ATLANTA (AP) — The United Church of Christ’s rule-making body voted overwhelmingly yesterday to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex “marriage,” making it the largest Christian denomination to do so.
The vote is not binding on individual churches, but could cause some congregations to leave the fold.
About 80 percent of the representatives on the church’s 884-member General Synod voted to approve the resolution yesterday, a day after a smaller committee recommended it.
The Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ, said the rule-making body “acted courageously to declare freedom,” in reference to the vote.
The resolution calls on member churches of the liberal denomination of 1.3 million to consider wedding policies “that do not discriminate against couples based on gender.”
It also asks churches to consider supporting legislation granting equal marriage rights to homosexual couples and to work against laws banning same-sex “marriage.”
A small group of conservative congregations had proposed an alternative resolution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and suggested that supporting homosexual “marriage” could lead to the church’s collapse.
The Rev. Brett Becker, who represents a group of the UCC’s more conservative churches, said it is possible his congregation at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Cibolo, Texas, will leave the church over the resolution.
“I would like to see us stay in the denomination and network for positive change,” Mr. Becker said. “However, many of my members have expressed very clearly that this decision would cause great consternation and that, if this happened, they would want to see us leave.”
UCC leaders said individual churches have not been polled about their views.
Formed in 1957 and traditionally strong in New England, the United Church of Christ has a tradition of support for homosexuals. It is distinct from the more conservative Churches of Christ, which has about 2 million members in the United States.
The UCC was criticized last year for its television advertising campaign featuring a homosexual couple being excluded from a church. Networks rejected the ads.
In the early 1970s, the UCC became the first major Christian church to ordain an openly homosexual minister. The church declared itself to be “open and affirming” of homosexuals 20 years ago.
“This is a significant moment,” said the Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, of Cleveland, coordinator of a church coalition addressing homosexual issues.
But Mr. Becker said yesterday’s vote was not representative of most church members.
“If we had put it to a vote of the people in the pews, it would have failed overwhelmingly,” he said. “This is truly Independence Day for the UCC — we have declared ourselves independent from the teachings of Jesus and the clear teachings of Scripture.”
UCC churches are autonomous, meaning the General Synod does not create policy for its more than 5,700 congregations.
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