North Jersey Presbyterians voted this week to approve a controversial amendment to national church law that would allow churches to ordain clergy and other church officers in homosexual relationships.
But the amendment -- which the Presbytery of the Palisades passed by a 59-33 vote -- must win the endorsement of at least a majority of the 173 presbyteries, regional units of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
Two years ago a similar amendment, approved by the church's general assembly, failed because nearly two-thirds of the presbyteries rejected it.
As of Monday, only 25 of the nation's presbyteries had approved the proposal and 60 had rejected it. At least 60 of the presbyteries that have not yet voted rejected the amendment two years ago, so passage this year seems unlikely. If the amendment is passed, presbyteries still could place restrictions on who is ordained.
Meeting on Tuesday night at the Armenian Presbyterian Church in Paramus, the presbytery took its action after about 40 minutes of debate, with seven speakers on each side of the issue.
The amendment, if passed, would remove a rule that requires church officials to practice "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."
Speakers opposing the amendment, such as Stewart Manthey of Wayne Presbyterian Church, said the nationwide effort to amend church law was from "a group that wants to lower the standards of Scripture."
Barbara Van Tillberg of First Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood contended that the measure would be a radical departure from tradition and would "contribute to the immorality of this country."
The Rev. David Thornton of United Presbyterian Church in Paterson argued that while Jesus did not condemn the sinners he encountered, he did admonish them to "go and sin no more."
Thomas Pinnel, pastor of South Presbyterian Church in Bergenfield, said: "Though I grew up thinking adverse thoughts towards gays and lesbians, through learning more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I changed."
Hank Van Kooy, an elder in the Presbyterian Church in West Milford, said he and his wife were "surprised" when his son told them -- after his third year at college -- that he is gay. The son, Van Kooy said, "made it clear that he is not gay by choice, but that God created him that way."
The Presbytery of the Palisades, which includes churches in Bergen and Hudson counties and parts of Passaic County, approved a similar measure two years ago.
Two other presbyteries in New Jersey -- Elizabeth and Newton – have approved the amendment. Presbyteries in Monmouth, New Brunswick, Newark, and West Jersey (Haddonfield) have not yet voted on the issue this year.
But the issue will remain a difficult one for Presbyterians. In several presbyteries, ordination of gay and lesbian clergy and elders has taken place in spite of the ban, prompting a flurry of activity in church courts as the validity of the ordinations is challenged.