UCC likely to give nod to gay unions

ATLANTA (AP) — The United Church of Christ is poised to become the largest Christian denomination to endorse same-sex “marriage.”

But as with other mainline Protestant churches, taking a pro-homosexual stand could come with a price.

“I don’t think it’s possible to overestimate the prophetic role that the passage of the resolution would have in terms of the impact on the religious and secular debate in this country,” said the Rev. Rebecca Voelkel of Cleveland, national interim director of the UCC Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns.

Eight congregations in the liberal denomination of 1.3 million members say approving the same-sex marriage resolution at the church’s upcoming annual meeting would be a bad idea — even as they concede the measure is likely to win approval.

The meeting concludes Tuesday.

The Rev. Brett Becker, pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Cibolo, Texas, and a spokesman for the conservative congregations, predicted the eventual collapse of the UCC if the measure passes.

“If we’re going to call ourselves Christian and be followers of Christ, we need to follow his teachings on marriage,” said Mr. Becker, whose group has proposed an alternative resolution defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

Mr. Becker said he and other conservative pastors should continue to welcome homosexuals into the church, but encourage them to change their behavior.

A third proposal calls for study, prayer and discernment on same-sex “marriage” — though its proponents said the “one man, one woman” resolution was discriminatory and backers recently voted to support “the spirit” of the same-sex resolution. The resolutions will be discussed at the meeting tomorrow immediately after worship services.

Mr. Becker’s group also will put forward a measure that defines the UCC as a Christian denomination — a resolution that notes some pastors have strayed so far from the mainstream that the UCC has earned the derisive nickname “Unitarians considering Christ.”

Traditionally strong in New England, the church was criticized last year for a TV advertising campaign featuring a homosexual couple, among others, being excluded from a church. CBS and NBC rejected the 30-second ads.

But the church’s support for homosexuals is not new. In the early 1970s, the UCC became the first major Christian body to ordain an openly homosexual as a minister and establish a homosexual caucus.

“It’s important for religious groups that are supportive of [homosexual] rights to get out in the public arena and articulate that there is not a monolithic understanding of these issues and it’s not fair to say that in order to be a good Christian, one has to be anti-homosexual,” Miss Voelkel said.

UCC churches are autonomous, meaning the General Synod does not create policy for its more than 5,700 congregations. Still, if the resolution supporting same-sex marriage passes, it would be “a very disturbing thing,” Mr. Becker said.

No hard data exist on how many homosexuals are in the UCC, but Miss Voelkel said about 2,000 people are on the mailing list for the coalition, and about 1,000 clergy or seminarians are homosexuals. The denomination has 10,323 ordained ministers.

The momentum for the same-sex resolution has encouraged the Rev. Libby Tigner, minister of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Long Beach, Calif., and sponsor of the measure.

Miss Tigner said the proposal was largely a response to “the social reality of many of our members,” many of whom flocked to San Francisco last spring after the mayor directed courts to issue marriage licenses to couples, regardless of sex.

She said the resolution is not a mandate for other congregations and hopes the issue does not divide the church.