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Hal Porter
reflects on the defeat of "A" |
| REFLECTIONS on the Defeat of Amendment
A in the Presbytery of Cincinnati - 95 yea, 113 nay - And What is Next?
[3-13-02]
The actual vote, last night, in this presbytery
mirrors the denomination at large, but there is no solace in that. There
first came a strongly supported motion that our presbytery not vote at
all - which could only be interpreted that this matter is not worth
voting for! But finally we did vote, and I had hoped, in spite of the
already defeat of Amendment A, that the Presbytery of Cincinnati would
pass it for the primary reason that it would have said to our gay and
lesbian members that we support you even though the denomination as a
whole does not. It is regrettable that the our presbytery did not.
Clearly it is another nail in the flesh of the hundreds of homosexual
members in our presbytery whose faith and being, that so many others and
I, accept, love and delightfully rejoice in.
What now? I believe, even though it is surely important
that 45% of our presbyters voted for it, and nearly 48 presbyteries will
have done so, that this is not primarily where we should find hope. Our
best hope is that regardless of this derogation, our homosexual brothers
and sisters will know more fully that since God is for them, who can be
against them? That they will more clearly know and affirm that not even
persecution can separate them from the love of Christ or Christ's love
for them.
I pray that is where their faith is and I have
witnessed it. Not only because it is a true but because in their faith,
we have the authentic hope we need if we are truly to become the body of
Christ. Their faith is what we all need if we are to have any
fidelity as a church, as Presbyterians.
Some may say, even those who are among the persecuted,
that this is too much to ask. It is surely understandable that the
persecuted would say, "Why should I be a part of a denomination
that rejects me? Besides, there are other churches that do not."
This is certainly an option and one can not fault those who would now
leave the Presbyterian Church. I have been contemplating that option
myself and I am not among the persecuted - it is only my understanding
of faith that is being rejected.
But I shall stay. I will stand with our homosexual
brothers and sisters who, too, will decide to stay. In doing so, I hope
we will together continue to be open in our dissent; that we will not
comply with any measure in this denomination that denigrates, in any
way, homosexual persons; that we will continue in faith until this
church accepts homosexual persons as equal members of this church and in
society - or until we are removed from the Presbyterian Church.
The hope before us is with those, our homosexual
brothers and sisters, who are serving God after the manner of Jesus
Christ.
Hal Porter
Cincinnati, Ohio
March 13,2002
The author:
The Rev. Hal Porter, H.R., is former pastor of Mount
Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati. |
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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?
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