General Assembly adopted unprecedented recommendations to change the definition of marriage and to allow LGBTQI ministers and elders to be called or elected to office.
As it would change doctrine, the recommendations will be submitted as remits for consideration under the Barrier Act.
Approval of those remits is required by at least half of the PCC’s 45 presbyteries (50 per cent plus one equals 23 presbyteries) which represent at least half of the combined total of the constituent members of presbyteries. It’s a double majority.
Here’s an example. Assume there are 1,000 members of presbytery across the PCC (some presbyteries may have only 10, others could have 50.) Let’s say 24 presbyteries approve, but when you add up the total members of those approving presbyteries, there’s only 485. It fails. You could have a large number of smaller presbyteries which approve, but their combined total of presbyters may be a fraction of the total. Or let’s say most of the larger presbyteries approve and the combined totals add up to 600, but most of the small presbyteries say no. It also fails.
If the double majority is not reached, the matter dies.
If the double majority is reached at the presbytery level, then it goes to General Assembly 2020 for final approval.
The 2020 Assembly may approve it and it immediately becomes law. Assembly may reject it and send it back to presbyteries for reconsideration. Commissioners could also take no further action, or they could send an amended or totally new proposal back to the presbyteries.