Concurrence to Overture 2—From the Presbytery of Newton (with Additional Rationale).
Rationale
In the Bible Paul tells the church at Galatia:
As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:27-28)
In the Book of Order we find the following statement:
Baptism enacts and seals what the Word proclaims: God's redeeming grace offered to all people. Baptism is God's gift of grace and also God's summons to respond to that grace. Baptism calls to repentance, to faithfulness, and to discipleship. Baptism gives the church its identity and commissions the church for ministry to the world. (W-2.3006)
In The Confession of 1967 it states:
By humble submission to John’s baptism, Christ joined himself to [all people] in their need and entered upon his ministry of reconciliation in the power of the Spirit. Christian baptism marks the receiving of the same Spirit by all his people… (9.51)
In A Brief Statement of Faith it says:
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in God's image
male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community.
AND
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
It is well stated in the PC(USA) that all people are baptized by the same Spirit and everyone in our faith community is eligible to receive the gift of God’s grace. Therefore, we believe it is an egregious act for some in our church to be marked as if they are not baptized and to be treated as if they stand outside of God’s grace and full fellowship of the church. Paul tells the church at Rome, “Nothing we do, or fail to do, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38) And yet, we exclude some because of who they are as human persons. We believe that continuing to use statements of interpretation that do not recognize the full baptism of every member of the church is harmful to both the truth of the gospel and the integrity of the church.