The Presbyterian Church (USA) or PCUSA has been in the news more this past week than any time this year. The denomination officially amended its constitution earlier this year to allow gays and lesbians to serve as ministers and lay leaders. Last Saturday, the Rev. Scott Anderson was ordained as the denomination’s first openly gay pastor. He told CNN:
“It’s an exciting time for me personally to be the first openly gay person ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and it’s a big moment for our church that has excluded gays and lesbians for so many decades, so it’s a new day for us.
So What?
In his piece for the Los Angeles Times, Stephen Ceasar places this denominational shift in historical context noting that the PCUSA is “the fourth mainline Protestant denomination to allow gay ordination, following the Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran churches and the United Church of Christ.”
To learn more, visit the More Light Presbyterians’ media release page, which includes links to multiple sites.
- If you were looking for a new church, would the position of the denomination with which a congregation is affiliated on this topic be a consideration?
- Whether you agree or disagree with the recent change in the PCUSA, do you think that the larger trend will continue?
- If so, within how many years do you expect all mainline denominations to follow the lead of these first four?
- If not, why not?