Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved an amendment to its constitution that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The LGBT advocacy group Covenant Network of Presbyterians announced Wednesday the passage of Amendment 24-A in a statement posted to the PC(USA) ‘s official website through the Presbyterian News Service.
Amendment 24-A amended the PC(USA) Book of Order to include gender identity and sexual orientation to the antidiscrimination statement found in F-1.0403, which read in part that “God unites persons through baptism regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction.”
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Initially passed at the 226th PC(USA) General Assembly last year, the amendment needed to receive yes votes from at least 84 of the denomination’s 166 presbyteries.
According to the CNP, Amendment 24-A recently passed the threshold, having recently garnered the official support of 87 presbyteries, while dozens of other regional bodies have yet to vote.
CNP Executive Director, the Rev. Brian Ellison, said in a statement that “we’re still a long way from equity in many areas of church life” for LGBT individuals.
“Still, this vote marks a significant milestone aligning our governing documents with our stated values, and demanding that all who would serve as leaders in our midst take seriously their responsibility to avoid discrimination and honor all people,” Ellison stated.
Amendment 24-C, a proposal initially coupled with Amendment 24-A that would require PC(USA) clergy candidates to answer questions about their views on LGBT issues, is still being considered.
The CNP’s tracking of Amendment 24-C, accessed by The Christian Post on Thursday morning, shows that it currently has 57 yes votes and 34 no votes, with 75 presbytery votes still to be held.
The two amendments were originally known collectively as the “Olympia Overture,” named after the presbytery from which they originated.
Although the antidiscrimination amendment passed the General Assembly by a vote of 389-24, the amendment requiring the questioning of clergy passed by a closer margin of 297-130 and garnered considerable debate.
Young Adult Advisory Delegate Chase White of the Utah Presbytery told those at the 2024 assembly that he felt it undermined the “big tent” of the PC(USA), citing the past policies of the denomination when it barred the ordination of openly gay individuals.
“I believe that this section of the overture threatens our witness to Christ, because it allows us once again to be gatekeepers, but now just to a different group of people that we have decided belong on the outside,” White said. “Everyone belongs inside, even those we disagree with.”
Teaching Elder Benjamin Fitzgerald-Fye of the Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery defended the amendment, claiming that it “doesn’t ask anyone to do anything” and “doesn’t stop anyone from doing anything.”
“We cannot have a conversation if we keep giving ourselves permission not to talk about things,” said Fitzgerald-Fye at the time. “It is not nice to set aside the rights of others because it is uncomfortable to talk about it.”
“It is not nice to exclude people knowingly and then not have to talk about it. What this does is to ask us to begin having a conversation so people know where we stand as leaders.”
The PC(USA) ratified an amendment allowing ordination of openly LGBT pastors at the discretion of each congregation in 2011.
Before last July’s General Assembly, over 100 clergy signed an open letter opposing any requirement that clergy candidates be asked about their views on sexual orientation and gender identity, saying it appears to “introduce an ordination question that is deeply at odds with our core Reformed tenet of freedom of conscience.”
“This amendment would immediately disqualify and exclude many faithful and dedicated Ruling Elders, Teaching Elders, and Deacons from serving due to their convictions,” the letter reads. “Moreover, it risks imposing a non-negotiable and rigid standard on an issue where faithful Christians hold differing views.”
