RICHMOND, July 2 - The General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a much-rewritten report on the ever-changing American family Thursday night.
After a brief discussion, the commissioners endorsed "Transforming Families," which sets Presbyterian Church (USA) policy for ministering to families, by a vote of 482 to 23, with four abstentions. The Assembly's National Issues Committee had recommended approval.
Last year's Assembly had a far different experience with the original version of the report, authored by the denomination's Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) in response to an order from the 1997 Assembly.
The idea was to strengthen the denomination's ministry to contemporary families in the church and in society, but the 43-page first version sparked heated debate. Critics said its authors had sidestepped Biblical teachings and placed families headed by same-sex couples on the same moral plane with those headed by married heterosexual couples, in violation of scripture and Presbyterian belief.
Since then, its most controversial parts, especially those having to do with theology, were rewritten as many as 18 times after ACSWP recruited some of the most vocal critics of last year's version to help write the draft to be brought before the 216th Assembly.
The version this year's Assembly approved has a more evangelical bent, more Biblical and confessional language and an unequivocal definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman, in keeping with PC(USA) doctrine.
Commissioners hailed the revised document as a compromise that meets the needs of today's church, although some advocates of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Presbyterians said they were disappointed with the changes.
In other business on matters from the national-issues committee, the Assembly:
- Urged state lawmakers to change legislation to incorporate the right of "same-gender persons" to be joined in civil unions, and to extend to them all the benefits, privileges and responsibilities of such unions; and urged all Americans to support such changes. The Assembly stopped short of supporting civil "marriage" for same-sex couples, instead approving an amendment reaffirming the Presbyterian church's historic definition of marriage as "a civil contract between a woman and a man."
- The Assembly approved the national-issues committee's recommendation to take no official position regarding the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban gay marriage. Despite the Presbyterian church's past opposition to such a prohibition, the Assembly directed church entities such as the Washington Office to work neither for nor against it.
- Voted against endorsing "A Christian Declaration of
Marriage," an ecumenical document adopted by many other faith
groups. Instead, the commissioners called the PC(USA) to a
year of prayer for marriage, renewal and reconciliation.
- Approved a resolution calling for a comprehensive legalization program for immigrants living and working in the United States and for reform of current immigration policies.
- Called for a "thorough, calm and reasoned review" of the USA PATRIOT Act, while voting down a measure that would have called for its repeal.
- Directed the PC(USA) to establish an "Antiracism Institute" to provide training for anti-racism facilitators and continuing-education opportunities for pastors and others engaged in racial-justice ministries, beginning next year, and to establish a "theologian in residence" position in the institute.
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