Eily Marlow approved for ordination
A press release
from the Presbytery of Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE -
February 23, 2005 - Eily Marlow, a chaplain in the Lilly Project at
Macalester College, St. Paul MN, was affirmed for ordination today by a vote
of the Presbytery of Milwaukee. The vote was 104 affirmative, 20 negative
and 1 blank.
Ms. Marlow, when
she became a candidate for ministry under the care of the Presbytery of
Milwaukee in September 2003, shared with the body, that she was a lesbian.
Currently, the Presbyterian Church (USA) prohibits self-avowed, practicing
homosexuals to be ordained to the offices of elder, deacon or minister of
Word and Sacrament.
Ms. Marlow is a
graduate of Macalester College in St Paul, Minn., and earned her master of
divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in 2002. Ms.
Marlow passed the five required ordination examinations in the areas of
biblical comprehension, worship, theology, polity and biblical exegesis. She
prepared and preached a sermon before the presbytery's Committee on
Preparation for Ministry.
Her final
requirement before ordination was an open examination from members of the
presbytery on her statement of faith and her views on theology, the Bible,
the Sacraments and church government.
Prior to her
examination before the presbytery, Ms. Marlow answered the following
questions asked by the Committee on Preparation for the Ministry:
- Will you
fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of
scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions? She responded in
the affirmative.
- Will you be
governed by our church's polity and will you abide by its discipline? Her
answer was in the affirmative
- Having read
what the Constitution requires, do you wish to acknowledge any impediment
to your ordination or installation? She answered in the negative.
During the
examination before presbytery, Ms Marlow agreed to abide by the Presbyterian
Church USA Constitution G-6.0106 which includes... "Among these standards is
the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage
between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to
repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin
shall not be ordained and /or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of
Word and Sacrament."
Upon her
ordination, Ms. Marlow will be transferred to the Presbytery of the Twin
Cities, where she will continue her ministry at Macalester College. An
ordination date has not been set.
The Presbytery
of Milwaukee consists of 50 churches affiliated with the Presbyterian Church
(USA) in southeastern Wisconsin. The presbytery consists of equal numbers of
pastors and lay elders representing the congregations and specialized
ministries within the area.
