| Tracking the Voting on Amendment 10-A: Amendment 01-A gaining momentum |
| Written by The Presbyterian Outlook | ||||||
| Saturday, 26 February 2011 17:50 | ||||||
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February 26, 2011 As of February 26, 2011, 95 presbyteries have voted. Thirteen of these presbyteries have reversed direction from their votes of 2008-09. Twelve have switched from opposing a change in ordination standards to supporting a change, whereas just one has switched from supporting to opposing. Altogether, 55 presbyteries thus far have voted their support for the proposed amendment, and 40 have cast negative votes (including one tie vote, which counts as a “no”). The actual headcount of each has changed somewhat, but the vote that counts, the simple majority of these particular presbyteries, shows a net shift of 11 out of these 95 from the 2008-09 vote, which rejected an amendment that would have eliminated the “fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” ordination standard. There remain 78 presbyteries still to vote. If 32 of those presbyteries cast positive votes, then the amendment will be approved. Put in a different way, if all 78 vote as they did two years ago, the amendment will pass by a margin of 5. At present, momentum in support of the new amendment continues to strengthen. Nevertheless, many presbytery votes have been close, so it’s too early to every presbytery vote is unique, and favors the movement to change the policy, but the vote may well go right down to the wire. Do you want to track the voting on Amendment 10-A? Some affinity organizations are tracking the votes on their Web pages. The following Web sites offer each organization’s up-to-date, unofficial* reports: Covenant Network – which support ratification Presbyterian Coalition – which opposes ratification *The official report is tracked by the Office of the General Assembly. It records the votes only when the official forms are received by mail from the respective presbyteries, often a week or two after the actual votes are taken. Your Responses (3)
Rev. Dr. Amy Elizabeth Ware
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Gig Harbor, Wa. 98335 When I became a Christian at a Billy Graham Crusade when I was 16, I felt that I finally had the access to the power that would help me deal with my gender problem. When I attended seminary it took six years(I taught at a private school during this time also)to finish as I did not feel like I could deal with this inner turmoil and help others through theirs. I had a successful career, winning many awards, as a teacher and a Principal. After retirement my wife and I went overseas as missionaries and I ran a mission school and taught and was Dean of students at the first Protestant seminary in the country just after the fall of communism. I helped train the first generation of Protestant pastors in Albania. She ran the English language program for the Albanian Orthodox Church and was one of the first Protestant women ever to teach in their seminary. We had three children who are very well educated and are providing leadership for their companies. I was ordained 30 years(I had been an ordained elder in two different churches) after graduation from seminary to start a fellowship of believers in Albania. When I returned I was an associate pastor at two churches for about 6 years before I retired. But still all through this time I was having a huge internal war inside. When I finally mentioned to my wife(a Presbyterian elder in two different churches) my sadness that God had not chosen to answer my prayer that I had been praying for 50+ years, she told me that I did get an answer and it was NO so why don't I get counseling and just get on with life. So I did and for the past 6 years have lived in my new gender. My wife and I are still married(48 years) but neither of us have gender issues. We are chaste and have no problem with this and I am still active in Presbytery and Synod. The sadness for me is the emphasis on this for certain groups except for heterosexual pastors. I know of a half a dozen who have been unfaithful and one in particular who propositioned my wife after a Presbytery meeting. Holiness applies to all parties. I am an evangelical Christian who is thankful that I have had the opportunity to witness Jesus Christ to others especially Muslims during the Kosovar Crisis. I do not think that God cares so much for my gender issues(now resolved) but that I live out the gospel for others. I am ones neighbor(not specified in scripture who that might be) and I am on of the "least of them" that Jesus tells us to love as we are to love him. I am convinced that as Romans 8 says that nothing can separated me from the love of God and I continually share this with others, many of whom have been hurt by the behaviors in other churches. |
Amy Kosari
