In a move that surpasses many of its peers for liberalism, Grace Presbytery, a regional Presbyterian church body of North Texas, voted Saturday to remove a section of its constitution that implicitly prohibited homosexual ministers.
The contested phrase required that ordained ministers maintain, "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness."
Grace Presbytery has 180 vital congregations with more than 45,000 members in 52 counties in Northeast, North Central and Central Texas. The vote came out to 203 for and 182 against, with six abstentions, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The denomination is finding itself deeply embroiled with the issue of homosexuality, as a tortuous situation in San Francisco continues to develop.
The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Synod of the Pacific on Saturday nullified a January 2008 decision by San Francisco Presbytery that long-time candidate and open lesbian Lisa Larges was "ready for examination [for ordination] with a departure."
Larges got around the church’s rule by declaring a "scruple" (conscientious objection) to the clause against gay ordination, which the local presbytery had accepted.
"The larger church depends on each presbytery to protect the interests of the whole. The mandatory ordination standards are an important part of this covenant," the court said.
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According to church procedure, Larges may still appeal the case to the General Assembly PJV.
Regional bodies across the nation have been voting about the clause for several months, leading up to a national vote (the Church's third) this summer. Thus far 43 other Presbyteries have voted in favor and 72 against, meaning with the national PCUSA’s recent decision on the Larges case, the current rule will prevail for now.
