A New Day for LGBTQIA People in the Church: General Assembly Unanimously Approves Overtures
It is a new day in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Today, commissioners to the 223rd General Assembly (2018) approved two historic overtures. One affirms and celebrates the gifts of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the church. Another affirms the rights and dignity of people of transgender, non-binary and people of varying gender identities.
The Global Crisis for People Who Are LGBT and Their Families
In response to a commissioners' resolution approved by the 221st General Assembly (2014), the Presbyterian Mission Agency has published a resource, The Global Crisis for People Who Are LGBT and Their Families. Read it here.
ACREC: Calling all Presbyterians to action
The Covenant Network joins with the PCUSA's Advocacy Committee on Racial Ethnic Concerns in lamenting that "Ours is a nation entrenched in systems of privilege and power that perpetuate racial injustice." ACREC, declaring that "as people of faith, we have no choice but to take a stand against this and in favor of the inclusive and equitable love of Jesus Christ," has issued a powerful call to all Presbyterians, and particularly the majority who identify as white, "to join us in breaking silence. Commit with us to raise our collective voice not just to proclaim the good news of God’s grace but to call out injustice, to call out the forces that threaten to tear us apart with xenophobic, racist, and islamophobic rhetoric. May we have the courage."Read the full ACREC statement.
Overture 50… One Gay Man’s Reflection
'... It hurts, deeply, when I find some on “our side” too ready and quick to dismiss the pains among these sisters and brothers with whom we differ.'If we, LGBTQ Presbyterians and our allies, fail to acknowledge that, then we are failing them (and Jesus) in the same way too many of them have failed us (and Jesus) over the years. That does not mean that we should back away from what has been achieved, or from our ongoing advocacy for fully realized inclusion and welcome. But, I think it does mean that… for all the justness of it… pushing for an apology from the PCUSA is more harmful than helpful, at least at this point in time. Do I want it? Absolutely. Should I urge it? In charity and mutual forbearance, I think not. The wounds of the long struggle are still too open and raw, and the reaction is re-opening our own wounds and scars...'
Remembering Pam Byers
The tribute to Pam Byers at the Covenant Conference in Denver prompted her friend and former colleague Rosemary Bledsoe to offer these memories of Pam and the early days of the Covenant Network: "Most people saw her at GAs and conferences and meetings all over the country. I saw her pushing cartloads of envelopes out to her car to take to the post office, plowing through stacks of papers on her desk, sweating out deadlines, anxiously monitoring the never-quite-adequate bank balance, stunned with fatigue, hoarse from constant conversation, frustrated, determined, and somehow usually fairly hopeful."
Progress, Pushback, Possibilities: A preliminary look at the 222nd GA
On Saturday morning at the 2015 Covenant Conference, national organizer Tricia Dykers Koenig offered an early look at the Covenant Network's priorities at the 222nd General Assembly (2016), which will meet next June in Portland, Oregon.
Living History at the Covenant Conference
At the 2015 Covenant Conference -- November 5-7 at Central Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado -- you will be able to have your own story added to the chronicles of the PC(USA). The Presbyterian Historical Society will be present, interviewing conference participants for the Society’s Living History Films series.Register for the Conference before October 1 for the regular rate.
The New W-4.9000: A History
As of June 21, all amendments to the Book of Order proposed by the 221st General Assembly (2014), having been approved by a majority of the presbyteries, have now taken effect. Read the story of Amendment 14-F, which is now W-4.9000.
No license to discriminate
With the rapid spread of marriage equality across the nation, lawmakers in a number of states are proposing controversial legislation, under the guise of protecting "religious freedom," that would allow businesses or even government officials to discriminate against same-gender couples seeking to exercise the same rights and opportunities that opposite-gender couples take for granted. Following longstanding PC(USA) policy, several presbyteries have adopted resolutions opposing such legislation.
The meaning and malleability of marriage
Jim Hudnut-Beumler predicts that the approval of Amendment 14-F will continue the movement toward marriage equality in a growing number of congregations -- not because ministers and sessions will be forced against their will, but because "'the power of one' has the power to change hearts and minds."
Statement of the Covenant Network Board on the Approval of Amendment 14-F on Marriage
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is grateful that with today’s presbytery votes, a majority of the 171 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have approved an amendment to the church’s Book of Order that describes marriage as “a unique relationship between two people, traditionally a man and a woman.”