NEW YORK (AP) — After decades of debate, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Tuesday struck down a barrier to ordaining gays, ratifying a proposal that removes the celibacy requirement for unmarried clergy, in the latest mainline Protestant move toward accepting gay relationships.
The change was endorsed last year by the Presbyterian national assembly, but required approval by a majority of the denomination’s 173 presbyteries, or regional church bodies.
The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, based in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., cast the deciding 87th vote Tuesday night. Sixty-two presbyteries have voted against the measure and balloting will continue, but the majority needed for ratification was secured in Minnesota.
Top Presbyterian executives issued a statement to the church acknowledging that “some will rejoice while others will weep,” at the decision.
“However, as Presbyterians, we believe that the only way we will find God’s will for the church is by seeking it together — worshiping, praying, thinking and serving alongside one another,” the executives wrote.
