The Presbytery of East Toronto is sending an overture to General Assembly, asking it to establish a committee that will study same-sex marriage. The presbytery hopes the committee will report back to assembly within two years, providing clear direction to congregations and clergy that are asked to participate in the marriages of same-sex couples. The motion was passed with little discussion.
The overture is in response to a request for guidance from Rev. Jane Swatridge, who was asked to perform the marriage of a gay couple in March 2004. Presbytery created a task force in April to study the matter. In October, they met for a special workshop where they discussed the issue in depth. In November, the committee presented its report, but presbytery sent it back for clarification.
The resulting overture passed by presbytery on Feb 1 — the same day new legislation on same-sex marriage was introduced in the House of Commons — was created to reflect the diversity found within the presbytery. It specifically asked for the assembly to re-examine the church's doctrine on marriage, clarify the church's position on same-sex marriages, and provide direction on an appropriate response to same-sex couples asking to be wed.
Some dissenters objected to the overture because, they believed, the assembly has already studied the issue and made its position known. In 2002, assembly reaffirmed that marriage is "between one man and one woman." Rev. Kevin Livingston of Knox, Spadina, argued that the church's position is stated clearly in Living Faith and the Westminster Confession.
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