Presbyterian panel asked to recommend ban on blessings of gay unions

LONG BEACH, Calif. - A Presbyterian Church panel was urged Tuesday to recommend that the denomination not allow blessings of same-sex unions.

Two ministers and an elder said that permitting individual churches to perform blessing ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples, even if the services stop short of marriage, implies that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) condones same-sex relations.

The arguments supported three proposed amendments to the church constitution, the Book of Order, being considered by the Committee on Physical and Spiritual Well-being.

The 48-member committee was to decide by Tuesday night whether to recommend the amendments to the 560-member General Assembly meeting here this week.

If the assembly, the chief policy-setting body for the 2.6 million-member church, passes the measures, approval must then be sought from ordained ministers and elders nationwide.

Three amendments recommended that ministers be banned from blessing same-sex unions. A fourth amendment suggested the decision be left to individual churches.

Opponents of same-sex blessings told the panel that allowing the practice to continue as a ''friendly blessing'' would be akin to performing civil union ceremonies for polygamists.

''We cannot bless an act or behavior that we also call a sin,'' said Elder Ed Gobel of the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Presbytery, which proposed one of the three amendments.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) prohibits gays and lesbians from marrying within the church or serving as ministers, but it does not exclude them from practicing the faith.

The Rev. Charles Castles of the San Joaquin (Calif.) Presbytery told the panel homosexual couples should not be celebrated by the church but instead should be urged to change their ways.

Castles said he lived a ''promiscuous'' life before joining the church nearly three decades ago and that his wife had once been a lesbian.

He said that continuing to recognized gay couples could cripple the church's missionary work in countries with conservatives societies.

The Rev. Bruce Powell of the Charlotte, N.C., Presbytery argued that church officials should not view banning same-sex unions as an act of prejudice.

''Some will accuse us of being exclusive because of fear, anger and even hatred,'' Powell said. ''Please don't believe this rhetoric because it's not true. The issue is biblical authority.''

The Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig of the Western Reserve Presbytery argued that ministers should be able to decide for themselves whether to bless gay and lesbian couples.

She said predominantly homosexual congregations could disappear if recognition of their relationships was prohibited.

Zane Buxton, a church constitution expert, told panel members to be sure they understood the difference between marriage ceremonies and same-sex union blessings, which he compared to generic prayers ministers often say.

''Folks ask ministers to bless their cars, their houses, and probably even swimming pools. And friendships can be blessed in a variety of ways,'' he said. ''That's what we're talking about, as long as it's not the same as marriage.''