BY CHANGING THE definition of marriage in its constitution from “between a man and a woman” to “between two people, traditionally a man and a woman,” the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has joined a number of other religious groups in the U.S. in allowing same-sex marriage.
In so doing, the 1.75 million-member denomination completed a dramatic turnaround on marriage equality. In 2012—at a time when same-sex marriage was legal in only a handful of states—the 220th PC(USA) General Assembly was so deeply divided on the issue that it merely called for two years of “serious study and discernment” of Christian marriage.
The 2014 General Assembly—with nearly two dozen states by then having legalized same-sex marriage—voted 429-175 to recommend the constitutional change. By March of this year, the requisite majority of the PC(USA)’s 172 presbyteries (regional governing bodies) had ratified the proposal.
Reaction to the change was immediate, and predictable.
“The change aligns the church’s constitution with a reality that has long been true: Both same-gender and opposite-gender couples have been living in relationships that demonstrate covenant faithfulness, shared discipleship, and mutual love,” said the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a group that since its founding in 1997 has been working for the full inclusion of LGBTQ Presbyterians in the church. “We rejoice that all couples can now see those relationships solemnized before God and the Christian community in marriage, at the discretion of ministers and sessions.”
The new constitutional language grants full discretion to ministers to decide whether they will perform same-sex marriages and to church sessions (congregational governing bodies) to authorize the use of church property for such ceremonies.
The Fellowship Community, which represents most of the conservative end of the PC(USA) spectrum, stated: “By approving this change we are disregarding the clear teaching of scripture, the wisdom of those who have lived and died for the faith before us, and the continuing consensus of the contemporary church around the world. To do this is both disobedient and unwise. We know this particular change was intended by its proponents to extend the grace and the good news of Jesus Christ, and to further the witness of his Kingdom. We believe it accomplishes neither.”
The move will accelerate the departure of dissident congregations from the PC(USA). About 200 of the denomination’s 10,100 congregations have left to join more conservative communions since the constitution was amended in 2010 to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian Presbyterians as church officers. They have gone primarily to the 35-year-old Evangelical Presbyterian Church or the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, which was established in 2012. The number of departed churches is relatively small but includes several of the PC(USA)’s largest congregations.
On the other hand, many Presbyterians believe the resolution of the gay ordination and same-sex marriage issues will free up the denomination to focus more time and resources on mission and evangelism activities. The burgeoning “1,001 New Worshiping Communities” movement in the PC(USA) has identified more than 250 new faith communities within the church since the movement was officially launched in 2012. More than half of them are racial-ethnic and many others are fueled by young adults.
A recent gathering of progressive Presbyterians, “NEXT Church,” drew nearly 1,000 participants to Chicago. It met as the deciding vote was cast for marriage equality in the church.
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