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Milwaukee approves ordination ...
and justice |
| Eily Marlow approved for ordination
A press release
from the Presbytery of Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE -
February 23, 2005 - Eily Marlow, a chaplain in the Lilly Project at
Macalester College, St. Paul MN, was affirmed for ordination today by a vote
of the Presbytery of Milwaukee. The vote was 104 affirmative, 20 negative
and 1 blank.
Ms. Marlow, when
she became a candidate for ministry under the care of the Presbytery of
Milwaukee in September 2003, shared with the body, that she was a lesbian.
Currently, the Presbyterian Church (USA) prohibits self-avowed, practicing
homosexuals to be ordained to the offices of elder, deacon or minister of
Word and Sacrament.
Ms. Marlow is a
graduate of Macalester College in St Paul, Minn., and earned her master of
divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in 2002. Ms.
Marlow passed the five required ordination examinations in the areas of
biblical comprehension, worship, theology, polity and biblical exegesis. She
prepared and preached a sermon before the presbytery's Committee on
Preparation for Ministry.
Her final
requirement before ordination was an open examination from members of the
presbytery on her statement of faith and her views on theology, the Bible,
the Sacraments and church government.
Prior to her
examination before the presbytery, Ms. Marlow answered the following
questions asked by the Committee on Preparation for the Ministry:
- Will you
fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of
scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions? She responded in
the affirmative.
- Will you be
governed by our church's polity and will you abide by its discipline? Her
answer was in the affirmative
- Having read
what the Constitution requires, do you wish to acknowledge any impediment
to your ordination or installation? She answered in the negative.
During the
examination before presbytery, Ms Marlow agreed to abide by the Presbyterian
Church USA Constitution G-6.0106 which includes... "Among these standards is
the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage
between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to
repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin
shall not be ordained and /or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of
Word and Sacrament."
Upon her
ordination, Ms. Marlow will be transferred to the Presbytery of the Twin
Cities, where she will continue her ministry at Macalester College. An
ordination date has not been set.
The Presbytery
of Milwaukee consists of 50 churches affiliated with the Presbyterian Church
(USA) in southeastern Wisconsin. The presbytery consists of equal numbers of
pastors and lay elders representing the congregations and specialized
ministries within the area. |
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More Light Presbyterians congratulates Eily Marlow on her
approval for ordination, and a colleague in chaplaincy expresses
appreciation for her ministry MLP
Media Release
Another Lesbian
Minister to be Ordained in Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
February 23, 2005 - More Light
Presbyterians congratulates board member Eily Marlow on being approved for
ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA). Eily is one
of only a few openly lesbian candidates to be approved for ordination since
the 1978 ban on the ordination of so-called "practicing, self-affirming
homosexuals."
Milwaukee Presbytery, one of the 173 local
governing bodies with jurisdiction for ordination of ministers in the
2.3-million- member denomination, voted 104-20 on February 22 to approve the
ordination of Eily Marlow, M.Div., a life-long Presbyterian and graduate of
McCormick Theological Seminary.
"We celebrate with Eily this opening of the
door to one more qualified candidate," said MLP Co-Moderator Erin Swenson.
"We thank God for Eily's ministry at Macalester College and for her work as
a board member of MLP. We pray that the gifts for ministry of more and more
LGBT people will be welcomed in our denomination."
Background: Elisabeth (Eily) Marlow is
currently a member of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Waukesha, WI. A
2002 graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary, she was a recipient of the
Thomas Mackie Scholarship and the Higgins Scholarship for outstanding
Presbyterian Seminarians. Eily has a strong record of service to the church
including as program assistant to PC(USA) Louisville staff and with the
Presbyterian U.N. office. She currently serves as Associate Chaplain and
Program Assistant for the Lilly Project at Macalester College in St. Paul,
MN.
And a colleague in
chaplaincy comments:
Lucy Forster-Smith, the chaplain at Macalester, says of
Eily that she "brings rare gifts for ministry and is an amazing presence at
Macalester College. She has a wonderful ability to bring pastoral presence
and deep energy and love to our students, and then in the next moment awaken
others to deep reflection on how our faith propels us into engagement with
the world. I am privileged to have such a remarkable colleague and am in awe
of the Holy Spirit's remarkable love and persistent moving to bring about
her move toward ordination." |
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