Overture 23: Sexual Morality and The Ministry

At Southland Enterprises, Kinlock Street, Invercargill, on 2 December 2003, the Southland Presbytery met and was constituted.

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The Presbytery agreed to transmit simpliciter the following overture from the Session of North Invercargill Presbyterian Church, to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand appointed to meet in Christchurch on 19 September 2004.

Whereas (1) the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is constitutionally and legally bound to order its life in accordance with the Word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments as interpreted by the Subordinate Standards (Reg.1, Reg. 475)

And Whereas (2) the Standards are intended to be regulatory (Reg.475), and stand above even the decisions of Assembly, and decisions contrary to the Standards are out of order

And Whereas (3) the Supreme and Subordinate Standards of this church have always been understood to condemn sexual relationships outside of marriage (e.g. Answers to Q. 28 and Q.139, Larger Catechism), and never condone them

And Whereas (4) the doctrine and ethics of the worldwide Christian church have for most of the last two thousand years been conservative in matters of sexual morality, and recent challenges to those views are an innovation

And Whereas (5) until the recent innovative decision of the Judicial Commission (reporting October 2003), it would always have been understood and assumed within the Presbyterian Church in this country that it would be doctrinally unacceptable to ordain ministers involved in a sexual relationship outside of marriage – and therefore no regulation was required

And Whereas (6) various resolutions of the 1974, 1985 and 1991 General Assembly expressed the mind of the Presbyterian Church on matters of sexual ethics, including the statements that "homosexual acts are sinful", and that "God´s intention for sexual relationships, as affirmed by Jesus Christ, is loving, mutual and faithful marriage between a man and woman, and that intimate sexual expression outside of that context fall short of God´s standard", and these statements have neither been rescinded nor superseded

And Whereas (7) A Judicial Commission reporting in November 1994, with the power of Assembly, has ruled that "The decisions of the General Assembly have no ?limited shelf life´ or ?use by´ date. They do not need to be reaffirmed year by year to remain binding on the Church. They continue speaking until the Assembly itself decides to amend, modify, or fall from them using the powers and procedures laid down for doing so in the Book of Order"

And Whereas (8) It is erroneous (in view of long-established and widely-held Christian ethics, the Standards, and previous Assembly statements) to assume that the absence of explicit regulation or legislation enacted under the Barrier Act means that the church has no "policy" or "doctrine" on a matter

And Whereas (9) any major change to long-established Christian doctrine and tradition in sexual matters including the acceptance into ordained ministry of persons openly involved in sexual relationships outside of marriage is clearly an innovation

And Whereas (10) approval under the Barrier Act (1697) is required for any major change in doctrine or life, "for preventing any sudden alteration or innovation, or other prejudice to the Church, in either doctrine or worship, or discipline"

And Whereas (11) General Assembly´s authorisation of elders to lead and administer Communion required an Act of Modification falling from certain phrases in the Subordinate Standards, and approval under the due processes of the Barrier Act

And Whereas (12) the surprise ruling of the Judicial Commission (October 2003) that there is no legal barrier to practising homosexuals being licensed, ordained, inducted, or accepted for ministry training is controversial in the extreme, and likely to be severely injurious to the peace and unity of the Presbyterian Church in this country

And Whereas (13) the Judicial Commission ruled that the Assessment Work Group by refusing to accept a professing homosexual for assessment was therefore barring a "class" of people, namely "practising homosexuals", but the Presbyterian Church has never referred to such people as a separate or special class but rather has specifically declared that homosexual acts are sinful (1985 decision of General Assembly)

And Whereas (14) the introduction of the understanding that those involved in homosexual behaviour are a separate "class" of people is an innovation in relation to the historic doctrine and practice of the Presbyterian Church

And Whereas (15) the Presbyterian Church has historically maintained that it has the sole right, guided by its standards, to rule on matters of doctrine and practice

And Whereas (16) the Judicial Commission (October 2003) appears to have relied upon secular legal arguments and understandings in reaching its conclusion, as if it were a secular appeal court

And Whereas (17) what appears to most Presbyterians as a major shift of policy should be decided by a General Assembly, representative of the whole church, and through the normal processes, rather than by five persons meeting in a Judicial Commission

And Whereas (18) it is now obvious that the Presbyterian Church would benefit from a clear regulation on sexual morality and ministry, to remove any uncertainty or confusion about the policy of the Presbyterian Church

And Whereas (19) for the sake of its peace and unity and good order the Presbyterian Church needs a policy on sexual morality and ministry consistent with its Standards, previous General Assembly decisions, and the convictions of the majority of its members

And Whereas (20) it would be in the best interests of the Presbyterian Church not to have this matter drag on for several more years but instead be addressed as quickly as possible through the General Assembly.

IT IS HEREBY REQUESTED that the General Assembly rule that, in accordance with the Standards and the conventional doctrine and usage of the Church, the courts and other relevant bodies of this church should not accept for training for ordained ministry, or license, ordain, induct into ordained ministry anyone involved in any sexual relationship outside of faithful marriage between a man and a woman until such time as appropriate enabling legislation including an Act of Modification has been specifically approved by a subsequent General Assembly under the processes of the Barrier Act.

Or that the General Assembly determine otherwise as in its wisdom it shall consider best.

The Presbytery appointed Mr Andrew Bayne to support the overture before the Assembly.

Extracted from the records of the Presbytery by

Rev Alan Matheson
Presbytery Clerk