WOW! We didn’t see that coming.
145th General Assembly lived up its advanced billing. It was intense, deeply emotional, and contentious. In the end, commissioners choose Pathway B – Inclusion – that disappointed and dismayed us. However, the remits (printed below), to be sent down to presbyteries for approval, propose a much less exclusionary avenue. It leaves us with much to ponder. And we are doing that at the Executive and Board levels. We hope to be able to share some specific recommendations after our Board meeting in mid-July. We encourage all our members and other interested persons to review the draft remits, to speak with those who were commissioners, and/or to watch the proceedings on the General Assembly YouTube Channel. Pray for discernment and patience.
These are the proposed remits:
- The Presbyterian Church in Canada holds two parallel definitions of marriage and recognizes that faithful, Holy Spirit filled, Christ centred, God honouring people can understand marriage as a covenant relationship between a man and a woman or as a covenant relationship between two adult persons.
That congregations, sessions, ruling and teaching elders be granted liberty of conscience and action on marriage. - That congregations and presbyteries may call and ordain as ministers and elect and ordain as ruling elders LGBTQI persons (married or single) with the provision that liberty of conscience and action regarding participation in ordinations, inductions and installations be granted to ministers and ruling elders.