The Presbyterian Church, USA, voted for a resolution that would allow individual churches to ordain gay clergy and elders. However, the national church does not allow the ordination of gay clergy or elders, and the General Assembly voted to reconfirm that ban. I'm glad that PCUSA took a step forward, but conservative Presbyterians will surely challenge the ordinations in church courts. I know one Presbyterian priest who recently went through the wringer because of his support for the LGBT community.

I think the interesting thing in the article is the use of the concept of purity. The name of the bipartisan task force that recommended the local option is the "Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church." The Rev. Michael R. Walker, executive director of Presbyterians for Renewal, a large conservative group, said: "It's going to increase confusion and rancor in the church, and it's certainly going to result in a quagmire within church courts. So, far from promoting peace, unity and purity, it actually promotes unrest and disunity and impurity." He said the compromise solution, in which each church or presbytery could make up its own mind, was not acceptable to many conservatives because they felt "guilty by association" with a church that had "compromised biblical standards" on sexuality and morality. It's dangerous to view one's fellow human beings as tainted objects which we must stay away from, because this can lead to demonization, or it can be a sign of demonization. Demonizing the opposition will get us nowhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/24/us/24church.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin