News
2007-06-05
Pittsburgh
Presbyterian church votes to leave national church over gays
A majority of
members at Pittsburgh presbytery's largest church voted
Sunday to split off from the Presbyterian C
A majority of
members at Pittsburgh presbytery's largest church voted
Sunday to split off from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and
join a more conservative denomination, in part because
of the national church’s growing inclusion of
gays. Of the 1,450 members of Memorial Park
Presbyterian Church in McCandless Township, 951 voted to
join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, reports the
Associated Press.
The Presbyterian
Church (USA) is one of many Protestant denominations
currently struggling with the role of gays in the
congregation and on the pulpit. Memorial Park church
officials expressed their concern with the national
church's more liberal stance on gay ordination, a recent
move away from traditional religious doctrine. A
national church court decision from the year 2000 also
allows Presbyterian churches to bless same-sex unions
so long as the unions are not equated with marriage.
In 1999 the
Memorial Park congregation became a “confessing
church,” part of a popular movement within many
American Protestant denominations that includes
questioning the treatment of sexuality and homosexuality by
the modern Christian community.
“We are
saddened that Memorial Park members and leaders have elected
to separate from the Presbyterian Church,”
Pittsburgh presbytery pastor James Mead said in a
statement after Sunday's vote. “However, we believe
that wrestling with such painful issues is part of God's
redemptive plan for the world.” (The
Advocate)
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