RICHMOND, CALIF. — San Francisco Presbytery has cleared a candidate to proceed toward ordination as a minister who has declared a scruple — an objection based on conscience — to the denomination’s ordination standards involving sexual practice.
The presbytery voted 167 to 151 on Jan. 15 to approve as “ready for examination, with departure” Lisa Larges, a lesbian who works as ministry coordinator for the advocacy group, That All May Freely Serve.
This is the first time a presbytery has approved a candidate who declared a scruple involving sexual practice following the General Assembly’s adoption in June 2006 of the report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
That report — the source of much controversy in the denomination — directs ordaining bodies (presbyteries in the case of ministers) to intensify the rigor with which they examine candidates, stating that they are not free to add to or diminish the denomination’s standards. But that in the process they are to assess “Whether a candidate being examined for ordination and/or installation as elder, deacon, or minister of Word and Sacrament has departed from scriptural and constitutional standards for fitness for office,” and “Whether any departure constitutes a failure to adhere to the essentials of Reformed faith and polity under G-6.0108 of the Book of Order, thus barring the candidate from ordination and/or installation.”
In a written statement, Larges, 44, expressed disagreement with the standard in the constitution of the PC(USA) that requires those being ordained to practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are single. Larges described the “fidelity and chastity” standard as “a mar upon the church and a stumbling block to its mission.”
The presbytery’s action constitutes its judgment that her statement of conscience is not a barrier to her continuing pursuit of ordination.
A challenge to the action is being filed by those in opposition, beginning with a stay of enforcement, to be followed by an appeal to the Synod of the Pacific. In all likelihood any action taken by the synod, whether supporting Larges or those who oppose her ordination, will be appealed to the General Assembly’s Permanent Judicial Commission (GA-PJC).
Mary Naegeli, a member of the presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM), presented a minority report to the presbytery, opposing the recommendation. She told the Outlook, “The votes in both committee and at presbytery were very close. This is by no means an overwhelming show of support for departing from constitutional standards. I think there was an awareness among many presbyters that this wasn’t only about Lisa. Commissioners were asked to allow Lisa to defy the constitution, but they were also asked to break their own ordination vows.” Naegeli is helping organize the appeal efforts.
While this is the first case of an individual declaring a constitutional departure under the provisions of that 2006 action, a second is soon to follow. United Theological Seminary professor Paul Capetz, an openly gay man, has applied for reinstatement of his ordination in the light of the 2006 action (he set aside his ordination in 2000, in the light of the denomination’s policy). He will be examined by the Presbytery of Twin Cities on January 26.
This vote does not conclude Larges’ candidacy process. The presbytery’s vote focused upon her statement of conscience. She still needs to be examined on all other aspects of her theology and fitness for office, plus she must be issued a call to a church or another ministry validated by the presbytery. Larges expressed hope that that part of the process will proceed around April 2008, although that can be delayed by the legal challenges.
The process for ordination usually takes two to three years. Larges took her first step toward ordination in 1985 when she enrolled at San Francisco Seminary and became an inquirer in the Presbytery of Twin Cities, where she grew up. In 1991 she announced to the CPM there that she was a “lesbian woman.” Following that disclosure, the committee and presbytery continued the candidacy process.
That action was challenged in the church courts and overturned by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. On appeal, that action was upheld by the GA-PJC in 1992. She continued to be listed as a candidate, and in 1997 moved to San Francisco, transferring her candidacy status to the presbytery there. In 2004 that presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry reconsidered her candidacy and voted against ordination. In view of the possibility of a later change in policy, they allowed her to continue as a candidate.
After the vote, That All May Freely Serve issued a statement saying that it “is deeply grateful to the Presbytery of San Francisco for its commitment to find a way to live more graciously with one another. We remain committed to the full and complete removal of all barriers to ordination for all whom God calls to serve the church.”
The executive committee of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians also issued a statement, calling this “a day to celebrate.” The statement affirms that the PC(USA)’s ordination standards can’t be ignored, but must be applied to individual candidates — as, it contends, San Francisco Presbytery did in this case. “Though all may not agree with the decision that was rendered, we hope that all will agree that this historic, ordered approach will best serve the church as it continues to struggle with controversies.”
“We also celebrate this week with Lisa Larges,” it adds. “She has been an inquirer or candidate for ministry for twenty-two long years, waiting patiently for her gifts and call to be affirmed while the church fought its battles. … The church has not solved its division over sexuality and ordination. But yesterday it took a modest but significant step forward.”
