Gay presbyterian church
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Presbyterian Church (USA)
BACKGROUND
With its roots in the 16th century teachings of John Calvin, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) boasts million members who participate in more than 10, congregations across the country. The largest Presbyterian organization in the land, the denomination was formed in when the southern-based Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS) joined the northern-based United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) to form a single entity. The Presbyterian Church (USA) remains distinct from the Presbyterian Church in America, which tends toward less inclusive policies.
The Presbyterian name derives from the Greek word for “elders” – lay leaders who govern the church and are chosen by its congregants. According to the denomination’s web site, elders work closely with clergy to, “exercise leadership, government, and discipline and possess responsibilities for the life of a particular church as well as the church at large.” Elders serve at every level of leadership from “sessions,” which govern a single church, to “presb
Carl Schlegel’s Proselytizing Makes Him the Earliest U.S. Gay Activist
November A Brooklyn Heights Presbyterian church holds a “two-hour worship service and symposium on the subject of homosexuality,” which includes a performance of part of the gay themed off-Broadway play “The Boys in the Band.” The pastor of the church, Rev. William Glenesk, claims that the sermon is necessary because “we must look at one another with love and compassion….variations of sex are not sin.” [1]
Undated The General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church releases a statement entitled “Sexuality and the Human Community” which contains a brief section on homosexuality. While the status of homosexuality as a “sin” is maintained, the Assembly also approves a recommendation that calls for the “elimination of laws governing the private sexual behavior of consenting adults.” [2]
Undated Rev. David Bailey Sindt begins the Presbyterian Gay Caucus, which later becomes Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC), by holding a subscribe at the General Assembly that asks “Is anyone else o
While the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has opened the way for gay individuals to be ordained, there remains an active discussion of sexual orientation in the church and society.
Commissioners at the th General Assembly (GA) will vote on a proposed overture to add more inclusive language to the Book of Order to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Meanwhile, members of the Advocacy Committee for LBGTQIA+ Equity (ACQ+E) will attend their first GA as a group.
Advocates for LBGTQIA Presbyterians are hopeful the overture will pass and that the committee will be a passionate and representative voice for people who at times have felt unheard in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). But some people view the overture as a step in the wrong direction.
The Fellowship Community (TFC) , a network of Presbyterian churches, released a statement saying, “Our hope is that the overture fails. We hope that the General Assembly commissioners will notice that their task is to enrich the whole church, and not just those they agree with.”
The statement was releas
How a gay St. Louis pastor triggered a war within the Presbyterian Church in America
Greg Johnson describes himself as a “gay atheist teenager” who fell for Jesus — and found himself at the center of evangelical Christianity’s internal battles over sexuality.
For nearly 20 years, Johnson has pastored Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, right across from Forest Park. He says he’s been gay and celibate the entire time. When he came out to his church, he said he received a standing ovation and shouts of “We adoration you, Greg” from congregants.
But since Johnson went universal with his orientation in Christianity Today, pastors in his denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, include tried to banish clergy who identify as gay, even if they commit to celibacy.
Johnson has fought that. He says orientation is largely fixed — but believes there is still a place for people like him in conservative churches.
“I spent a lot of years convincing myself that I was a straight man with a disease called homosexuality that could be cured,” Johnson said on Wednesday’s St. Louis on th