Local Providence Presbytery approves same-sex marriage option

Robert VanBevern stood before his church Thursday, telling them he was gay and asking them to endorse same-sex marriage.

The church was larger than Uriel Presbyterian of Chester where VanBevern worships. VanBevern stood before representatives of the Providence Presbytery, which spans about 65 churches in York, Chester and Lancaster counties.

VanBevern, a retired chief petty officer in the Navy, explained that for 29 years his partner, Doug, has helped him through the challenges of life. They were married in March 2013, he said.

“Family and faith have helped us,” VanBevern said. He asked the gathering to help two loving people who have faithfully served God.

A few minutes later the Providence Presbytery voted 50 to 39 to approve a denomination-wide amendment which defines marriage as a “unique commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman.” The amendment gives each church minister the option of whether he or she will conduct a same-sex marriage.

Thursday’s vote came two days after the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) announced a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies had approved the amendment. With many presbyteries still left to vote, the tally late Tuesday was 87 presbyteries in favor, 41 against and one tied.

The Providence Presbytery vote, held at the Clover Presbyterian Church, mirrors recent national polls that show 59 percent favor same-sex marriages while 31 percent are opposed.

The debate before the vote “was an honest conversation of conscience,” said the Rev. Douglass Key, pastor at Clover Presbyterian Church and a member of the presbytery committee that recommended passage of the amendment.

Eight people spoke at Thursday’s meeting, four for the amendment and four against.

Ellen Green of Woodlawn Presbyterian Church of Sharon, supported VanBevern, noting she is the mother of a gay son. She said he had been baptized in the church and supported and loved by the church while a child.

“My son now has a partner and I hope he would be allowed the opportunity to marry in the church,” Green said. “He did not choose a lifestyle, it is part of who he is.” She said gays faced persecution in the church and ask presbytery members to “consider this for the safety of people, not just as an issue.”

The Rev. John Hallman of Bethesda Presbyterian Church of Camden, said that sin is not people, but an action, and to take a sin and celebrate it was wrong. “You are compounding one sin with another,” he said of the marriage amendment.

Marion McCarter of Tirzah Presbyterian Church in York County, said that you try not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but, “sometimes you have to hurt their feelings ... The Bible tells us sodomy is a sin, and I don’t know how the presbytery can disregard that.”

Presbyterian pastors and other church officials said Thursday’s vote could have gone either way. In 2011, the Providence Presbytery voted to allow the ordination of gay ministers.

Several pastors declined to comment on Thursday’s vote, noting their churches were sharply divided on the issue.

The Rev. Sam McGregor of Allison Creek Presbyterian Church in York County predicted that, “many faithful Christians who have been a part of PCUSA congregations will seek to become a part of other churches. Some churches will leave this denomination and find their place in other denominations. Some churches that remain in the PCUSA will choose to hunker down and try to retain old patterns that no longer work but blame others when they fail.

“And some churches will embrace the opportunity to present the good news of Jesus Christ in a new way that connects to people in our changing culture. The old ways don’t work anymore so that is why most people are leaving mainline churches. Churches willing to experiment and innovate are the ones who will find a new calling.”

The Rev. Lorenzo Small of Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church in Lancaster County opposed the amendment, but after the vote called for church unity.

The Presbyterian Church USA joins the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Quakers, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Churches and, in Judaism, the Reform and Conservative movements in recognizing same-sex marriage. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America lets individual ministers decide.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Local Providence Presbytery approves same-sex marriage option."