Talk about a Good Friday! This morning, it was revealed that starting June 22, the Presbyterian Church will allow its pastors to perform same-sex marriages in its congregations.
Here's how this momentous decision went down: The Presbyterian Church of USA (PCUSA) was involved in an eight day general assembly to discuss various church matters. On Thursday, the marriage committee drew a crowd of approximately 600 people (!) to debate and reach a decision on the issue of gay marriage. The meeting's sexy name? “On Creating a Task Force to Identify Common Ground and Reconcilable Differences with Respect to Same-Gender Marriage."
The Authoritative Interpretation voted to determine whether pastors could officiate gay marriages. The debate lasted hours, with passionate advocates from opposing sides arguing their case before the final vote. In the end, 39% voted no on the measure, while a beautiful 69% favored a change in the church.
PCUSA decided to change some crucial wording in its literature: the description of marriage now says it must be between "two people," with no gender specified. The assembly's moderator, Heath Rada, concluded:
I hope that we can in the process share with our sisters and brothers, that we are not saying that somebody is right and somebody is wrong. We are saying as a denomination that we affirm committed relationships between two people that love each other. That is the basis, in the context of a relationship with God.
Why This Matters
It's amazing to think that just a few autumns ago, California was debating Prop 8—and now, one of the largest branches of Protestantism has opened its arms to those once denounced as sinners. (Scalia, take notes.)
This move will likely have a domino affect. As it stands now, most Christian denominations aren't nearly as accepting, but there's ample cause for hope. To wit:
The Evangelical Lutheran Church, as of 2009, allows non-celibate gay folks to become ministers. Celibate gay citizens are instructed to spend a week in the Castro before applying for the position (just kidding).
The Metropolitan Community Church may as well craft a statue of Madonna Ciccone alongside the Madonna. It has a long history of welcoming gay members, and is believed to have performed the first gay marriage ceremony in public all the way back in 1968.
Episcopalians are more or less OK with gays and trans people. In 1976, the church declared that LGBers were "children of God" as well. 2012 brought a "provisional right of blessing" for same-sex relationships.
Many Independent Catholic Churches welcome LGBTQ folks with open arms. Not all, but it's a start. Plus, Pope Francis has said (and we paraphrase): "Shut up homophobes; there are SO many worse issues to focus on. Like poverty. Gays are, like, NBD."
Image: Totes cool, gays. Courtesy of, ThinkStock
