Christ Church Presbyterian Struggles t BY STACEY Honn en leaders of LGBT organizations in Vermont met at the Queer Summit last month, Glen Gross came to rep- resent Christ Church Presbyterian (CCP), the little red brick church located next to the water tower on UVM’s Redstone campus. Gross, who has been a member and an elder at the church for three years, brought the tale of CCP’s conflicts within, the Presbyterian denominational hierar- chy for its “More Light” statement. The church’s policy declares: “CCP is a ‘More Light’ church. We welcome all persons regardless of sexual orientation, into full participation in the life, member- ship, and leadership of this church, and strive, as part of the Body of Christ, to reach out in ministry to les- bian, gay, bisexual, and transgen- dered people both within and outside of our congregation.” The phrases “regardless of _ sexual orientation” and “full partici- pation in the life, membership and leadership” (emphasis added) are the ones that trouble the Presbyterian hierarchy. This statement has been interpreted by other churches within the Presbyterian denomination as a declaration of the local church’s dis- regard for the requirements for lead- ership in the church as outlined in the Presbyterian constittiitigri,-,ithe§r’;lf’_¢R§:ok of Order. This collectiop,_§f,poli§i§s ;? stipulates that candidates for leader- ship must “live either in fidelity _ith- in the covenant of a marriage _ 1 between a man and a woman," ~ chastity in singleness. Persons refus-I , ing to repent of any self-acknowl- edged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or ' installed as deacons, elders, or minis- ters of the Word and Sacrament.” This stipulation, commonly referred to as Amendment B, was voted into effect on April 20, 1997, but Ken Wolvington, an elder and longtime member of the local church . recalls, “The issue had been boiling ’ tation, and homophobia within our ~ ‘ dfi_the»lo'_:qa_l L(:r:l‘3T.‘co‘nimunity. At th 5 sincewe lost"a“‘rne‘mber over [LGBT “is a ‘More Light’ church. into full participation CCP policy statement left: co-pastors Mike Brown and Becky Strader. Christ Church, beslde landmark water to ' issues.]” rebuke occurred in April of 2002, when the Presbytery of Shenango, PA petitioned the denomination’s General Assembly to order the Presbytery of Northern New England, which has supervisory and pastoral authority over the local churches within its territory, to compel CCP to “rescind its statements against the Book of Order.” The Shenango peti- _ tion called for the replacement of the 1 cqngregation’s _go‘vernin_g_bod_y istiiéder, if‘the for years.” The “More Light” state- ment had been framed in 1984 and a task force was fonned to “seek more light on sexuality and spirituality, dis- criminatory laws and mores against persons because of their sexual orien- spiritual community and our society.” Local church members publicized their welcoming message . Pfiiiilzfyterian °.*3;4i9 d “More Light.” state- ding to Wolvington, of members over; _ ._ ., .- fin it’s been:=year_s{f."‘,,,. " The pr_evioi1_,attempt came V’ two years ago—in’July,,,v”vhen a church in Londonderry, NH filed a complaint against the Presbytery of Northern New England, alleging that the super- visory body had not taken sufficient action against the Burlington church for its statements that it was opposed to and could not comply with Amendment B. In that case, the General Assembly’s Permanent Judicial Commission also ruled that there was no evidence that CCP had violated the Book of Order. Nevertheless, the Presbytery was ordered to warn the church about the consequences of such a violation. The statements under fire included a resolution passed by the local church in 1997 — “We vigorous- ly protest passage of Amendment B as a thinly disguised and dramatic reflection of the Presbyterian Church’s hypocrisy regarding inclu- sion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Christians in the full life of the church” — and a l998 report that, “sadly, we have not found a way to be in compliance with Amendment B without harming deeply the church community that we are called to lea .” In response to the Shenango petition and growing ten- sions around “More Light” issues within the Presbyterian Church nationally, Burlington’s church issued a statement in June that it had “set aside” its 1997 Resolution of Dissent and 1998 Report to Presbytery regarding Amendment B. Church leaders explained that the congrega- Christ church Presbyterian We welcome all persons regardless of sexual orientation, in the life, membership, and leadership of this church...” While CCP’s membership has remained committed to “More Light,” other Presbyterian churches have challenged their stance. The lit- tle church on the hill in Burlington tion’s intent was to “clarify and has twice been the object of attempt- strengthen” its statement of convic- ed reprimands through a denomina- tion. tional process. Co-pastor Becky Strader The most recent attempted explained, “We took a step of pru- dence that took away the red flag.” As Glen Gross noted, “Nothing else is happening in the church [national- ly] because of this issue.” Because the Shenango petition presented no hard evidence that CCP had actually violated the Book of Order, the Presbyterian General Assembly voted to take no action. Strader said simply, “We had not violated any order, and the General Assembly saw that.” But the church is not back- ing off, Strader insists. “There is absolutely no question whether we’ll continue to be a More Light church. That’s still our statement.” Wolvington adds, “We’re determined to see the denomination change. We know that it will.” CCP is looking for ways to remain a “More Light” church while demonstrating compliance with the denomination’s constitution. Co-pas- tor Brown explains, “We are work- ing, as promised, on clarifying and sharpening our statement regarding how we will relate to [Amendment] B.” Gross and Wolvington both emphasize that Burlington’s church has gained strength from the support of the Presbytery of Northern New England. While focusing on accept- ance of a “More Light” stance within the Presbyterian denomination as the church’s major goal, local church members have also been active in LGBT missions such as supporting the enactment of the Civil Union law, and participating in the Vermont Freedom to Marry Coalition, the Board of Directors for Outright Vermont, and Vermont’s Pride Festival. Co-pastor Mike Brown concluded by issuing an open invita- tion. “We at Christ Church Presbyterian understand the hospitali- ty and inclusiveness of Jesus to be the most important guide to how we come across as a congregation. Jesus does not seem to have insisted that anyone become something he or she is not in order to tag along on the journey. This congregation may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you will probably not be able to say that it’s the same old thing you’ve always found in church.” V Stacey Horn is a teaching assistant at U VM and a member of Christ Church Presbyterian. She lives in Burlington. -,_..._ ,