Bel Air Presbyterian Church files a formal complaint over same-sex blessing ceremony
I’m very curious what you think about this issue. I think how this issue is talked about or addressed within the church (Bel Air Presbyterian Church), is very different than how it is perceived outside of it.
I have been in constant conversations recently with those involved in young adult ministry and under (i.e., college, high school, jr. high, etc.) And for those we minister to this issue seems to garner several responses.
Here is what I/we hear:
- People have an opinion about it, and they may be for or against same-sex blessings/marriages, etc. But they don’t feel it is worth fighting.
- Or, they may not agree with same-sex blessings/marriages, but they don’t believe bringing up formal charges is a good pastoral response. Or not the Biblical thing to do.
- Then there are those who think this is a non-issue. “Why are we talking about this?” type response.
- Then there are those who say, draw the line in the sand and fight this. They see this as the slippery slope and it’s time to take a stand.
- And everything in between.
I don’t know if this issue would play out differently in another part of the country than Los Angeles. It’s too early to say.
Where do you stand on this very heated issue?
(Full Disclosure: I’m not ordained PCUSA, and just this week withdrew my name from the ordination process after being in it for several years. So there are issues that I don’t completely understand, that those of you ordained PCUSA would understand as far as the ordination vows and bringing up formal charges against another church, etc. And most of you know, but Bel Air Presbyterian Church is the church where I work).
I will keep you updated on how this all plays out…
Here is the full LA Times article:
Same Sex Blessing
In an unusual action, one Los Angeles-area Presbyterian church has filed a formal complaint against another, trying to stop a same-sex blessing ceremony scheduled for Sunday.
The “stay of action” requested by Bel Air Presbyterian against Brentwood Presbyterian was denied by a church judicial commission, and the blessing will proceed, leaders of both said.
“We’re not trying to make an ecclesiastical statement,” the Rev. Charles Svendsen, interim pastor of Brentwood Presbyterian, said of the planned ceremony for the Rev. Lisa Bove and Renna Killen. “We’re doing this to extend pastoral care to two people who have been part of our faith community for many years.”
Bove, an ordained Presbyterian pastor now employed as a medical social worker, and Killen, a bone marrow transplant nurse, have been attending Brentwood Presbyterian almost eight years, Svendsen said. They asked the church to hold the ceremony to celebrate their 10-year relationship and their family, which includes 9- and 6-year-old daughters who take part in the church’s programs.
The service for more than 200 guests was planned partly with the girls in mind, Bove said. “To them, it’s an important symbol of the church blessing our relationship and our family,” she said.
Presbyterians, along with members of other denominations including Episcopalians and Lutherans, are deeply divided over issues related to homosexuality and biblical authority, including same-sex blessings and the role of gay clergy. Under current Presbyterian guidelines, same-sex weddings are prohibited, but blessings are permitted in certain circumstances.
The Rev. Mark Brewer, pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian, said that despite a long friendship with Svendsen, he and other leaders of his congregation felt obliged to file the complaint, even though the ceremony is not a wedding. “Our feeling was that the service was so close to a wedding that not to file would be compromising our understanding of Scripture,” Brewer said.
“It’s like calling a cop on a neighbor you’re good friends with,” Brewer conceded. “But because of our friendship, we also felt we could do this without a lot of acrimony. It’s not personal. It’s a theological thing.”
Brewer, who said there were no plans to disrupt the ceremony, added that a decision had not yet been made about whether to appeal the judicial commission’s ruling.
Bove said she and Killen were happy the ceremony could proceed, but saddened by Bel Air Presbyterian’s action. “It’s devastating to think that someone wanted to stop us from having this in our own church,” she said.
Hey Rhett. You spoke in a class I took from Mark Brewer (Media Tech in Ministry) last year at Fuller and I’ve followed your blog since then…great stuff. Here’s my take: I think Bove hit it right on the head when she said that doing this ceremony would mean the Church blessing their relationship. As such, I feel the church shouldn’t hold the ceremony. It’s a really tough call and I can see why the women would feel hurt by Bel Air’s action, but I think it was the right call to make. I wonder where you stand personally on the issue, and also if it had anything to do with your choice to pull out of the ordination process. I became a Candidate in September, but a couple years ago I really considered leaving the process over the homosexuality and abortion issues (really, authority and interpretation of Scripture was more the deeper issue to me, and continues to be), so I can feel for you and know it’s a tough choice to make. God bless you and His ministry thru you at Bel Air!
Jeff,
Hey, what’s up? Actually, my timing to pull out of the ordination process and this issue are not related. Just happened at the same time.
My issue for pulling out of the ordination process was more an issue of calling and passion. At the end of the day I don’t see myself wanting to spend the time that is needed doing the things that is required for ordination, and after that I don’t want to be involved in the committees, presbytery, etc, etc.
I have other issues besides that that I have shared with my CPM Committee. It was time to close that door. I will have to blog more on this issue in the next month or so.
Rhett – great post and such a tough issue. Some guidance on the issue for me came from Lesslie Newbigin – evangelist, bishop, writer, precursor to all things “missional” and ecumenist, who was head of the World Council of Churches. He helped form the Church of South India, bringing together a bunch of churches from different denominations because he felt that the Church’s single greatest sin was denominations – that essentially discounted our message of reconciliation in Christ. In spite of this, he would have left the denomination over the issue of homosexuality. That said a lot to me.
As much as we think we’re “where it’s at” and the Holy Spirit is driving the church here in the West – we’re at the front of the train and everyone else better catch up… I’m really wondering if we haven’t missed the boat on a lot of this. When 3/4 of the Church in the world thinks we’re out to lunch, maybe we need to listen to the entire witness of the church (both geographically and across time) before we begin making any grand pronouncements on this issue.
As someone “on the inside” so to speak, the way that BAPC handled this, although it makes “waves” with a LA Times article, it’s probably the best and most pastoral way to say “we disagree with what you’re doing – but we’re still in relationship with you and we’re going to continue to both disagree and be in relationship, hoping to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, together, despite our disagreement.”
But I’d be interested to know if that’s what Mark was thinking or not. Walk down the hall and get him to tell you!
Don,
I need to read more Newbigin…his name pops up more than anyone else it seems.
Thanks for the thoughts. I really respect your opinion, especially since you are ordained (and we used to work together in student ministry).
I do think that the West is pretty arrogant when it comes to it’s belief that we are “driving” the Church, or theology. We really fail to take into account all the theology that is out there. Which is quite hubris on our part.
Rhett