Posted on 07/04/2005 3:31:56 PM PDT by lightman
General Synod overwhelmingly calls for "full marriage equality"
Contributed by Irwin Smallwood
Monday, 04 July 2005
The UCC, a community of Christians with roots deep in the soil of societal change, took another giant leap on Monday.
General Synod 25 overwhelmingly passed a resolution in support of equal marriage rights for all people, regardless of gender. It marks the first time that one of the nation’s mainline churches has expressed support of marriages for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons.
Delegates wrestled with the resolution for about an hour before casting a decisive vote in favor of the resolution that was refined and recommended late Sunday by a 54-member Synod committee. The document was altered by only one amendment, which delegates readily accepted, that expressed a spirit of concern for those who must deal with the resolution's impact in the months ahead.
When debate was closed -- with only a whimper of opposition -- a hush fell over the great hall of Atlanta’s Georgia World Conference Center. The Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, executive minister of Justice and Witness Ministries, then asked moderator Eric C. Smith, who led the proceedings, for a moment of collective prayer. Delegates prayed silently.
Moments later, when voting began, a horde of raised hands -- holding green voting cards -- told the world that the resolution had passed overwhelmingly. Afterwards, instead of loud applause, there was a dignified moment of stillness broken only by the voice of the Rev. John H. Thomas who offered a prayer.
“Lord Jesus…We give thanks for your presence, especially here this morning,” the UCC's general minister and president prayed in a soft, pastoral voice. “We have felt your warm embrace, stilling us as we tremble with joy, with hope, with fear, with disappointment…Let us use our hands not to clap, but to wipe away every tear…”
As the plenary adjourned for lunch, the mood remained as one would expect after a service of worship, rather than a session of earnest debate and serious deliberation. The most demonstrative sights were those of couples of all ages and genders locked in tearful embraces of thanksgiving for what Thomas would later also refer to as “freedom.”
Later, in a press conference, Thomas acknowledged that it was not lost on the gathering that this historic stand was taken on the nation’s Independence Day.
“On this July Fourth the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has acted courageously to declare freedom, affirming marriage equality, affirming the civil rights of same gender couples to have their relationships recognized as marriages by the state, and encouraging our local churches to celebrate and bless those marriages,” he said.
Thomas also acknowledged that the issue of marriage equality is “the source of great conflict” not only in society but also in the churches. The UCC, he said, “is no exception” and “there are clearly great differences among our own members over this.”
Synod action, he added, “does not presume a consensus of opinion among our members or our local churches, which are free and responsible to come to their own mind of this as on any other (issue). The General Synod speaks to and not for our local churches.”
When asked, Thomas declined to speculate on whether the passage of the resolution could cause some churches to leave the denomination.
During the plenary debate, an amendment to, in effect, change “marriage” to “covenantal relationship” elicited a lively exchange for a few minutes but did not come close to approval because the body felt it substantially changed the focus of the resolution. Another proposed amendment -- that failed to garner only a handful of votes -- would have postponed action until the 2007 General Synod in Hartford, Conn.
But there was ready acceptance of a friendly suggestion to insert words in a transition paragraph of the “resolves” acknowledging “the pain and struggle their passage will engender.”
The marriage equality resolution (1) affirms equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage; (2)affirms equal access to the basic rights, institutional protections and quality of life conferred by the recognition of marriage, (3) calls for an end to rhetoric that fuels hostility, misunderstanding, fear and hatred expressed toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, (4) asks officers of the church to communicate the resolution to local, state and national legislators, urging them to support equal marriage rights, (5) calls upon all settings of the church to engage in serious, respectful and prayerful discussion of the covenantal relationship of marriage and equal marriage rights, (6) calls upon congregations, after prayerful, biblical, theological, and historical study, to consider adopting Wedding Policies that do not discriminate against couples based on gender, and (7) urges congregations and individuals of the UCC to prayerfully consider and support local, state and national legislation to grant equal marriage rights to couples regardless of gender, and to work again legislation, including constitutional amendments, which denies rights to couples based on gender.
It is more moral to not be a member of any religion that endorses an abomination.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
It seems that churches are no longer a safe place to take one's family
United Church of Christ= Wolves in sheep's clothing
"It is more moral to not be a member of any religion that endorses an abomination."
Works for me
Who in the world is the "United Church of Christ"?
Never heard of them.
What's their membership? These guys aren't anywhere near being "mainstream", are they?
It goes with the news behind the following.
United Church of Christ Considering Divestment from Israel
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1430835/posts
Anglicans Call for Sanction on Investment in Israel to Uphold Justice
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1430772/posts
Russian Orthodox Church Ready to Open up New Ecumenical Relationship with WCC
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1430815/posts
Jesus said: "And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore, they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." -from THE BIBLE: Matthew 19:4-6
the synod ? did they steal that from Earth: Final Conflict ?
i was raised in the UCC, and as a matter of fact, my mother is at that very synod meeting in atlanta as we speak. i left the UCC about 15 years ago, in response to their growing liberalism and the preaching of the 'social gospel' they are so proud of. i'm saddened but hardly shocked. the UCC has been performing gay marriages for years, and ordained the first openly homosexual minister in the mid 1970's.
It is a mess.
This is not a religion it is more of a cult.
Are they going to rewrite the script of 'Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband, and do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife.'?
Does the church preacher still have to have a valid marriage license from the local or state gov. and if this is so, couldn't the local or state gov. take away the preacher's license if they refuse to marry any couples other than a man and a woman?
The actual membership of UCC churches varies enormously. Some congregations are quite liberal, others, probably a majority, are pretty much in the middle for mainline churches, and a fair number of congregations, especially in New England, are rather more theologically traditional. There are a significant number of UCC members who remain in their churches primarily out of tradition: their families have been congregational since the 17th century, fill the cemetery near the old church they grew up in, and they want their children to appreciate the heritage. In Connecticut it's not unusual to see UCC churches that are 75% Republican (RINO in many cases but still 'pubbies) with clergy just to the right of the Gang of Four
The UCC national and regional administrations, and a large number of the clergy, are very radical and are the ones who pushed this resolution and the whole left-wing political agenda of the UCC National body. The number of normal young men with UCC vocations is at an all time low, and probably 2/3 of those in UCC seminaries (including up until recently Yale Divinity School) are women. Most of the women are either divorcees whose exes left them for trophy wives and are paying for their education, or lesbians. It's getting harder and harder for traditional UCC congregations to hire pastors who are not radicals.
You might think this resolution will force many people out of the UCC, and it could cause some major congregations to leave the UCC and be come "continuing congregational" just like the Congregational Churches that declined to join the UCC when it was created in 1957. (Unlike the Episcopal Church USA, in the UCC, each individual congregation owns its property and sets ALL of its own rules.) More likely, however, there will be local discussion and disagreement, with a large number of churches -- again especially in Connecticut and New Hampshire and Maine -- who remain in the denomination in name (so the clergy get retirement programs etc.) while reducing their financial support of the UCC and who simply decline to perform gay marraiges.
Are these people insane?
'In another daring move, the Synod declared all 'gods' equal, effective immediately. The announcement was made after an exhaustive sixty-minute study of ancient and contemporary pantheons, pseudo-religions, cults, and whiskey bottles.'
'A spokesgod for the group said, 'It was long over-due, and it will put an end to those silly arguments by those who think their god is bigger than anyone else's.
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