Renewal’s response to the remits — the full text is printed here — was released in late July and is being distributed not only to supporters but to the wider church. That’s a challenge for us, as we do not have official standing in the denomination. We have to rely on our membership, supporters and social media for distribution.
We believe it’s important to get the statement into the hands of each presbyter. We are working with those holding similar concerns in each presbytery.
We are also tracking how each presbytery is handling the remits. Presbyteries have until April 1, 2020 to submit their responses. That allows lots of time to consider the remits. We pray that each court will take advantage of that opportunity and will carve out a generous amount of time to discuss and debate the issue.
You can help!
- Join a local prayer group. Email renewalfelowshippcc@gmail.com and we will connect you to the closest one.
- If you are a voting member of presbytery or appendix to roll, consider acting as an ally to help distribute our statement.
- Let us know when your presbytery is discussing the issue and planning to vote. We can lift this up in prayer.
The remits consist of recommendations to allow two parallel definitions of marriage (“a man and a woman” or “two adult persons”) and to allow congregations and presbyteries to “call and ordain as ministers and elect and ordain as ruling elders LGBTQI persons (married or single).”
As it would change doctrine, the recommendations are 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.