News from the Presbyterian Church

The General Assembly of US Presbyterian Church decided on Thursday to send to its presbyteries a proposed change to the ordination standards. From now on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons would be allowed to be elected as ordained elders and ministers of word and sacrament. The vote was 373 - 323.

One half of the presbyteries must affirm the General Assembly action for the proposal to become part of the Book of Order, the church's constitution.

Another proposal is related to the Directory of Worship: the marriage would be defined as between two people rather than as between a man and a woman.

This should not come as a surprise: modern Presbyterianism is well known for its emphasis on inclusiveness and diversity. Some of you could raise legitimate objections: what remains with the authority of the Bible? A response would be that our understanding of Bible is mediated through our culture; which means that each epoch offers a fresh view on the same words, possibly different from the views of bygone times.

And anyway, whatever the Directory of Worship says, straight guys will remain straight, no doubt about it :)

(Presbyterianism is a Christian denomination which is most prevalent within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity. Hallmarks include Calvinist theology and the presbyterian form of church governance. It is the form of Calvinism which evolved primarily in Scotland before the Act of Union in 1707)

(Church in America)