Presbyterian Church lets locals decide on gay clergy

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A Presbyterian Church (USA) national assembly voted yesterday to let local bodies that wish to have homosexuals serve as clergy and lay officers do so, despite a denominational ban on homosexual ministers.

A measure approved 298-221 by a Presbyterian national assembly keeps in place a 1997 church law that says clergy and lay elders and deacons must limit sexual relations to marriage.

But the new legislation says local congregations and regional presbyteries can exercise some flexibility when choosing clergy and lay officers of local congregations if sexual orientation or other issues arise.

The decision concluded a hard-fought struggle lasting years between liberals and conservatives in the 2.3-million-member denomination. Ten conservative caucuses allied to fight any change but lost two last-ditch efforts to kill or delay the measure.

Thirteen evangelical caucuses issued a joint statement that the assembly's actions "throw our denomination into crisis." They said this "marks a profound deviation from biblical requirements, and we cannot accept, support, or tolerate it. We will take the steps necessary to be faithful to God," the groups said.

The Presbyterian establishment, including all seminary presidents and many officials, promoted the local autonomy plan, which was devised by a special task force. The idea is to grant modest change to liberals but mollify conservatives by keeping the sexual law on the books.

It's not clear whether that will work.

"We have been painfully aware that in some ways our greatest challenge was not preparing for this assembly but preparing for what happens after this assembly," the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, chief executive at denominational headquarters, told delegates after the votes.

The Rev. Blair Monie of Dallas, who chaired the committee dealing with the issue, said, "This is not an 'anything goes' proposal. In fact, it will make the examination of officers more rigorous."

But a series of conservative delegates disputed that.