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08-B vote winding down;
Utah flips its vote from ’01

The Layman, Posted Monday, May 11, 2009

Though the drama is over with Amendment 08-B’s defeat in April, the interest remains as the final tally could help shape up the next “fidelity/chastity” issue looming ahead. The final six presbyteries will add their votes to the current 92-75 tally in the next few weeks as the referendum draws to a close.

Still, the surprises continue adding up as more presbyteries shift support away from maintaining the fidelity-chastity standard in the Book of Order. On May 9, the Presbytery of Utah voted 25-23 in favor of amending the standard, adding the traditionally conservative presbytery to the 31 others that have flipped since 2001. Utah’s vote in 2001 supported the “fidelity/chastity” clause 32-21.

Scheduled to vote May 12 are East Iowa, Kiskiminetas (Pa.), Pacific and Savannah presbyteries, with Missouri River Valley set to vote at its meeting on May 19. The Southwest Presbytery of Puerto Rico will vote May 30. Only one of those presbyteries, East Iowa, had voted for the removal of the “fidelity-chastity” standard in 2001, which, based on the trend in this referendum, does not guarantee four more votes to protect G-6.0106b.

Joining Utah as the latest to shift support was Minnesota Valleys, which on May 2 voted 44-37-1 in favor of amending the requirement that church officers must uphold fidelity through marriage between a man and woman or remain chaste in singleness. Surprising many, San Francisco and Sierra Blanca presbyteries, both of which voted to remove the standard in 2001, supported it in the current referendum.

Staying consistent with their 2001 votes, Southern New England (97-50) and Northern Waters (52-11) voted to amend the standard while Dakota (0-16) and Middle Tennessee (95-139) continued their support of G-6.0106b. Midwest Hanmi has not voted in the referendum. It is under the jurisdiction of an administrative commission and its elders and ministers have no authority to vote at presbytery. 

In late April, Northside Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., proposed an overture to amend the denomination’s constitution that would allow “anyone in the denomination whom God has called, regardless of sexual orientation” to be ordained. The new proposed overture will go to the Presbytery of Detroit for action. If approved, it will be sent to the 219th General Assembly of the PCUSA for action at its Minneapolis, Minn., meeting in 2010. Then, if approved by the General Assembly, the amendment would require approval from a majority of the 173 presbyteries in order to be ratified.

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