Today at noon the bells of many churches in Washington DC, including the National Cathedral and New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, pealed in celebration of today’s same gender marriage decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court.
It is a historic day for LGBTQ people. “I rejoice in the knowledge that the justices have reached a decision that makes our union—indeed all our unions—more perfect and certainly more equal,” writes The Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean of Washington National Cathedral.
“We, the members and congregations of More Light Presbyterians, celebrate today with all those whose legal marriages will finally be recognized by the federal government, and we rejoice with millions of Californians who now have civil marriage equality returned to them. We are mindful that the same Supreme Court eviscerated the Voting Rights Act yesterday, and that that injustice must be corrected by Congress at the earliest possible moment. We will also continue to work for change in the PC(USA) to remove the restrictions on sessions and clergy to host and officiate at Christian weddings of same gender couples.
With the addition of California, there are now 13 states and the District of Columbia with legal same gender marriage recognized federally. This means that there are 4,542 Teaching Elders (clergy) in 46 presbyteries who are put in the untenable situation of trying to obey a muddled mishmash of Permanent Judicial Commission rulings, or truly be pastors to the same gender couples among them. These numbers will only continue to rise as we move toward the 221st General Assembly of the PC(USA) in Detroit a year from now. The GAPJC has called on the church to answer this problem. We will continue to work to help the church move toward full justice for LGBTQ people.”
~Patrick Evans, Interim Executive Director of More Light Presbyterians
Related articles
- Gay marriage ruling: National Cathedral rings bells to cheer Supreme Court (politico.com)
- Whither the U.S. Bishops Now, After SCOTUS, with Majority of Conservative Catholics, Strikes Down DOMA? (bilgrimage.blogspot.com)
- SCOTUS Ruling: A Giant Leap Forward For Gay Marriage (npr.org)
