homosexuals in the Church
http://www.presbyterian.ca/documents/sexualorientation.pdf
I did ask Pastor Kitson about gays and lesbians being welcomed in the church. They are welcomed and can take on ministry roles, but cannot be ordained. As yet, the Presbyterian church does not bless same sex unions.
This article is the report on homosexuality for the Presyterian Church in Canada. It's nicely written and clearly outlines the logical arguments and research. Part way through I realised that divorced and remarried persons should not be ordained, which incudes myself and most people I know. I actually am worse I suppose as Kev and I are not married and he is in fact not yet divorced. But a sinner is a sinner, and who am I or anyone to judge our sins? And what about the greedy, and liars, and those guilty of envy, or gossip, or theft? The article touches on remarried divorced persons and says that despite their being sinners equal to homosexuals, they DO become ordained. And it queries whether the changing in times and perspective and understanding might not move the Church to also allow homosexuals to be ordained, and thus it conclueds that truly it should not conclued and that the jury is best left out.
I did ask Pastor Kitson about gays and lesbians being welcomed in the church. They are welcomed and can take on ministry roles, but cannot be ordained. As yet, the Presbyterian church does not bless same sex unions.
This article is the report on homosexuality for the Presyterian Church in Canada. It's nicely written and clearly outlines the logical arguments and research. Part way through I realised that divorced and remarried persons should not be ordained, which incudes myself and most people I know. I actually am worse I suppose as Kev and I are not married and he is in fact not yet divorced. But a sinner is a sinner, and who am I or anyone to judge our sins? And what about the greedy, and liars, and those guilty of envy, or gossip, or theft? The article touches on remarried divorced persons and says that despite their being sinners equal to homosexuals, they DO become ordained. And it queries whether the changing in times and perspective and understanding might not move the Church to also allow homosexuals to be ordained, and thus it conclueds that truly it should not conclued and that the jury is best left out.
posted by Katrina Urquhart at 7:54 p.m.
5 Comments:
http://www.presbyterian.ca/documents/sexualorientation.pdf
Probably didn't link because it's a pdf. It's good though, worth reading
you know i'm interested, and you should know i'm too tired; maybe in the a.m. before my first swimming lesson, i'll read this more thoroughly. i'm apprehensive about tomorrow: am i diving off the deepend? i trust that you and i are attracted to the same kinds of questions, and, despite our differences, share some similar viewpoints; but i distrust the church, and i also distrust my initial responses when i encounter the church anew. you say, for yourself it feels like falling in love, and i ask myself, do i want to fall in love again?
This is certainly not my first look in at the Church. Is it simply the right Church? The right time? I felt the same way before as you do now, although coming from a different tradition. You know you can discipline your responses and you won't "fall." "Falling in love again" resonates with me: I've oft dreaded it. In my experience now with God it feels more like "falling in love for the last time."
22 pages! Ack. I am a simple person, with simple abilities, and my need to know is very limited in this case. Thus, my limited and simple understandings of sinners and pagans with the church is that they are to be saved by being introduced to the true church (not the same as backsliding heretics). It seems to me that most people don't understand the saving part and simply refuse to associate instead. Doesn't sound like your pastor is one of those tho'.
it seems to me that the report makes a very strong case for the full inclusion of everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, especially in the questions they ask on pages 14 and 15. the report identifies the central issues, not as sexual orientation and its deviancies, but as homophobia and its effect on pastoral care. that's pretty strong: people are being hurt and god's gifts are being squandered. and while the report recognizes that change is slow in coming and knows the timing is not right for immediate change, it knows change is inevitable. i find this very encouraging and i were a member of the curch, i would take the paragraph at the bottom of page 13 very much to heart:
"When speaking with the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus was challenged to re-evaluate his understanding of inclusivity (Mark 7: 24- 30). She caused Jesus to rethink his position and moved him from a stance of excluding to one of including. In a commentary on Mark’s gospel, entitled, Say to This Mountain, we read, “Oppressed people often have a profound analysis of
social situations, and know the paths of justice. People in positions of authority need to heed them.”12 Dialogue is a blessing for the church and the world."
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