 Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ohio
On February 17, at Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ohio, the Presbytery of Scioto Valley affirmed the 218th General Assembly's Ordination Amendment 08-B by a vote of 115 YES, 88 NO with 1 Abstention.
The Ordination Amendment Vote in 2001 was 103 YES to 105 NO. So, the Presbytery of Scioto Valley is another presbytery in this extraordinary trend of presbyteries "flipping" their votes from NO to YES. The story of this presbytery meeting and its vote from The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch
newspaper today follows this announcement. Earl Todt, Elder, First Presbyterian Church, Waverly, longtime MLP and PFLAG supporter spoke at the meeting and is quoted in this article.
The Presbytery of Scioto Valley includes 113 churches with a total membership of 22,422. The Presbytery is located in 26 counties in central and southern Ohio with an office in Columbus, Ohio.
The Mission Statement of the Presbytery of Scioto Valley reveals why a vote to end discrimination against LGBT Presbyterians and their families is possible within this presbytery:
"As members of the larger Body of Christ, God calls us to live out the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. We do this by building partnerships, communicating with and supporting congregations and leaders, and reaching out into the world with the love of Christ."
Special thanks to all those working to end discrimination against LGBT Presbyterians and their families now in the the Presbytery of Scioto Valley. You are an inspiration.
We want to offer particular gratitude to Rev. Ann R. Palmerton, Associate Pastor, Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus and Rev. John Stull, Honorably Retired Presbyterian Minister, Broad Street Presbyterian Church; Patty and Earl Todt of First Presbyterian Church, Waverly, along with Rev. Debra Peevey, MLP, Rev. Tricia Dykers-Koenig, CN, and Beth Van Sickle, a new National MLP Board Member for providing outreach and serving as resource persons with this presbytery.
We want to alert all of you working in local presbyteries to pass 08-B to prepared for any of the "No Action" efforts in your presbytery and be ready to address them.
Thanks be to God for this stand for justice and victory in the Presbytery of Scioto Valley! Together We are building a Church for all God's people.
with hope and grace,
Michael
PS -- Special thanks to Bruce Hahne, recent National MLP Board Member and Elder, First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto, CA, a More Light Church for number-crunching and analysis of trends so far for Amendment 08-B -- go to http://yeson08b.blogspot.com/
Michael J. Adee, M.Div., Ph.D., Executive Director & Field Organizer
Answering God's Call to Serve!
For resources, stories, presbytery vote tally, and news from More Light Presbyterians
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009 12:35 AM
By Meredith Heagney
THE COLUMBUS (Ohio) DISPATCH
Local Presbyterians voted yesterday to accept an amendment that could allow people in same-sex relationships to serve as clergy.
The Presbytery of Scioto Valley of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted 115 to 88 to delete language from the church constitution that says clergy must be in a faithful marriage between a man and a woman or be chaste.
A majority of the 173 presbyteries, or regional church bodies, across the country must approve the amendment for it to take effect on June 28. As of last Wednesday, nine presbyteries had voted for the change and 25 had voted against it, according to the denomination's Web site.
Yesterday, local pastors and elders debated the amendment at Broad Street Presbyterian Church Downtown.
The Rev. Rick Negley, pastor of Berlin Church in Lewis Center, opposed the amendment. He said the church must defend the Bible's teachings about marriage and sexuality.
Earl Todt, an elder from First Presbyterian Church of Waverly, spoke of his gay son when he spoke out in support of the change.
"Now is the time for our denomination to end the discrimination we've been practicing against our brothers and sisters because of their sexual orientation," he said.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is the country's largest Presbyterian denomination, with 2.2 million members in nearly 11,000 congregations. The Presbytery of Scioto Valley includes about 110 congregations and 22,400 members in central and southeast Ohio.
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