Presbyterian Church Officially Recognizes Gay Marriage

Fantastic news came to Presbyterian gay and lesbian couples last Tuesday as members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to change the definition of marriage in the church’s constitution to include same-sex marriage. According to the New York Times, “The final approval by a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies, known as presbyteries, enshrines a change recommended last year by the church’s General Assembly. The vote amends the church’s constitution to broaden marriage from being between ‘a man and a woman’ to ‘two people, traditionally a man and a woman.” After 30 years of debate on the church’s stance on homosexuality, leaders in the church like Rev. Brian D. Ellison are thrilled with the decision. “Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gays and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community,” Ellison said.

While not all members of the church support the outcome of the vote, LGBT Presbyterians see it as a victory. “Some of us are calling it liberation day,” said the Rev. William Blake Spencer, pastor of Ocean Heights Presbyterian Church in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., who is gay and voted with his presbytery on Tuesday. “It will be the last L.G.B.T.Q. issue that we debate and fight about, and finally our welcome comes without a ‘but’ or an ‘if.’”

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