On June 11, 1978, the Session voted to submit to various newspapers the following statement:
Recent events impel us to call attention to the compassionate attitude of the Presbyterian Church toward homosexuals. Publicity given to their ineligibility for ordination has tended to obscure the church's firm stand against discrimination against them in such matters as employment, housing, and public accomodations. The Policy Statement approved by the General Assembly last month contains the following:
The Church must turn from its fear and hatred to move toward the homosexual community in love and to welcome homosexual inquirers to its congregations. It should free them to be candid about their identity and convictions, and it should also share honestly and humbly with them in seeking the vision of God's intention for the sexual dimension of their lives.... There is room in the church for all who give honest affirmation to the vows required for membership in the church. Homosexuals who sincerely affirm 'Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior' and 'I intend to be his disciple, to obey his word, and to show his love' should not be excluded from membership... Vigilence must be exercised to oppose Federal, State, and local legislation that discriminates against persons on the basis of sexual orientation.We of Old South Haven Church heartily endorse these statements. We perceive homosexuals to be, like all men and women, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we urge our community to treat them with compassion and respect.
This church has also taken the position in our overture to the 1979 General Assembly that a church which confronts the homosexuality of a candidate for ordination, considers the guidance of the 1978 General Assembly, and decides to ordain the individual, has that right. The 1979 General Assembly took no action on the overture and the above position remains as our stated position.
--Adopted by the Session, July 1980.