----- Begin Quote -----

Presbyterians to debate church's role in same-sex unions

June 25, 2000

LONG BEACH, California (AP) -- Presbyterian leaders
gathering here this week will debate whether to ban
blessings of same-sex unions even if the ceremonies stop
short of marriage, the latest ecclesiastical conflict over
recognition for gay and lesbian couples.

Organizers of the annual meeting of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A) hope a consensus reached at the weeklong gathering
that convened Saturday will unify factions of
traditionalists and reformers threatening to fragment the
church over the issue of homosexual unions.

"The differences are real and serious . . . and I hope the
discussion will enable us to focus on the fundamental nature
of our responsibility," said the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick,
who is required to remain neutral on policy debates in his
supervisory position in the denomination's General Assembly

The 560-member General Assembly is the chief policy-setting
body for the 2.6 million-member church.

Issues of gay rights have dominated other major religious
gatherings this year. The United Methodist Church last month
upheld its doctrine banning gay ordination and the
sanctioning of same-sex unions. In March, the Central
Conference of American Rabbis voted to let rabbis choose to
preside at same-sex union ceremonies.

Homosexual advocates said they are optimistic that the
Presbyterians will decide to permit recognition of same-sex
couples because recent rulings by the church high courts
have favored gays.

"This church is so close to doing right. But then, they've
had 27 years of discussion. It's time to decide -- are we
welcome in their churches, or are we not?" said the Rev. Mel
White, of the largely homosexual Metropolitan Community
Churches based in West Hollywood that are not Presbyterian.

A group of Presbyterian delegates, or commissioners, will
meet Tuesday to discuss proposed amendments to the
denomination's Book of Order, or constitution, that seek to
explicitly prohibit same-sex unions.

A fourth proposal up for debate suggests that churches be
permitted to determine their own policies on ministering to
gays and lesbians, said the Rev. Charles Proudfoot, a
spokesman for the assembly.

The committee's recommendations will go to the full assembly
later this week, where approval would require a simple
majority.

If the measures are passed, they would go before the
ordained Presbyterian ministers and elders nationwide for
approval.

Opponents to same-sex unions argue the church should not
condone homosexual couples because their lifestyles conflict
with biblical principles.

"I believe same-sex unions are just a way to get people to
start approving of (gay) marriages, and that's just not
appropriate," said the Rev. Greg Loskoski, of Savannah, Ga.,
a member of the committee debating the issue.

Supporters of same-sex unions plan to protest at the
convention, saying church discrimination against gays and
lesbians prevents them from fulfilling their faith.

Soulforce, a multi-faith coalition of gays, lesbians and
supporters, has scheduled a protest Sunday where dozens
expect to be arrested while forming a human chain and
blocking one of the many entrances to the convention center
following the Presbyterian convention's opening worship
service.

"Gays and lesbians across this country are saying that if
the church can't grow up and accept reality, then we don't
need the church," said White, co-founder of Soulforce. "We
can find ways to worship on our own."

----- End Of Quote -----

Thankfully, in this case, the Presbyterian church held to
its Christian convictions, and defeated the gay and lesbian
agenda by a very narrow margin. A week later, the Associated
Press reported the following:

----- Begin Quote -----

Presbyterian Leaders Vote Against Commitment Ceremonies For
Gays

July 1, 2000

LONG BEACH, California (AP) -- The chief policy-making body
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted by a narrow margin
Friday to recommend barring its ministers from officiating
commitment ceremonies for gay couples.

The measure still must be ratified by scores of ministers
and elders nationwide before it can become part of the Book
of Order, the constitution for the 2.6 million-member
denomination.

It passed the church's General Assembly by a vote of
268-251, with four abstentions. If the ministers and elders
in the church's 173 presbyteries approve, the ban would be
put into effect at next year's meeting of the General
Assembly.

A similar ban on gay commitment ceremonies was approved the
church's General Assembly in 1994 but failed to win
ratification.

After the vote, gay-rights advocates streamed out of the
meeting, many of them in tears.

"We are crying out for justice and we are crying out for
this church," the Rev. Jane Adams-Spahr of San Rafael said
as she led a group of some 50 opponents of the ban in
prayer.

Several said they were still hopeful that the church's
presbyteries would not uphold the ban.

No state has officially legalized gay marriage, but a new
Vermont law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples
took effect Saturday, and other states have debated similar
laws.

A month ago, the church's highest court ruled that local
congregations may conduct such religious ceremonies
celebrating homosexual unions as long as those ceremonies
stop short of marriage.

But the amendment approved Friday night, if ratified, would
overpower that ruling by prohibiting church officers from
performing gay commitment ceremonies and barring such
ceremonies from church property.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) prohibits homosexuals from
serving as ministers but does not exclude homosexuals from
the church.

Proponents of the ban argued that the Presbyterian Church
must stop blessing same-sex unions because that implicitly
condones homosexual behavior, which the church views as a
sin.

Other supporters said recognizing gay couples could cripple
the church's missionary work in countries with conservative
values.

The Rev. Charles Castles of San Joaquin, whose presbytery
proposed the amendment, said he considered Friday's vote a
"step of the journey" toward clarifying the church's stance
on homosexuality.

----- End Of Quote -----

As the previous reports reveal, the Presbyterians are by no
means the only church which has had to struggle with the gay
and lesbian issue; and sadly, as we saw previously, some of
America's churches have completely abandoned their long-held
Christian convictions and values, and have yielded themselves
to political and societal pressure. Take, for example, the
following report included in the July 3rd, 2000 issue of the
Baptist Information Service newsletter, which discusses two
Baptist churches in the American Northwest:

----- Begin Quote -----

American Baptists Embrace Sodomy

"At its convention in Salt Lake City in May, the Northwest
region of the American Baptist Church voted against
banishing two Seattle churches that accept homosexual
pastors and welcome practicing homosexuals as members. The
vote was 161 in favor and 92 against.

The churches are Seattle First Baptist and University
Baptist. The latter is pastored by a woman, Anne Hall, and a
homosexual male, Tim Phillips.

----- End Of Quote -----

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