Storm brewing over same-sex unions

By EVE MARX

There's a storm brewing across the nation as the Presbyterian Church on both a regional and national level struggles to come to grips with same ­sex weddings or "unions." On Sept. 28, three Westchester clergy, includ­ing the Reverend Dr. Paul Alcorn, pastor of Bedford Presbyterian Church in Bedford Village, convened for a roundtable discussion concern­ing the issues. Other participants included the Rev. Joseph Gilmore, pastor of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, and James Vande Berg, Executive Presbyter of Hudson River Presbytery.

It's an issue that's being taken seriously by all within the faith. "Ignorance about the human sexual journey could fracture the denomina­tion," said Mr. Gilmore.

Earlier this year, a denominational judicial court of the Hudson River Presbytery upheld South Church's right to conduct same-sex unions. The decision followed a struggle within the Presbytery after two Dobbs Ferry men were married in a ceremony last November that took place on church property and was blessed by an ordained minister.

Publicity surrounding that event resulted in a complaint by Marc G Benton, pastor of the Bethlehem Church in New Windsor, demanding an investigation of South Church. The complaint requested that South Church's ministers and elders be dis­ciplined.

The Hudson River Presbytery later ruled that area churches could con­tinue to conduct wedding-like cere­monies of same-sex couples, as long as they be called "unions," not marriages. Following the decision, the matter was appealed to the next level of Presbytery authority, which let Hudson River's decision stand.

Opponents to same-sex weddings now are lobbying for an amendment to the Presbyterian constitution. Known as Amendment 0, it reads, "Scripture and our Confessions teach that God's intention for all, people is to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or in chastity in singleness. Church prop­erty shall not be used for, and church officers shall not take part in, any ceremony or event that pro­nounces blessing or approval of the church or invokes the blessing of God upon any relationship that is inconsistent with God's intention as expressed in the preceding sentence. 

Those supporting same-sex wed­dings are battling back. In one instance, a private gift of $2,000 was anonymously made by a Presbyterian from Katonah to help defray mailing costs of a letter drafted by William Weisenbach, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Phillipstown, in Cold Spring,

The letter was sent to 11,000 con­gregations across the nation, detailing why the amendment should be defeated. Dr. Alcorn and Mr. Gilmore have devoted themselves to the effort.

"Phone chains, letters , people need to understand how dangerous this amendment is to local congregations," Mr. Gilmore said. If the amendment passes at the church's General Assembly's meeting in 2001, much would be at stake. If South Church, which has already come under fire, or any other Presbytery in the nation, acts in defiance by contin­uing to perform holy unions, they would risk having their governing boards replaced, their ordinations revoked and their ministers fired.

"It will be interesting to see what will happen," Mr. Gilmore said. His church has already, performed numerous same-sex unions and will continue to consider them when asked, he said. 

"The hospitality which this congregation has built, we cannot retreat from and won't," he said. It is Mr. Gilmore's wish for each congregation, or session, to settle unsettling issues in its own way.

Dr. Alcorn already is acting in what he calls "prayerful disobedience" to another amendment, Amendment O, which, among other things, prohibits the ordination of gay deacons and elders and insists that candidates for the position of elder "vouchsafe their fidelity and/or chastity," depending on their marital status.

    The ' three men said they are unanimous in their opposition to Amendment B. "All of us who have grappled with this issue have done so pastorally, biblically, politically, theologically, culturally," said Dr. Alcorn, a soft,spoken man who is a former president of the Bedford Central School District board. "All congregations are political places," he said, "and there are repercussions for statements made and positions taken. We try to understand that the best that we are able to."

   The three men say they hinge their position on the denomination's own Directory of Worship which states that marriage is a covenant, albeit between man and woman. The Hudson River Presbytery has judicial­ly decided within its own ranks that two people making promises to each other in the presence of God consti­tutes a "covenental" relationship. in the Presbyterian church, marriage is    not a sacrament; the only services that are sacramental are baptism and communion. 

While debating such matters as sacramental versus covenental, it remains that Dr. Alcorn and Mr. Gilmore are currently in defiance of their denomination's General Assembly policy by having ordained gay elders or for having performed the currently banned holy unions. 

On the weekend of Nov. 17 and 18 they and their conservative opposition, which includes members of the Presbyterian Coalition and the Presbyterian Lay Committee, will get a chance to play out another act in this two decades-old drama, as ministers and elders from the Hudson River Presbytery' will gather at Holiday Hills, a retreat in Pawling, to vote on Amendment O. Lobbyists for the passing of the amendment will quote scripture and base their argument on strict adherence to the text of the Bible. Marc Benton from New Windsor scoffs at what he feels is semantic parsing. 

"Any time we start playing semantic games we're not seriously trying to come to grip with what we need to look at and make a decision about," he said. "Whether you're talking about marriage or holy union, it's a smokescreen to avoid what it says in the Holy Bible." 

Mr. Vande Berg said he decried a political value system that contends all congregations must operate in a uniform manner. He and other members of Hudson River Presbytery have sent overtures to the General Assembly calling for a local option for congregations that are serving gays and lesbians to bless holy unions and ordain gay elders. 

"It's not ideal, and certainly it is not ideal for the gay and lesbian community," Mr. Vande Berg said, "but that would provide the current church with some space and freedom." 

If Amendment 0 wins approval, what will happen to the Hudson River Presbytery? Will it splinter into shards as opposing congregations within it battle the matter out? "This is a complicated and divisive issue," Dr. Alcorn said, expressing hope that the publicizing of events surrounding Amendment 0 would not turn it into a circus or a debacle. "The denomination itself is at risk," he said. 

For the time being, Dr. Alcorn, Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Vande Berg are prepared to hold their ground. 

"The gospel is radical," Mr., Vande Berg said, most Christians are folk who don't take it nearly seriously enough. And when we really start wrestling with that as it pertains to certain groups of people, we find ourselves in a very radical position within our culture."