After a three decades of debate, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has opened the door to openly gay persons in same-sex relationships for ordination as ministers, elders and deacons.
With its change in ordination policy, the 2.1 million-member denomination joins a growing number of mainline Protestant churches that have voted to accept lesbian and gay clergy. They are the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran churches.
"The principal message the change sends is that the Presbyterian Church is a place where gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people will be honored, welcomed, and seen as the beloved people of God they are," said Michael Adee, executive director of More Light Presbyterians, a church advocacy organization.
"This is also an important step to create moral equality in the Presbyterian Church," he added.
The ordination change, Adee explained, builds upon the removal in 2008 of the "homosexuality is sin" policy.
Outside the church in civil society, he said, "The statement for moral equality has implications for [same-sex] marriage, [gay] adoptions, fair immigration policies, and workplace equality."
A local pastor says he, too, is encouraged by the new ordination rules.
"I see [it] as a way the church can move forward with integrity," said the Rev Michael Kirby, the openly gay pastor at Chicago's Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, a small welcoming and affirming More Light congregation, located a short distance from Midway International Airport.
The ordination ban, he said, was "an obstacle for growth and full participation in the fullness of society here in Chicago, making the church a place that is as open and welcoming to gays and lesbians as the city is."
As Kirby explained, "[The ban] has been a stone around our neck because it made us look as if we were backward."
For sure, LGBT Presbyterians who seek to serve their church welcomed the change, speaking in highly personal terms.
Kirby, for example, was ordained in 2003 and is single, said he studied in seminary with a several people who were openly gay. And yet, "because they were in relationships, they have not been able to be ordained to this day, and I was," he said. "That just isn't fair."
For Lisa Larges, a San Francisco lesbian, the change in ordination policy may well make a dream to serve come true.
"I've been seeking ordination for minister of word and sacrament for 25 years," she said. "I hope sometime in the next year ahead that my journey will end, and I can be ordained in the church I love."
Both the San Francisco and Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) presbyteries approved Larges, but her ordination was blocked through judicial actions, and the case is still in judicial review.
"With the change in our constitution, it remains to be seen what the highest court in the church will do," she said.
Largess, who also serves as the minister coordinator of That All May Serve Freely, another church advocacy group, estimates that between 50 to 75 LGBT persons are either in seminary or are graduates who "long" to be Presbyterian ministers.
Consequently, More Light's executive director Adee sees an important and immediate next step—a national grassroots educational campaign to help local churches understand the ramifications of the change and to ensure that it is implemented fairly.
"We want every Presbyterian church to be open to calling a qualified LGBT minister and to have the gift of having LGBT elders and deacons serving in the local church," he said.
The historic change in Presbyterian policy, which takes full effect in July, came about on May 10, when the Twin Cities presbytery, a regional governing district, approved an amendment to the church's constitution. The vote to ratify was 205 to 56, with three abstentions.
Last summer, the General Assembly, the denomination's highest governing body, approved an amendment deleting language in the denomination's Book of Order that in effect barred the ordination of non-celibate gay candidates by requiring them "to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman or chastity in singleness."
New language now requires that "standards for ordained service reflect the church's desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life" and that "the governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation shall examine each candidate's calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability."
However, before change is official church policy, a majority of the 173 regional presbyteries must approve any amendment.
The vote by the Twin Cities presbytery pushed the ordination measure over the top.
Currently, the denominational tally stands at 88 presbyteries voting for the amendment and 62 against it, with 24 presbyteries yet to decide.
The Chicago presbytery, with 43,000 members, approved the amendment earlier this year.
The change in the church's constitution, however, does not mean that presbyteries must ordain gay candidates. It only gives leeway to do so.
And not all among the faithful are happy with the decision to open ordained ministry to non-celibate gay persons.
Presbyterian News Service reported about 100 congregations out of 11,000 have already left the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), with more expected to join them soon.
Good Shepherd's pastor, Rev. Kirby, said he understands the unhappiness and expects to spend time "responding faithfully, graciously, and collegially to our fellow Presbyterians who are pained by this change, inviting them to remain in conversation and communion with us even in our disagreement."
At the same time, Kirby sees two urgent pastoral needs. "We must be a loving, welcoming counter to the message of rejection and shame that comes from some religious circles and that too often leads LGBT youth into depression, self-hatred and self-harm," he said.
Another need, Kirby said, is providing care and counseling to same-sex coupes. "We should provide pastoral freedom to ministers and congregations in areas where same-sex marriage is legal so that they can companion and celebrate with the gay and lesbian couples in their midst who are committing their lives to one another," he said.
"Requiring our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to build their families outside of the support and embrace of the Christian community runs counter to our theology and our pastoral calling," Kirby explained.
At last summer's General Assembly, delegates declined to reformulate the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)'s understanding of marriage to include same-sex couples. But the denomination's conversation on the topic—and push for marriage equality—is expected to continue.
