Reading the Bible in the Same-Sex Marriage Debate
Dr. Terence Diggory: "I offer here my current reading of Genesis 2 and Mark 10 in an effort to keep the conversation going with people who will disagree with me as well as with those who will agree. So far, my reading has not altered my belief that same-sex marriage is consistent with God’s intention for marriage. But my reading has considerably expanded my understanding of God’s redemptive inclusiveness, beyond the confines of sexuality, and of the ways that intention can be traced throughout the Bible. The Bible itself, we should remember, took shape as a conversation that believers today have a responsibility to keep going."
Conference videos are posted
A number of videos from plenary sessions of the 2013 Covenant Conference are now posted on the conference archive page. Visit or revisit the exploration of “Marriage Matters” held at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Fall 2013.
General Assembly Preview - Tricia Dykers Koenig
The Saturday morning plenary at the 2013 Covenant Conference, "Marriage Matters," included a look at the Covenant Network's work leading up to the 221st General Assembly (2014), to be held in Detroit June 14-21. With a focus on marriage equality, the CovNet Board is supporting both an authoritative interpretation of the current language of the Book of Order to clarify that officiating at a same-gender marriage is not an offense subjecting a minister to discipline, and an amendment to the Directory for Worship to make it more accurate now that marriage equality is spreading in the United States.
“Marriage Matters … Why?” - Brian D. Ellison
A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:1-11, 25-38 preached at the Covenant Network Conference, November 2, 2013: "It’s not that the text suggests something simple in the sense of something sentimental, that 'all you need is love.' No mention of love here in this chapter about marriage at all, in fact, not even from the man behind 1 Corinthians 13. No, the simple summary of Paul’s response to the swirling questions about marriage here, about celibacy and abstinence, about mutuality and submission, about complementarity and about sex, we might actually say, is: 'All you need … is God.'”
"A More Perfect Union" - Sharon K. Youngs
A Sermon on Ruth 1:1-22 preached at the Covenant Network Conference, November 1, 2013: "What is married? We say it all the time at weddings, we say it to partners getting ready to marry, we say it to couples working hard to stay married: At its core, marriage is not about passion or emotion or physical attraction. It is not about feelings. At its core, marriage is about covenant, commitment. It is about shared hopes and shared struggles and shared life. At its very best, marriage is an embodiment of God’s hesed – God's steadfast love and faithfulness."
"It's Time" - Amy Plantinga Pauw
An Address to the 2013 Covenant Conference, November 1, 2013: "... I want to linger for a little while on appeals to creation that have resulted in damaging views of marriage, because they have been so pervasive and influential in Christian tradition. I want to make clear at the outset that these views of marriage have been destructive for all people, not just LGBT folks. The movement for marriage equality is an opportunity for Christians to go back and articulate a better theology of marriage for everyone. Why should Christians support marriage equality? It’s time..."
Christian Marriage Study - 50-Minute Version
Some congregations are finding that the sessions of the six-week study on Christian marriage provided by the Office of Theology and Worship are difficult to complete in the usual time available on a Sunday morning. The Rev. Ken Cuthbertson has graciously shared his lesson plans (handouts included) for 50-minute classes. Download Ken's adaptation of the study.
Conference Keynotes Will Challenge, Reform, Inspire
The 2013 Covenant Conference will take place at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, October 31 to November 2. In a series of compelling keynote addresses, three of the leading voices of the Presbyterian Church (USA) will bring words of enlightenment and challenge to this year’s Covenant Conference. Don't miss Macky Alston, Amy Plantinga Pauw, and Stacy Johnson. Registration is open now. Read more...
Explore Marriage Liturgies at the 2013 Covenant Pre-Conference
The 2013 Covenant Conference, “Marriage Matters,” will take place at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago October 31-November 2. Before the conference on marriage equality, join us for a theological conversation about marriage. What does “Christian marriage” mean? What do we believe happens during a wedding? And what should a marriage service look like? Kimberly Bracken Long will lead the pre-conference workshop focused on liturgy.
Covenant Network Celebrates Supreme Court Decisions
The Covenant Network celebrates—together with justice-minded Presbyterians across America—today’s decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. We rejoice in today’s rulings striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and ensuring that same-gender couples in California are now able to enjoy the legal rights and privileges of marriage. With state and federal benefits now available to couples in a total of 13 states (and the District of Columbia), the country has taken a significant step toward marriage equality. We also eagerly await guarantees that teaching elders and congregations can, without fear of discipline, provide the same pastoral care to same-gender and opposite-gender couples by extending the opportunity to have their marriages celebrated and recognized in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
A Confessional Affirmation on Christian Marriage
The Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Cuthbertson is a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a scholar of church history and historical theology, and a spiritual director. He is a native of Kansas and a graduate of Sterling College, Gordon-Conwell Seminary, and the School of Religion at the University of Iowa. His new book, The Last Presbyterian?, is a historical-theological-spiritual memoir about the "psalm-singing, Sabbath-keeping" strain of old-time Scots-American Presbyterianism from which his family came, and includes reflections on how we might carry key elements of that faith heritage forward into an inclusive, emergent, and missional church for the 21st century. Ken and his spouse, Doug, live in New Mexico.Ken offers a draft of a confessionally-based statement about marriage for our day and time.
