A governing body of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) for the Kentucky region
voted
on Tuesday to overturn a national ban on gay ministers. The
vote by the Presbytery of Transylvania, which covers 56
counties in central and eastern Kentucky,
marked the first time
a local presbytery rejected the ban, which has been in place
since 1996.
The amendment to
overturn the ban on gay ministers would need approval by a
majority of the 173 presbyteries in the United States to
succeed. If passed, it would allow gays and lesbians to be
ordained as pastors, elders, and deacons. Several previous
attempts to overturn the ban have failed.
The Presbyterian Church
(USA) claims to have approximately 2.3 million members, with
large concentrations of members near Charlotte, N.C., and
Pittsburgh.
The Presbyterian Church
(USA) has considered such amendments to its Book of Order
several times since 1996, when an amendment was put in place
requiring church officers to live "in fidelity within the
covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in
singleness."
Votes from all 173
presbyteries are expected to be completed by May.