Newark Out Big for B

I am catching up after vacation on amendment B, the proposed change to the PCUSA Book of Order that would move our denomination toward equality. The latest tally is 48 in favor and 77 against. It is important to know that many of the historically conservative presbyteries voted early. Many of the historically pro-equality presbyteries are voting later. It is not over as we will likely see many more pro-equality votes in the days and weeks ahead.

Check More Light's latest analysis of that.

Newark Presbytery voted today in favor of the new B by a vote of 42-8. They voted yellow last time which means that Newark is the 21st presbytery to flip! Bruce Hahne has stats galore as well as a summary of last week's voting.

This was a good week -- we held all presbyteries that previously voted pro-equality, we flipped one presbytery (Eastminster) that was a likely flip, plus an additional presbytery (Transylvania) flipped that I wouldn't have expected. We also shifted from unanimous-no to not-unanimous-no in Hanmi, a transition that we should call out and celebrate.

As I mentioned in a previous post (March 14), the current presbytery vote counts are heavily skewed towards "no" due to early voting by anti-LGBT presbyteries and late voting by pro-LGBT presbyteries. We might start to see this skew diminish a bit over the next few weeks, simply because we're starting to run out of "likely no" presbyteries.

One of the arguments given against changing our constitution is that presbyteries have voted with increasing no votes ('97, '98, and '01). That argument is dead in the water. Even if the presbyteries do not pass this change this time, the trend is most definitely toward equality.

It is very important to get folks to the meetings, to speak, and to vote in favor of this amendment. If it doesn't pass now, then for sure in 2011. But...now is not over!!