Our Challenging Way: Faithfulness, Sex, Ordination and Marriage

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in recent decisions on ordination and same-gender marriage, is attempting to map a challenging way forward. We have decided not to declare as a denomination whether same-gender sexual relationships are to be regarded as faithful and holy. We have set ourselves on this way twice: regarding ordination and regarding marriage. This means our denomination grants the legitimacy and Christian faithfulness of directly opposing views of what Jesus Christ calls us to in one of the basic elements of human life. This paper explores our challenging way, looking closely at the specific actions we have taken on ordination standards and defining marriage, and reflecting on why to embrace this challenging way. This paper is also available in Spanish and Korean.