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Presbyterian Panel on voting on A |
| Elders support rejection, ministers
split on Amendment 01-A
Presbyterian Panel results suggest laity hold the
balance of power in presbytery voting
by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service
[Posted here on 1-2-02]
LOUISVILLE -18-December-2001- A large majority of
elders support rejection of Amendment 01-A - which would delete the
"fidelity and chastity" ordination standard from the
Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order - but ministers split evenly
between approval and rejection.
These findings, from a recent Presbyterian Panel
survey, were released Dec. 17 by the PC(USA)'s Research Services office.
Amendment 01-A would repeal G-6.0106b, which limits
ordination to persons living "either within the covenant of
marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness."
G-6.0106b effectively bars the ordination of sexually active gay and
lesbian Presbyterians.
The exact wording of the survey question was:
"This year's General Assembly sent to presbyteries for their vote
an amendment to the PC(USA) constitution to permit each presbytery to
ordain, at its discretion, sexually-active gays and lesbians as
ministers. Do you want your presbytery to approve or reject this
amendment?"
When asked whether they favored approval or rejection
of the controversial constitutional amendment, which would give
presbyteries and congregations greater autonomy in making ordination
decisions, 63% of elders responded "reject," 27%,
"approve," and 9%, "uncertain."
For ministers the tally was 46% "reject" and
48% "approve" - a statistically insignificant difference. 6%
were "uncertain."
"The results suggest that elders hold the balance
of power on this issue," said Jack Marcum, administrator of the
Panel. While all ministers are eligible to vote at presbytery meetings,
only a small minority of elders can do so. That means, Marcum noted,
that the outcome "depends a lot on which elders are elected by
their sessions as commissioners" when it comes time for their
presbyteries to vote.
Another factor that may affect the vote is the extent
to which national opinion is reflected within individual presbyteries.
If, for example, elders who oppose Amendment 01-A are concentrated in a
few of the larger presbyteries, it is possible that the amendment would
be rejected in those presbyteries but still be approved by a majority of
presbyteries.
While the Panel is not large enough to address this
possibility by examining opinion presbytery by presbytery, Marcum
indicated that such an outcome seems unlikely. He pointed out that while
there are some broad regional differences in the opinion of elders, in
every one of the four major census regions a majority of elders support
rejection of the proposed amendment. Opposition to Amendment 01-A is
greatest in the South (71% of elders support rejection) and the West
(67%), lowest in the Northeast (57%) and Midwest (55%).
The Presbyterian Panel surveys national, random
samples of members, elders, and ministers every quarter on topics of
current interest to church leaders. Of the 1,069 and 1,443 ministers in
the Panel, 52% and 60%, respectively, completed the August 2001 survey.
Sampling error is plus or minus 4%. |
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Visit
our lively
new website! |
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GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries,
confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.
We provided resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest have been:
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Amendment 10-A,
which removes the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers.
Approved! |
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Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. Disapproved, because as an amendment
to the Book of Confessions it needed a 2/3 vote, and did not
receive that. |
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Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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