"A Man and a Woman": A Look at the Presbyterian Confessions in Context
Ken Cuthbertson explores the historical contexts of the usage in the PCUSA’s Book of Confessions where marriage is specifically spoken of as being between “a man and a woman” -- particularly relevant since that phrase has become the focus in so much of the rhetoric in the current debates concerning same-sex marriage in the church, and in society in general.
Blest Be the Ties?
Keynote Address by Doug Nave at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians Regional Conference, First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, May 11, 2013: "So the church should care about same-sex marriage – and not simply in a censorious, exclusionary way, but in a supportive and celebratory one – because in marriage a couple can seek the guidance of the church and find the resources needed to model their lives around the covenantal fidelity that is so central to all of Christian faith. What could be more worthwhile than that? What could be more gracious and generous and loving? What, indeed, could be more Christ-like?"
Supplemental Resources for the Marriage Study
In response to the mandate of the 220th General Assembly (2012), the Office of Theology and Worship has published a study of "Christian Marriage in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." The Covenant Network offers some additional resources and discussion questions for those who wish to explore what embodies the essence of marriage in scripture and the confessions, asking how same-gender marriage—the presenting issue in today’s church and society—may (or may not) express the truth of God.
Conference in NYC May 11: "Marriage Equality for Presbyterians and Everyone Else"
The last in the Covenant Network's series of ten regional conferences is coming up Saturday, May 11. Featuring two accomplished attorneys who have been active in working for equality for the LGBTQ community, "What Now: Marriage Equality for Presbyterians and Everyone Else" will take place at the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, with the support of Presbyterian Welcome. Follow this link to register.
So Now, What…? And : So, Now What?
A sermon on Deuteronomy 10:12-22 by Tricia Dykers Koenig for the Northwest Regional Conference: "The question for us is Deuteronomy’s “So now, what does the Lord your God require of you?” And: “So… now what?” Now that “our side” has “won” on ordination standards and, everyone knows, will win on marriage, but while the day-to-day struggle still rages and the justice God has promised is not fully realized, how do we help along the transitions that all can see coming, but some are grieving? How do we speed change, care for those who have suffered exclusion and indignity, and hold out a hand to those feeling run over by the train of progress, those who may be feeling more and more like strangers in a world and a church that are changing in uncomfortable ways? How do we make it easier for the eventual evolvers?"
"Groovy, Sick, and Epic: Speaking Languages of Justice Across Generations"
Of course, it's always better to be there, but if you missed the Northwest Regional Conference at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church on Saturday, April 13, you can get a taste by checking out the slides from Bruce Reyes-Chow's presentation.
“Something Yet to Learn: Thinking from Behind the Lectern”
Robert Hoch, Dubuque Theological Seminary: "It happened before I knew it was happening. She stood up before the class, preparing to recite the words of the Lord’s Supper, behind a desk upon which we had set the cup, flagon, and bread. She centered herself and then she began to speak. And before we knew it, she and the class were swept up in the rite she was expressing.... As a community being formed by Christ, wherever we stand on the question of human sexuality, our openness to learning from one another should be a priority. Not because we all agree, but because we all have something yet to learn."
"On Second Thought"
A Sermon on I Samuel 1:4-20 by Randy Bush: "I pray that people stop walking past the doorposts of the Church of Eli. I pray that our faith may be modeled after the example of Hannah so that we will belong to a church of justice, a church of inclusion, a church of love, and thereby a church of Jesus Christ. That may require some second and third thoughts on our part; that’s alright - God is patient. Like the father waiting for the prodigal to turn around and come home, God is anxious for our return to the fullness of God’s word and love. What is required of us? It requires listening skills..."
"Covenant and Marriage: What Do We Say When a Gay Christian Couple Ask to be Married?"
A Sermon on Genesis 9:8-17 and I Corinthians 13 by Bill Hathaway, First Presbyterian Church, Annapolis, Maryland, February 3, 2013: "When couples meet with me, I say that they can write their own vows and look at different prayers, but to be married in the Presbyterian Church means that we assume the equal status, rights and respect of both men and women in the church, in society and in the language of the wedding service. What does the Bible and our faith have to say about marriage given the radical changes in marriage over the decades? The core values are covenant and kindness or, using other words, promise and love."