Synod judicial decision upholds
installation of gay elder in Connecticut
An appeal to the top ecclesiastical court is under
way
The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission
has finally ruled that the case against
the ordination of a gay elder is moot, because the term for which he
was elected has expired. [12-14-01]
by Alexa Smith, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- 16-November-2000 -- Although an
appeal is under way, the Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of the
Synod of the Northeast has upheld a Connecticut church's decision to
install a gay elder to serve on its session -- after answers were gotten
for what it had earlier deemed as inadequate sections of the elder's
original examination.
A stay of enforcement, however, has been granted to
stop Elder Wayne Osborne from being installed as a member of the session
of First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, Conn. -- a barrier that has
been in place since the 700-member congregation re-elected Osborne as an
elder nearly three years ago.
In fact, Osborne's three-year-term may expire before
his case is fully adjudicated -- raising yet another set of questions
about what that may mean should the synod PJC's decision be upheld by
the General Assembly PJC, the denomination's highest ecclesiastical
court which is the complainant's only source of appeal now.
The Stamford case was among the first in a series of
judicial cases to erupt after the denomination added a provision to its
constitution -- G-6.0106b -- prohibiting the ordination of unmarried
members who do not live in "chastity," a word from church
tradition that the writers of the amendment used to mean not sexually
active. Since the provision also defines marriage as "between a man
and a woman," sexually active gays and lesbians, whose unions are
not recognized by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), cannot serve as
church officers -- unless they chose to live celibate lives.
Osborne's case is the first time the courts have
attempted to interpret how far sessions must go to inquire about the
sexual behavior of potential church officers. It is also the first case
to determine how practices which the church's historic confessions call
sin -- such as homosexuality -- must be "self-acknowledged,"
which is another clause in the same constitutional provision which its
drafters said, at the time it was written, was included to prevent
witch-hunts.
In his first examination by the session, Osborne
refused to answer a question about his sexual activity and called
himself "chaste in God's eyes" -- answers both the session and
then the presbytery's PJC upheld.
But when the case reached the synod PJC last year, it
said both matters needed further questioning before any installation
could proceed. The session did so at its regular Jan. 18 meeting.
At its Nov. 6 hearing in Newark, N.J., the synod PJC
it deemed the re-examination adequate: rejecting, by a 7-3 vote, the
assertion that Osborne's examination was irregular because he is
"ineligible for active service on session" under G-6.0106b and
G-6.0108b, another provision which puts limits on freedom of conscience
for church officers.
By a 6-4 vote, it rejected the claim that the
examination is still "incomplete and inconclusive," insisting,
instead, that the session's follow-up exam was "sufficient,
procedurally and substantively."
"This reaffirms the church and the session's
position that we have indeed interpreted the Book of Order properly. Now
we'll wait to see what the General Assembly says once it is
appealed," said Steve Hart, an elder at First Presbyterian Church
in Stamford, Conn., who is the congregation's designated spokesperson.
Acording to Hart, what is at issue in the case is who
discerns what questions are appropriate when examining a candidate for
church office. "Congregations and sessions have the right to
install somebody that we feel is called to that office," he said.
"That's the bottomline ...
"We don't feel it is a homosexual issue. If you
put it in secular terms, it is a state's rights issue."
Osborne's answers -- as recorded by the session in the
PJC papers -- were more complex this time.
Asked whether or not he is sexually active, Osborne
again did not answer. He said declining to answer is acceptable under
the constitution of the PC(USA) because the provision requires
"self-acknowledgment" of a practice -- which gives him a
choice of how to answer. Osborne also contended that questions about
sexual activity are discriminatory, singling him out as a gay man.
Further, Osborne said scripture defines chastity much
more broadly than mere sexual abstinence. He cited 2 Corinthians 7: 11,
where the apostle Paul describes presenting oneself as "a chaste
virgin" to Christ, as evidence, where the two words would be
redundant if meaning sexual activity alone. Osborne pointed out that the
Heidelberg Catechism says God condemns all unchastity and requires the
faithful -- married or single -- to live chaste lives.
Citing texts in Hebrews and, again, the Heidelberg
Catechism, Osborne said that during his initial questioning, he
understood the word 'chaste' to mean "purity, holiness and
righteousness," gifts imputed out of grace by Christ's holiness and
sacrifice. He said that Christ, the high priest, has done the work of
salvation and sinful humans can stand boldly in the presence of God. In
that sense, he told the session, he believes that he is chaste, holy and
pure, in "the merciful eyes of God."
The PJC had ordered the session to question Osborne,
too, about a prior statement where he alleged that some sins mentioned
in the Book of Confessions are outdated and that the church does not
adhere to every sin described. He cited the Scots Confession which says
that Roman Catholic ministers are not true ministers of Christ and that
the Holy Ghost does not permit women to preach or baptize. He said the
Confessions prohibit creating images of God or Christ and that they also
require strict Sabbath day observance. The Westminster Confession
rejects dancing and attending stage plays, calling both sin.
What does that exam tell the wider church?
The Rev. Stewart Pollock, stated clerk of the
Presbytery of Southern New England, where the Stamford church is
located, isn't entirely sure. "I think it means when we examine
candidates, we need to be sure to have follow-up questions when they say
things that are troubling. But if they offer an explanation for what is
said or for declining to answer a specific question that is asked, it
seems to be permissible for the governing body to be satisfied with that
...
"If," Pollock said, pausing, "this ends
up being the ultimate rule for the church."
Judicial action was initiated several years ago by two
members of First Church -- Mairi Hair and James McCallum. The two argued
that Osborne's election to the session violated G-6.00106b, requiring
"fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a
woman, or chastity in singleness." It also alleged that the
session's examination of Osborne was not procedurally or substantively
sufficient.
The presbytery's PJC first heard the case and ruled
that the session's examination of Osborne, while imperfect,
"satisfactorily discharged its duty to inquire," and that
Osborne's acknowledgment of his homosexual orientation, falls short of
the voluntary self-disclosure of homosexual practice that G.0106b
requires. Pressing for more answers, it said, it said is a step down
"the slippery slope that leads to inquisition."
That's when the synod PJC ordered the re-examination.
The plaintiff's representative, Elder William Prey of
Old Greenwich, Conn., told the Presbyterian News Service that an appeal
is under way but he would not disclose the grounds.
Four members of the synod PJC did file a dissent in
the case, charging that Osborne is still ineligible for active church
service because his definition of chastity does not correspond with the
intent of the denomination's constitution, where it means sexual purity.
For singles, in effect, that means celibacy, the dissent stated.
Further, citing G-6.0108b, the dissent says that there
are limits to freedom of conscience for church leaders. The boundary
includes "the Word of God as interpreted in the standards of the
church."
Osborne previously finished a term on the
congregation's session in 1994. Reportedly, he began living openly with
another man between then and when the case was first filed.
The General Assembly PJC meets Feb. 2-4 in Orlando,
Fla., but of the Office of the General Assembly says it is unlikely that
the Stamford appeal will be ready for review by the PJC at that meeting.
