General Assembly (2012) #14 ON MARRIAGE

FINAL ACTION: Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

          After the defeat of the Committee’s main motion and the defeat of two minority reports, the Committee on Civil Unions and Marriage Issues proposed the following new business (copied below). It was also approved by amendment that this action will answer all the action coming before the General Assembly under the topic of civil unions and marriage.

          This action is the only and the final action of the 220^th General Assembly concerning the issues of civil unions and marriage. This action was approved by the vote of 489 YES and 152 NO.       

Final Text:

That the 220th General Assembly (2012) approve the following resolution:

“In a desire to promote the peace, unity, and purity of the church, we move the whole Presbyterian Church U.S.A. enter into a season of serious study and discernment concerning its meaning of Christian marriage in the two-year period between the 220th General Assembly (2012) and the 221st General Assembly (2014). We would further move the Office of Theology and Worship prepare and distribute educational materials to all presbyteries and congregations. These materials should include the relevant Scriptures, key methods of biblical interpretations, current understandings of our Constitution, and some suggested guidance for prayerful and reconnecting ways of listening to one another.

“We would ask that all presbyteries report to the Office of the General Assembly on how this was conducted in their congregations at least three months prior to the 221st General Assembly (2014).

“This motion is offered in the hope and trust that such discernment will genuinely seek the rule and will of God be done in our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as it is in Heaven under the guidance of the Triune of God.”

General Assembly (2012) #13

Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

The debate about the definition of marriage:

            The General Assembly, during its afternoon session on Friday July 6, debated the question of marriage as presented by the General Assembly Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues. The Committee brought a Report asking for a Constitutional Amendment to change our definition of marriage. The Committee also brought TWO minority reports. Both minority reports were defeated.

            The Committee recommendation was also DEFEATED by a vote of 308 YES to 338 NO.  The Committee recommendation is copied here, but please note that the report was DEFEATED.  The Committee Report and two Minority Reports were all DEFEATED.

The Presbytery of Hudson River overtures the 220th General Assembly (2012) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendments to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative vote:

1.     Amend W-4.9001 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“Marriage is a gift God has given to all humankind for the well-being of the entire human family. Marriage is a civil contract covenant between a woman and a man two people, and according to the laws of the state also constitutes a civil contract. For Christians marriage is a covenant through which a man and a woman two people are called to live out together before God their lives of discipleship. In a service of Christian marriage,two people make a lifelong commitment is made by a woman and a man to each other,publicly witnessed and acknowledged by the community of faith.”

2.     Amend W-4.9002 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“a. In preparation for the marriage service, the teaching elder† shall provide for a discussion with the man and the woman two people to be married concerning” [The remainder of this section remains the same.]

3.     Amend W-4.9004 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“The service begins with scriptural sentences and a brief statement of purpose. The man and the womantwo people to be married shall declare their intention to enter into Christian marriage and shall exchange vows of love and faithfulness. The service includes appropriate passages of Scripture, which may be interpreted in various forms of proclamation. Prayers shall be offered for the couple, for the communities which support them in this new dimension of discipleship, and for all who seek to live in faithfulness. In the name of the triune God the teaching elder† shall declare publicly that the woman and the man they are now joined in marriage.” [The remainder of this paragraph remains the same.]

4.     Amend W-4.9006 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“A service of worship recognizing a civil marriage and confirming it in the community of faith may be appropriate when requested by the couple. The service will be similar to the marriage service except that the opening statement, the declaration of intention, the exchange of vows by the husband and wife two people,and the public declaration by the teaching elder† reflect the fact that the woman and man they are already married to one another according to the laws of the state.”

General Assembly (2012) #12

Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

The debate about the definition of marriage: Minority Report Two

            The General Assembly, during its afternoon session on Friday July 6, debated the question of marriage as presented by the General Assembly Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues. The Committee brought a Report asking for a Constitutional Amendment to change our definition of marriage. The Committee also brought TWO minority reports. The second Minority Report recommended a clear definition of marriage as a union of man and one woman.  After lengthy debate the second Minority Report was defeated:

The second Minority Report is copied here. NOTE: this recommendation was DEFEATED by a vote of 266 Yes to 397 No:

Minority Report two:

Responding to the wide variety of overtures concerning the definition of Christian Marriage in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the General Assembly makes the following statement:

Our Confessions, based on their understanding of Scripture, define Christian marriage as a union of one man and one woman. Any redefinition of marriage should recognize the confessional nature of the definition and should be preceded by careful and prayerful formal confessional amendment process. As our society debates the legal status of same-sex relationships, the church recognizes and reaffirms that any change in the definition of marriage in civil law does not and cannot change the church’s constitution. As our confessions instruct us, the church is called to lead men and women into the full meaning of life together, extending the compassion of Christ to all (The Confession of 1967).