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Ellsworth, WI Thank you so much Jeff for this inspiring and thought-provoking letter. You are so right. I would add that Jesus opens the Bible to Jews and Gentiles in order that we might be transferred from darkness to light. In Jesus' and Paul's day relations between men and women were not right, men could not see women and women could not truly "see" men, much less love, like or even appreciate them. Think of what a wife was in Socrates' day: a second class citizen at best. Much better to go to a professional consort for companionship and intellectual stimulation! And of course, even better than that...being the lover of a noble and wise man! Alcibiades slipped into the bed of Socrates for this very purpose, as we learn in the Symposium. Only when the Lord opens the Bible to us can we see the truth: that a wife is not a second class citizen, the "old ball and chain" dragging a husband down but rather a "help" from God, god-like in this capacity, an angel sent to help the man understand the things of God, a woman bright and beautiful not only perhaps of face, but most importantly beautiful at heart, "reaching out her hands to the poor." A woman, single or married can be all these to man and mankind! The teaching of Jesus is so different from what our culture teaches us. It's just like when we read in Exodus about how all of Egypt was lying in thick darkness but in the land of Goshen there was light. There is a little country of light and you Jeff, are part of and a witness to that country! It is so wonderful to hear your testimony because it is also a sign of the coming kingdom, when the knowledge of God "shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea!" Again, thank you! |
Jeff Winter
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... As the PCUSA continues to debate the issue of homosexual ordination, it is exciting to know that God still brings sexual healing to those who have same-sex attraction. Brad Grammar shares his testimony of sexual transformation. Twenty years ago, my life came to a crossroad. In my mind, I could either commit suicide or give God one more chance to change my life and bring it meaning. Prior to coming to this crossroad, I had struggled with my sexual identity as well as depression and anxiety. My earliest recollections of being attracted to men is when I was six years old. I remember fantasizing about growing up to be a woman and marrying a man. Specific males came to my mind as I considered the kind of man I would marry. They were all muscular, handsome and confident. Later in life, I learned that these same-sex attractions were manifestations from unresolved emotional and spiritual issues in my life. The decision I came to, at the crossroad, was that I would commit my life to Christ and follow Him. I had grown up in the Church but only at the age of twenty did I really understand that Christ died for my sins and that only through His sacrifice could I receive eternal life. In addition, I began to understand the sanctification process, whereby sins could dissipate and weaknesses could be transformed into strengths. However, when it came to my sexuality, I had no idea how this was going to change. In fact, I didn't really think there was a possibility of changing my sexual desires. I made a commitment to celibacy, choosing to live with these same-sex desires the rest of my life. I was not connected with ministries helping individuals transition out of homosexuality, and going to counseling was a scary prospect. So I focused my energies on growing in my relationship with Christ. God had specific plans for me. He brought men into my life that loved me and modeled for me what it meant to be both godly and intimate, without any hint of homosexuality. Through my close relationships with these men over a period of ten years, God brought up the unresolved issues in me that needed to be addressed. Although there was no ministry around at that time to aid me in my journey, God did the same work in my life through relationships, a process analogous to many ex-gay ministries today. The Body of Christ became the instrument for healing in my life. The result was a complete change in my sexual desires from homosexuality to heterosexuality. Today I am married and have two sons. For the Church to make a decision to bless same-sex unions or ordain practicing homosexuals is to communicate to me, and individuals like me, that the transformation in my life did not happen and that I am obviously in an unhealthy state of denial. As I mentioned above, I did not even know that it would be possible to change my sexual orientation, but God transformed even this area of my life! To allow for same-sex unions and ordination of practicing homosexuals in the Church is to prevent the opportunity for individuals to even consider that a change is possible. I was an outcast once because I had homosexual desires. If the church changes its standards, I would return to being an outcast in the Church again because my experience would be invalidated. We need to turn to the truth of Scripture and believe that "With God, all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Let us keep our hope in God alone and remain faithful to what He has made clear in Scripture in regards to sexuality. Brad Grammar is the site pastor of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. If you would like to know more how Exodus/OnebyOne can be an encouragement to you, your church or presbytery, please call 407-599-6872 or 888-264-0877 or you can email Jeff Buchanan at jbuchanan@exodusinternational.org. |
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