The 64-14 vote to enroll Scott Anderson, an openly gay man, came after a nearly hour-long executive session of the body in which it debated Anderson’s affirmation of conscience of G-6.0106b, which requires those serving in ordained office to live in fidelity within the covenant of heterosexual marriage or chastity in singleness.
By a vote of 71-23 in executive session, the body ruled that Anderson’s affirmation did not constitute a departure from essentials of Reformed faith and polity, then returned to open session to vote on enrolling Anderson as a candidate for minister of Word and Sacrament.
The votes were by paper ballot.
Anderson, one of three inquirers appearing before the presbytery at Westminster Presbyterian Church, spent about 30 minutes before the body, during which time he read his statement of call and affirmation of conscience.
“God’s call is not to privilege but to service, to be partners with God in the healing of creation,” Anderson said in his statement of call. “Followers of Christ are called to be co-workers with God in the mission of liberation and reconciliation.”
Anderson said it was a privilege to have served two Presbyterian congregations over an eight-year period in the 1980s. That service “became the most fulfilling work of my life and provided vivid confirmation of my sense of call,” he said.
Anderson, 53, set aside his ordination in 1990. Since then, Anderson has served in ecumenical capacities in California and Wisconsin. That service confirmed that “the best fit for my gifts is service as pastor in a congregational setting.”
Responding to a question from the floor, Anderson said he desired to return to parish ministry because he misses opportunities to preach regularly, to walk with people through times of crisis, and to celebrate with them times of joy.
In his written affirmation of conscience, Anderson said that the church often reads G-6.0106b as excluding from ordained office gay and lesbian Christians in covenanted lifelong partnerships. Anderson said he does not believe “this categorical exclusion is either biblical or faithful” and provided the presbytery with five reasons for this belief.
First, in citing Genesis 2:18, which declares that it is not good for people to be alone in life, Anderson wrote that one aspect of creation that God declares not good is “human beings living in isolated loneliness, without a suitable companion. The text is not exclusionary; the possibility of divine relationship is God’s good and gracious gift to all human beings, the result of divine discontent with the ways things are in creation, and God’s work in fashioning a ‘partner’ to make things the way they ought be as a sign of redemption. ”
While some Christians choose a life of celibacy, Anderson wrote that he does not possess such a vocation. “Like most Christians, I am called to a life of partnership as described in Genesis.”
Second, citing the command of Ephesians 5:31-32 for a man to leave his parents and be joined to a wife, Anderson wrote that “life-long covenanted gay and lesbian partnerships can likewise arise from Christ’s redeeming, self-giving love and serve as icons or images of that love to the world.”
Scripture prohibiting same-gender sexual expression refers to same-gender sexual activity of the ancient world, which “functioned overwhelmingly as expressions of exploitation and power over inferiors” or were examples of “sexual idolatry.” These forms of same-gender sexual relations are “absolutely incompatible with the kind of sanctified, self-giving love that God intends for the marital bond.” Biblical writers were thus “being faithful in portraying such relationships as disordered and incompatible with Christian discipleship.” Faithful reading of Scripture cannot treat covenantal same-gender partnerships as the same thing that Scripture condemns, Anderson said.
Third, Anderson cited Acts 10:34, in which Peter said that God shows no partiality, Anderson said he believes the Holy Spirit gives the deep faith and devotion to God exhibited by gay and lesbian believers “who seek to live out God’s call in the context of faithful, covenanted, life-long partnerships.”
Fourth, Anderson said that by excluding those in same-gender partnerships from ordination, the church sends a message to gay and lesbian believers that they are disqualified from service “on the basis of unchosen aspects of who we are from every being able to respond to the call of God.” This situation is the “antithesis of the Gospel message,” Anderson said.
Fifth, the Book of Confessions is “not entirely clear cut” regarding same-gender relations, Anderson said. Anderson reminded presbyters of a decision by the 218th General Assembly to review the translation of the Heidelberg Catechism currently in the Confessions referring to “homosexual perversion.” Acknowledging that the Westminster Larger Catechism lists “sodomy and all unnatural lusts” as sins, Anderson said that “it is not at all clear that the term is directly transferable to contemporary discussions of same-gender relationships.”
The body was allowed to ask questions of clarification on his affirmation, and several people asked directly whether sexual intimacy was a part of the relationship that Anderson has with his same-gender partner.
“We’ve been in a relationship for 17 years, and I’m going to leave it at that,” Anderson said. Pushed for clarification, Anderson said that his affirmation of conscience was his answer.
After the meeting adjourned, an exhausted Anderson told Presbyterian Outlook that, going into the meeting, he did not know what to expect regarding the presbytery’s vote. He said that the vote on his scruple and candidacy made a very strong statement and that he was proud of the presbytery for its willingness to walk with him through this process.
Tuesday’s vote moves Anderson into the final year-long stage of the ordination process. He currently serves as executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches. He told the Outlook that he hopes the presbytery will validate that position as an ordainable call and ordain him as a minister of Word and Sacrament in November 2009. The presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry is not requiring him to retake the denomination’s ordination exams.
If he is ordained, Anderson said he plans to continue with the Wisconsin council for about five years and then seek a call in a parish setting. He said he believes that there are between 200 to 300 congregations in the country where his gifts and talents would be a good fit.
Grant M. VanderVelden is a seminary student at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and an inquirer under care of the Presbytery of Milwaukee. He served as a seminary advisory delegate to the 218th General Assembly.
