Overture 74
On Reaffirming Our Standards for Ordination—From
the Presbytery of Pueblo.
The Presbytery of Pueblo overtures the 217th
General Assembly (2006) to affirm that the ordination standard
stated in G-6.0106b and the authoritative interpretation of
1978 are faithful and accurate expressions of what Scripture
and our Confessions teach about the holiness of life expected
of church officers, particularly with respect to marriage and
singleness.
Rationale
The Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) has demonstrated its commitment to G-6.0106b as our
ordination standard and has made its will clear through votes
of its presbyteries. Approximately 58 percent of the presbyteries
voted to adopt the G-6.0106b amendment in 1996. Two attempts
to remove it in 1997 and 2001 were defeated by even larger margins
(66 percent and 73 percent respectively).
In 2001, there was an attempt to delete G-6.0106b
from the Book of Order. If that amendment had been approved
and a subsequent authoritative interpretation approved, ordination
of practicing homosexuals would have been allowed at the discretion
of individual presbyteries—local option. By the largest
margin ever, 73 percent, presbyteries voted to reject the amendment
and instead, maintain uniform, biblical ordination standards
across the church.
In the face of continued efforts to
remove this standard, this overture asks the General Assembly
to acknowledge what our presbyteries have said repeatedly, and
give reassurances to our churches by reaffirming a commitment
to our standards.
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