As our church ministers amidst a contemporary culture that includes same sex couples, the church should lovingly respond with grace and truth. Additionally, the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) provides the following authoritative interpretation of W-4.9001:

“When W-4.9001 speaks of marriage, it is expounding how marriage is defined and understood by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), under the authority of the Scriptures and guided by the confessions. It is not merely describing how marriage was practiced in any particular society at any particular time. Therefore, this definition of marriage in the Directory for Worship is binding upon teaching elders and commissioned ruling elders authorized to perform Christian marriages. “Officers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who are authorized to perform marriages shall not state, imply, or represent that a same-sex ceremony is a marriage because under W-4.9001 a same-sex ceremony is not and cannot be a marriage” (Spahr v. Presbytery of Redwoods, 2008). A change in the definition of civil marriage under state law does not alter the definition of marriage under the PC(USA) Constitution (Southard v. Presbytery of Boston, 2011). The church’s definition of marriage may be changed only through amendment of both W-4.9001 and the confessional passages upon which it is based.”

General Assembly (2012) #11

Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

The debate about the definition of marriage.

            The General Assembly, during its afternoon session on Friday July 6, debated the question of marriage as presented by the General Assembly Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues. The Committee brought a Report asking for a Constitutional Amendment to change our definition of marriage. The Committee also brought TWO minority reports. The first Minority Report recommended a time of discussion until 2014. After lengthy debate the first Minority Report was defeated.

The first Minority Report is copied here. NOTE: this recommendation was DEFEATED by a vote of 323 Yes to 346 No:

A Call for Listening

a. The General Assembly charges the Office of Theology and Worship to design and implement a discussion in each presbytery around the meaning of marriage and proposing ways for us to remain unified as a denomination.

These conversations would answer the following questions:

(1) What is the meaning of marriage in our post-Christendom environment in United States and Puerto Rico.

(2) How do our officers live and make faithful decisions about officiating at marriages in this environment?

(3) How can our denomination respect difference in opinion about the meaning of marriage?

These conversations are to provide a safe space for listening to Scripture, to the confessions, and to one another, and to propose solutions to the missiological issues raised by challenges to the traditional definition of marriage in our society and the prevalence of divorce in church and society. They are to take into account the effects of globalization, changing gender roles, and differences in the church over human sexuality. Each presbytery is encouraged to implement this conversation in each of its sessions around the same three questions. These conversations and the report should be completed by August 2014. Presbyteries shall report on these conversations to the Stated Clerk and the Office of Theology and Worship by August 2014.

b. The General Assembly directs the Presbyterian World Mission office to receive feedback from our worldwide mission partners about their understanding of the meaning of marriage and their suggestions about how to move forward missiologically as a denomination, and to forward this feedback to the Stated Clerk and the Office of Theology and Worship by August 2014.

General Assembly #10

Committee #15 Middle East and Peacemaking Issues

            With a passionate, long debate the General Assembly approved an “invest in Palestine” approach and rejected a “divest from Israel” approach. This answer was hammered out in a debate which took the Assembly until 10:30 at night and the recess of the Thursday night session. Thus as Friday morning begins, the Assembly finds itself more than three hours behind on the agenda. At one point the Moderator acknowledged more than 40 people lined up at commissioner microphones seeking to speak.

            Committee #15 brought a recommendation to approve an action of divestment from Caterpillar, Motorola and HP. Immediately a Minority Report was brought as a substitute motion asking for a policy of investment in Palestine. The committee’s majority report, after long debate, was rejected by a vote of 333 to 331. Finally the minority report was approved by a vote of 369 to 290.

            Copied here are the action items from the final action. (Item 5 here was added and approved as an amendment during the debate):

Final Text:

1.     call for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to pursue a positive and creative course of action with respect to the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict that will make a difference in the lives of those who are most vulnerable on all sides and that will preserve an effective witness to peace in the entire region;

2.     call for a process of engagement that will bring Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the U.S. into effective partnering for study, travel, and social action;

3.     advocate for the development of educational programs that expose U.S. Christians, Jews, and Muslims to the varied experiences of both Palestinians and Israelis;

4.     devise a plan of active investment in projects that will support collaboration among Christians, Jews, and Muslims and help in the development of a viable infrastructure for a future Palestinian state. We also encourage greater denominational engagement with Christians in the West Bank around issues of job creation and economic development.

5. instructs the General Assembly Mission Council to create a process to raise funds to invest in the West Bank, and the program will be inaugurated no later than the meeting of the 221st General Assembly (2014).