The New Moderator: Unqualified Support for Same-Sex Marriage

All candidates for Moderator were asked about what they thought about changing the constitutional definition of marriage from “between a man and a woman” to “between two people.” Cynthia Bolbach, the new Moderator for the Presbyterian Church (USA), expressed unqualified support for same-sex marriage, the Presbyterian News Service reports.

Only one question from the floor touched upon any of the several controversial issues that this Assembly will tackle in the coming week: whether to change the constitutional definition of marriage from “between a man and a woman” to “between two people.”

Four candidates – Leeth, Nielsen, Kim and Belle – endorsed support for the traditional definition. Though same-sex marriage is not legal in her native North Carolina, Lauterer said “in states where it’s legal, the church should have a part in that union … Covenant makes the community stronger.”

Only Bolbach expressed unqualified support for same-sex marriage. “Who poses the greatest threat – Larry King, who’s been married seven times, or a gay couple [friends of hers] in Washington, D.C., who have been together for 62 years and who got married two weeks ago?” Same-sex marriage is legal in the District of Columbia and five states.

Bolbach, who is a lawyer and legal publishing company executive in Washington, acknowledged, “I don’t think our denomination is ready for [changing the definition of marriage], but what do pastors do in jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal?”

Pro-LGBT Equality Cynthia Bolbach Elected Moderator

Cynthia Bolbach, a pro-LGBT equality candidate, was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA at the 219th General Assembly. In response to the Presbyterian Voices for Justice question on the role of LGBT people in the PCUSA:

I sense that there are some within the PC (USA) who want the ongoing debate over the role of lesbian/gay/bisexual/ transgender people in our denomination to just go away. The reality, though, is that the time for deciding when this issue gets resolved is in God’s hands, not ours. Until then we must continue the conversation, even if we feel that there are no new voices to be heard. Those in favor of the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in our life together – and I include myself in that group – believe that we fail to satisfy the Gospel imperative of inclusiveness as we continue to exclude gays and lesbians from leadership in our church. But there are also many within our church who believe that homosexual behavior is a sin that violates Scripture’s mandates. I respect their beliefs, and I want to continue in conversation with them about this basic issue. “Come, now, let us reason together” seems an appropriate principle to guide us as we continue this conversation.

The Candidates for Moderator

Rev. John Shuck, pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, TN, ranked moderator candidates from the most to least friendly for helping to advance spiritual, ordination and marriage equality for LGBT persons in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He based his ranking (for the most part) on Presbyterian Voices for Justice's questions to the candidates. (Photo: Candidates, left to right--top row: James Belle, Cynthia Bolbach, Jin Kim; bottom row: Maggie Lauterer, Julia Leeth, Eric Nielsen).

Here is my rank from friendliest to least based on their comments:

Maggie Lauterer (Pro-Equality) "Perhaps when we can speak with a strong majority on matters of human sexuality, we can move on with our mission."

Cynthia Bolbach (Pro-Equality) "Those in favor of the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in our life together – and I include myself in that group – believe that we fail to satisfy the Gospel imperative of inclusiveness as we continue to exclude gays and lesbians from leadership in our church."

Eric Nielsen (Dodge but...) "Assessment of the gifts for ministry of Elders, Deacons, or Ministers of Word and Sacrament should be returned to congregations and presbyteries. They know their people and churches best." (Not sure if Eric agrees but the only way to succeed at this is to remove G-6.0106b. Didn't see any comment on marriage equality)

James Belle (Dodge) He quotes the Bible and Westminster with the slickest non-answer to the question.

Jin Kim (Anti-equality, but keep chatting) "My reflections on the life of Jesus lead me to reject both complete equality in the matters of either ordination or marriage, and ruling out any further GA consideration of these questions for years to come."

Julia Leeth (Anti-equality) "I pray the Assembly maintains the traditional definition of marriage as supported by the Bible..."

John's blog is much more entertaining to read than ours, so be sure to read his whole entry about the moderator candidates.