Presbyterians' policy-making body votes to ban gay commitment ceremonies

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The chief policy-making body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) narrowly recommended Friday that the denomination bar ministers from officiating at commitment ceremonies for gay couples.

The measure, which passed with only 17 votes to spare, still must be ratified by the church's 171 presbyteries nationwide before it can become part of the Book of Order, the church's constitution.

The presbyteries will have one year to decide on their vote. If they approve, the ban would be put into effect at next year's meeting of the General Assembly.

Friday night's vote, which came after a little more than an hour of debate, was 268 in favor of banning the ceremonies to 251 against with four abstentions.

The issue, which has held center stage at the 2.6-million member congregation's annual convention this week, brought out impassioned appeals from people on both sides.

''The people coming before us asking us to bless their relationships are not aliens from outer space, they are our friends and children,'' said the Rev. Dick Carlson, who argued against the ban Friday night and who said his youngest son is gay.

''They're in the closet of shame because we're more comfortable with them there,'' Carlson added. ''But ours should be a church of affirmation.''

But proponents of the ban argued that the Presbyterian Church must stop blessing same-sex unions because that implicitly condones homosexual behavior, which the church views as a sin.

''We are going to be hindering the grace (of God) that is open to all of us'' if such a ban is not instituted, General Assembly member Tim Black, a church elder from San Fernando, said before the vote.

Friday's action came after a little more than an hour of discussion. It was preceded by hours of impassioned debate on Tuesday before a church committee recommended by a vote of 25-22 that the General Assembly support the ban.

The General Assembly approved a similar ban in 1995, but it failed to win ratification nationwide.

A month ago, the church's highest court ruled that local congregations may conduct religious ceremonies celebrating homosexual unions as long as those ceremonies stop short of marriage.

No state has legalized gay marriage, although on Saturday the state of Vermont begins recognizing civil unions, which provide many of the same rights as marriage.

The General Assembly's amendment says gay commitment ceremonies may not be performed by church officers and cannot be conducted on church property or involve the use of church resources.

The debate has placed the denomination at a crossroads over homosexuals.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) prohibits homosexuals from serving as ministers but does not exclude them from practicing the faith.

Gay activists say that if Presbyterians allowed gay commitment ceremonies, other Christian denominations would feel pressure to include homosexuals in more aspects of their faith. The activists also say predominantly homosexual Presbyterian congregations could disappear if recognition of their relationships is prohibited.

Supporters of the ban respond that recognizing gay unions could cripple the church's missionary work in countries with conservative values.