Concurrence to Overture 2—From the Presbytery of East Iowa (with Additional Rationale).
Rationale
It is our hope that the 217th General Assembly will mark the beginning of the end to the discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual persons in the life and ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Removing G-6.0106b and the related authoritative interpretations would enhance mutual trust because such removal would be a sign that presbyteries and sessions are respectful of the others’ integrity. The connectional system is a precious hallmark of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and can only function effectively when there is trust. The removal of G-6.0106b would be an important step toward furthering the peace, unity and the purity of the church.
God is the One who loves us all into being and the One who calls people to ministry. Many have heard God’s call to ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) but are prohibited by G-6.0106b and the related authoritative interpretation from ordination. Nominating committees are at a great disadvantage in many congregations because there are people who are called by God to serve but may not be asked because of G-6.0106b.
“Reformed and always reforming” is a precious tenet of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). That is consistent with the biblical view of God who is always creating and always doing a brand new thing (Isaiah 42:9; Isaiah 43). God is calling many people to ordained ministry whom the church is excluding through G-6.0106b. And “yet, God who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to the rest of us” (Acts 15:8). Just as God did a new thing in the Jerusalem Church when Gentiles were admitted as members in full standing, we believe that God continues to offer newness and more inclusivity today, including the full inclusion and participation of those persons which G-6.0106b presently excludes. We believe that it is faithful to continue opening doors which the church has closed because of contextual, historical or societal conventions.
The Historic Principles of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) indicates that every Christian Church, or union or association of particular churches is entitled to declare…the qualifications of its ministers and members (G-1.0302). Presbyteries and sessions have always been the place of that tradition of decision-making. G-6.0106b puts a severe constraint on sessions and Presbyteries to fulfill their historic functions. Just as the Confessions over the centuries have incorporated new ideas and concerns which reflect different periods of time, Scripture too, is often its own self-corrective as seen in the admission of Gentiles into the early church, people that Scripture had formerly declared unclean. Jesus understood that the Law was often used as a trap. In his life, Jesus illustrated over and over again that living by the spirit of the Law superseded living by the letter of the Law. We believe that he gave the scribes and all of us a definitive word: “The first (commandment) is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).