Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) meeting in Dallas rejected – by two votes – an amendment Saturday that would ban same-sex union ceremonies in their churches.
But church leaders said the 206-204 vote shouldn't be seen as an endorsement of the ceremonies. Many people voted against the amendment because it was worded imprecisely, they said.
"The closeness of the vote shows that Presbyterians in Texas, like Presbyterians across the country, are genuinely in a place of uncertainty with this issue," said the Rev. David Wasserman, general presbyter of Grace Presbytery, a region of 52 counties in northeastern and north-central Texas.
More than 550 people turned out for the daylong meeting of the presbytery at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dallas, though not all were eligible to vote. The presbytery's 185 congregations make it the second-largest in the denomination.
Presbyteries nationwide are voting on the amendment because of a mandate from the denomination's governing body, the General Assembly. The amendment must be ratified by a majority of the 173 presbyteries to become part of the denomination's constitution.
As of Friday, the nationwide count stood at 74-53 to defeat the amendment, after almost three-quarters of the presbyteries had cast one vote each. Thirteen more votes against it would defeat the amendment.
Several presbyteries voted Saturday, but denominational leaders said that it would take several days to determine whether enough votes had been cast to defeat or pass the amendment.
The debate in Dallas was orderly and limited to 30 minutes. Eight people spoke on each side of the issue. Many read prepared statements.
Supporters of the amendment said the Bible doesn't condone same-sex unions. Some called the vote a referendum on homosexuality, which they said was sinful.
"Jesus' first miracle – changing water to wine – was at a wedding in Cana," said Becky Hugman of Irving. "That wedding had a bride and a bridegroom, not a bride and a bride."
Opponents of the amendment were not of one mind.
Some said that they didn't approve of same-sex ceremonies but that the amendment's wording would infringe upon churches' ability to decide how their property is used and to whom pastoral care is provided.
Others spoke against the amendment because they favored same-sex ceremonies. Two pastors who perform the ceremonies said the amendment would hinder their ability to minister to gays and lesbians.
After the vote, people said they didn't expect the issue to be resolved soon. The denomination has been debating homosexuality for decades.
"You can be sure that we'll be voting on this topic again," Ron Voda of Tyler said.