6 churches back
lesbian couple seeking
same-sex marriage
approval
By Craig M. Kibler,
The Layman Online. August 29, 2005
Six churches are supporting an
amicus curiae brief favoring same-sex marriages in Maryland after the
Presbytery of Baltimore voted to rescind its support of the brief following a
complaint that charged such support violated the Constitution of the
Presbyterian Church (USA).
The congregations have been longtime advocates for gay ordination and publicly
defiant of the denomination's constitutional provisions. One of the
churches, Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, in "An
Open Letter to the Presbytery of Baltimore and the Presbyterian Church (USA)" in
2002, declared "that the root cause of constitutional crisis in the Presbyterian
Church (USA) is the very presence of G-6.0106b in the Book of Order" and
proclaimed that the denomination's fidelity/chastity ordination standard "is not
an essential of Reformed faith and polity."
The six churches are: Faith Presbyterian Church in Baltimore; First and
Franklin Street Presbyterian Church in Baltimore; Brown Memorial Park Avenue
Presbyterian Church in Baltimore; Govans Presbyterian Church in Baltimore; Light
Street Presbyterian Church in Baltimore; and St. Johns United Church (United
Methodist/Presbyterian Church (USA) in Columbia.
By joining the case as advocates of same-gender marriages, the congregations
take a position that conflicts with the Book of Order provision that recognizes
marriage -– whether civil or church -– as a union of a man and a woman and not
two people of the same sex.
The amicus brief was filed in Baltimore Circuit Court on June 14 and was
signed by 25 religious organizations and 48 religious leaders "from a diverse
range of faiths." It argues that they support same-sex marriages because
"lesbians and gay men have the same capacity to love, to form relationships, to
commit to one another, and, if they desire, to nurture children, as do
heterosexuals."
Saying that its signers "represent substantial segments of the religious
community," the brief said it was submitted to "dispel any notion that the
religious community speaks with one voice in support of the State's marriage
discrimination against lesbians and gay men."
On January 14, the Presbytery of Baltimore voted to rescind its Nov. 18, 2004,
vote to support the amicus brief. After the vote, the Rev. Joseph Condro
of Churchville Presbyterian Church in Churchville, Md., and the Rev. David
Wilson, pastor of Grove Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, Md., filed a complaint
against the presbytery with the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of
the Mid-Atlantic. The synod issued a stay prohibiting the presbytery from
filing the brief, pending the outcome of a synod trial. By rescinding its
action, the presbytery avoided a trial.
In their complaint against the presbytery, Condro and Wilson contended that the
presbytery's action was contradictory to the Book of Order, which recognizes
marriage as a union only of a man and woman, whether the marriage is conducted
in a church or in a civil ceremony. They argued that the presbytery does
not have the authority to sign such a brief.
At its November meeting, the presbytery had approved three statements included
in an overture from Brown Memorial Park Presbyterian Church:
"That the Presbytery of Baltimore goes on record … in support of the recognition
of 'Civil Marriage' for same-gender couples as an appropriate means for securing
access to the rights, benefits, privileges, and responsibilities of marriage in
our society."
"That the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery is directed to subscribe the Presbytery
of Baltimore to the Amicus Brief being filed in the case of Deane and Polyak
vs. Conaway on behalf of religious organizations and individuals in
Maryland, provided that a review of the brief by the Stated Clerk determines
that it is consistent with this and all other policy statements of the
Presbytery."
"That the Peace and Justice Committee be directed to include in its advocacy
opposition to legislation and constitutional amendments which further prohibit
civil marriage."
The Deane and Polyak in the civil case are Brown Memorial members Gitanjali
Deane and Lisa Polyak, a lesbian couple who were refused in their attempt to
apply for a marriage license. They filed a civil action against Frank
Conaway, Baltimore's City Circuit Court clerk, asking the court to require that
they be issued a marriage license.
In presenting its overture, Brown Memorial described Deane and Polyak as "two
courageous members" and affirmed "their belief that the State of Maryland has no
compelling interest in restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples, with the
result that gay and lesbian couples are denied the privileges, benefits, and
responsibilities of marriage."
At the time, Charles Forbes, stated clerk of the Presbytery of Baltimore, noted
that the 216th General Assembly had voted to prohibit its staff from taking
stands on same-sex marriage proposals.
The Presbytery of Baltimore has worked and voted consistently over the years to
both oppose and defy church law over ordaining practicing homosexuals. One
of its members, the Rev. Donald Stroud, is openly homosexual. He serves on
the Baltimore staff of That All May Freely Serve, a gay-rights activist group.
Both Stroud and his organization have signed the amicus brief.
Posted Aug. 26, 2005
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