It's a gay day.

 Today at our Presbytery Assembly at South Highland Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL, the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley voted 80 to 52 to approve the Amendment to our church's national constitution to allow gays and lesbians to be ordained in the PCUSA. It doesn't mandate that churches or presbyteries ordain gays, but opens the door to those governing bodies who choose to do so. 

 A historic day for our presbytery. The whole PCUSA has approved this move by a majority of presbyteries. We now join the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as a 'welcoming' denomination.

It has taken years of advocacy and debate and political maneuvering to get to this point. We studied the Bible and prayed and discussed this issue ever since the 1978 General Assembly voted for the first time on this issue. It was 1977 when I changed my mind about homosexuality as I studied what the Study Committee was reporting and recommending to the General Assembly. I found that I agreed with the Minority Report that year, which recommended accepting gays for ordination. My opinion has grown stronger with the years. 

Yet, I don't think it has been so much the Bible study and prayer that has changed our denomination. I think it has been the gradual change in our whole culture as gays and lesbians have become openly gay entertainers, politicians, etc. Probably Ellen DeGeneres has had more to do with the Presbyterian decision than the Bible has. And of course the coming out of so many family members, friends, and colleagues among us all has put a personal face on this 'issue.'

I am happy for my gay and lesbian friends and colleagues. It has taken way too long. I'm sorry. But this is a good day. Love finally overcomes fear. I understand those who disagree with our vote. There are different ways of reading the Bible, and some people have never gotten beyond one way of reading it. The wonderful thing about the Bible is that within its own pages it continually reinterprets itself. Therefore, reinterpreting Scripture in light of changing situations is a very Scriptural thing to do. That's what our church has done now. We have followed the example of the Bible itself and saw fit to understand what it has said in a different light. And that light is the gospel of liberation and the affirmation of our natural humanity--a good gift from God. 

Sexuality is not about what goes where. It is about the union of two lives; and for some--the begetting of children. It's not about gender/sex. After all, the Trinity itself has 'two men and a bird.'

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[The two photos were taken by me today during the presbytery meeting -- with an iPhone, not good quality, but at least as things were happening.]


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