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PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE BOOK OF ORDER - January 15, 2015

1/15/2015

3 Comments

 
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Below you will find a PDF which you can download that details all of the proposed amendments to the Book of Order including the last one in the document which pertains to same sex marriages being performed by teaching elders/ministers. No surprise that that one has gotten a lot of attention.

The way it works, when the General Assembly votes to approve amending the Book of Order, the item(s) are then sent to the presbyteries throughout the denomination. Each presbytery votes at some point during the following year on each proposed amendment. If a majority of presbyteries approve, the change will be made. 

The Presbytery of St. Augustine has set up "town hall meetings" for members to hear about and discuss the proposed amendments. There is one at Countryside Presbyterian on SW Hwy 200, Ocala on January 20th at 4:15pm and again at 6:45pm. There is also one at Kanapaha Presbyterian in Gainesville on January 27th, same times. Meals are closed already for Countryside Pres., but you can RSVP to attend a meal meeting at Kanapaha Pres. (RSVP to Sandra at sandra@staugpres.org or Ray at ray@staugpres.org. The deadline for meal RSVP is January 22. No interest in the meal? Just go!)

The amendment would permit teaching elders/ministers to perform same sex marriages. It does NOT mean that churches must allow them. If the proposal passes, each Session will be making that determination about what happens on its property. Feel free to email me or speak to me if you have any questions.      - Bruce

2014-proposed-amendments.pdf
File Size: 383 kb
File Type: pdf
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3 Comments
jennie mcroberts
1/16/2015 01:16:04 am

i do not believe in same sex marrages

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Frank James
1/16/2015 03:11:53 am

It appears that Gay marriage will be legal in all 50 states shortly, either by vote or court. We of course accept all who seek the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God through Christ in our church as we are all sinners and in need of forgiveness. Each denomination and individual believes a bit differently on so many issues, this is just one of them. Gay marriage in the church is a bit to much for me. If an Elder or Pastor chooses to preform a Gay marriage, I would not like to see our building used. I don't see how the PCUSA is getting around the scripture, interesting interpretation. Why would the leadership push this through when hundreds of churches of the PCUSA have already left due to this issue. Why the leadership choses to be so divisive is something I just cannot understand. Like so many others, I have to consider weather the PCUSA is the place for me.

Reply
Bruce
1/17/2015 02:14:12 am

Biblical authority is something we actively endorse when it mirrors our personal views, and largely disregard when it is contrary. (See wealth, the one time when Jesus set barriers to a follower.) The church has been down the road before in using scripture to endorse and sustain practices that are seen as abhorrently wrong today. The lesson we should have learned from those experiences will need to re-learned again (by those who want to learn). If we are going to exclude or deny people any of the places or roles or permissions in the church, the body of Christ, we better know for sure that Jesus would do the same. It seems very clear that Jesus was all about inclusion, taking down the barriers that humans place between God and the faithful. If we are going to insist that a barrier remain, we need to be able to justify it as a reflection of the body of the living Christ. As with slavery, race, and gender, the Bible has plenty of places that validate exclusions and denials, but you don't find any real support from Jesus in the gospels. As far as why the church would take this up, we're supposed to face hard issues. A valid reason is that most of our society is looking at this issue in a new time. The least any church can do is consider it as well. As far as people leaving the church, it works both ways. Older generations may have greater problems with this, but younger ones don't. If you want to make your church even more irrelevant to the younger generation, don't marry their friends or family members when they ask - tell them they don't belong here. Then consider what Jesus' face looks like when you say that. I know we'll disagree, Frank, but I wanted to post a different understanding. Nothing has been decided about this anywhere, but I'm glad we can share contrasting points of view.

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