Earlier this week, the Church Orders and Ministry committee voted 24-14 to remove a phrase from the Presbyterian Church’s constitution that prohibits the ordination of homosexuals to the ministry. This is the first step to allowing gays and lesbians leadership positions in the Presbyterian Church.
To strike the clause, majority approval is needed from the entire 560 member committee, which meets later this week. If sanctioned, the measure is presented to ordained Presbyterian ministers and elders all over the country, who require a majority of the 173 bodies must approve it in order for change to occur.
One gay minister expressed his enthusiasm for the measure: “I am pleasantly surprised by this. I am a gay man that was blessed to be called by the church and what this [current measure] says is my right to serve the Lord is based on me being heterosexual and not the grace of God.”
