resistance, but they also provide occasions for dialogue, for
learning - and for change.
The Witherspoon Society will be guided in its strategic
emphases by our sister organizations most directly involved in the struggle.
Our commitment at the present time is to focus on legislative efforts to
eliminate both G-6.0106b and the Authoritative Interpretations, aware that
the Authoritative Interpretations can be eliminated by General Assembly
action, without being sent to the presbyteries. We will also seek to
disseminate biblical and theological resources for the continuing
discussions in our church.
We believe that paths of delay (however well-intended to
ease conflict and allow for gradual change) are a fundamental denial of
justice, and so must be resisted. We honor the efforts being made through
the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church, but
that must not become a substitute for efforts for change, and for hearing
the voices of those who are still being excluded and subjected to judicial
attacks while the studying continues.
Finally, we believe one key role of the Witherspoon
Society is to continue reminding the whole church of its wider mission,
urging us to work through this particular alienation within our body, for
the sake of a world that needs healing and justice. We shall continue to
remind our church that ordination is not a matter of sexuality, but of God's
gifts and calling. And we shall point out that the real effect of a
continued ban on ordination for all those who are called is not "purity,"
but the continued assertion of power by one group over another -- the power
to define the being of another person, to exclude on the basis of that
definition, and to force the community of God's people into a mold of one's
own design. That is a fundamental injustice that has no place in the life of
our church.
We believe that cooperation among progressive Presbyterian
organizations can continue to be of real value to us and to our church, as a
forum for consultation and cooperation in many areas of concern to
progressive groups. We will work with other member groups to restore a
necessary level of trust, which must grow out of trustworthiness and mutual
respect. Among such groups there will be differences of opinion on questions
of how best to proceed toward greater justice. We
will continue to urge that the voice of advocates for excluded groups be
heard and taken seriously, and that all other groups avoid acting in direct
opposition to them.
We will not accept a moratorium on justice
We are quite aware that the effort to achieve change in
the Presbyterian Church may be long and costly. We hope and pray that will
not be the case, yet we recognize that patience is a virtue in any such
process. But hope lived out in action is also a virtue. The patient, hopeful
struggle for justice must not be put on hold for the sake of an inauthentic
"peace" in the church.
We will therefore continue to seek ways to bring about
change in our church ... this year, next year, every year until all those
whom God calls can serve fully and freely and faithfully in the Presbyterian
Church.
Approved by the Executive Committee of the Witherspoon
Society
September 10, 2003
We invite you to send us your
comments!
