Opponents praise "self-control," but seem to show little of it

[11-29-01]

a report from the Rev. Kent Winters-Hazelton, pastor of Claremont Presbyterian Church, Claremont, CA

In a recent notice on PresbyWeb, its editor made special note of the vote in San Gabriel Presbytery on Amendment 01-A, noting that the Moderator's own presbytery voted against the proposed changes in the Constitution by a wide margin. His note, which I can only assume was intended to embarrass Jack Rogers, prompted me to respond.

I am a pastor in San Gabriel Presbytery, and I too, am embarrassed by the discussion and vote of my presbytery, but perhaps, not for the same reasons as Hans Cornelder. San Gabriel is one of the most conservative Presbyteries in our denomination. It is a presbytery that initially proposed what became known as G-6.0106b. Among its 44 churches and 10 new church developments are 10 congregations who affirm the Confessing Church Movement. Within its bounds lies Fuller Theological Seminary, where many of its pastors receive their education. In short, this was not a Presbytery where one could count on a positive vote on 01-A.

But neither did anyone anticipate the animosity, anger, hatred and, in my view at least, the bigotry, presented in the argument of the conservatives of the Presbytery. At one point a pastor who is a leader in the Confessing Church movement referred to the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians, stating that the issue of "self-control" was critical in this debate, and that the homosexuals have failed to exhibit such a Christian virtue and thus are not qualified to serve as officers. I would charge that the conservatives of the presbytery failed to exhibit any "self-control" in their rhetoric, claiming the lesbian and gay members of our congregations and our families were "an abomination to God" and unworthy of a position of leadership in the church."

The tone of hatred was set by the first speaker in opposition to the amendment, who said, "On September 11, terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers in New York, and on the same day, the Presbyterian Church sent an amendment to the presbyteries that would allow for homosexuals to be ordained. Was that a coincidence? I think not." The last speaker, a medical doctor, said that all the studies that indicate a genetic or organic origin to homosexuality were all produced by biased homosexuals. The positions taken in the debate by the conservatives were painful, spiteful, and hardly Christian. On at least two occasions, speakers mentioned their love for homosexuals, but there was little evidence of it in their words.

But my own concern is primarily for the bruised spirits of those members of my congregation who were present at the meeting. (The presbytery was receiving into its membership our new Associate Pastor and there were upwards of 30 people from the Claremont Church present.) Among those present from the congregation were faithful elders and clergy who heard their children referred to as "an abomination to the Lord." Children who received the same covenant of baptism as those who were rebuking them; children who are no different from those who cast stones, except for the way they were created; children who in their baptism -- not their sexuality -- were given the rights to service and leadership in Christ's church; children, who by and large have little to do with the church today. And we wonder why?

GA actions ratified (or not) by  the presbyteries   

A number of the most important actions of the 219^th 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.

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