The Conference of Ghanaian Presbyterian Churches in North America Declare Position on Same Sex marriage
Rev. Yaw Nkansah of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church
Recently The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) voted to formally sanction same-sex marriages. The 1.7 million-member church voted to amend its constitution to allow gay marriage ceremonies, a move which permits its ministers to marry same-sex couples.
This has generated a lot of debate and misinformation within the body of Christ. Afrikan Post delved into this controversy and would like to clear the air and bring out the real state of affairs
The Conference of Ghanaian Presbyterian Churches in North America (CGPCNA) who are part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) by a resolution disagrees with the changes to the PCUSA constitution and have issued a formal statement dissociating the group from the move due to their inherent cultural, moral and traditional beliefs. The Conference of Ghanaian Presbyterian Churches in North America (CGPCNA) is a gathering of Ghanaian inspired Presbyterian Churches and Fellowships which are chartered or recognized under the constitutions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Through its affiliation, CGPC mobilizes resources to support mission work in Ghana as well as enable fellowship amongst its member Churches and joint ministries-Youth, Women, Men, Choir and Singing Band. There are currently 13 congregations of which 6 are chartered churches and the remaining 7 are fellowships or new church developments in PC (USA)
Even though the amendment to the constitution received unanimous vote, the representative of the conference of Ghanaian Presbyterian Churches voted against it. As much as the resolution has been adopted a document signed by the Ruling Elder and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA (221st General Assembly) and posted on the PCUSA website clearly states as follows:
Moderator and Vice Moderator issue letter on marriage amendment
“Nothing herein shall compel a teaching elder (minister) to perform nor compel a session to authorize the use of church property for a marriage service that the teaching elder (minister) or the session believes is contrary to the teaching elder (minister) or the sessions’ discernment of the Holy Spirit and their understanding of the word of God”
“It also allows teaching elders (Ministers) to exercise their pastoral discretion in officiating weddings and in doing so “… the teaching elder may seek the counsel of the session, which has authority to permit or deny the use of church property for a marriage service.”
A Presbyterian minister therefore can use his own discretion based or his own discernment from the Holy Spirit as such the amendment is not binding on any minister of the Presbyterian Church.
The Conference of Ghanaian Presbyterian Churches in North America (CGPCNA) have therefore declared their stand that they would not be bound by the move and would not perform or allow same sax marriages in the congregation .
Afrikan Post Newspaper contacted Rev. Yaw Nkansah of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church and he affirmed the position of the conference. He dared any one to prove with evidence on allegations that he was performing such ceremonies in secret.”
“We as a body of Christ should not be in competition with each other as such we must not take advantage of rejoicing when another ministry encounter issues”
He went on to confirm that even though the Presbyterian Church USA has been tagged with accepting same sex marriages and ostracized by the Presbyterian Churches in Ghana it is a fact that some of the presbyteries of the Presbyterian Churches in Ghana have partnerships with PCUSA and receive financial and material support from them. Some ministers come to PCUSA seminaries in the United States to pursue their masters and PhD. Programs and therefore benefit from their training institutions.
According to Rev. Yaw Nkansah “Genesis 6 talk about the wickedness of the people at the time of Noah but God saved Noah and his family out of the entire population. And in the time of Lot God destroyed only 2 cities being Sodom and Gomorrah and saved Lot and his family because they did not partake in such sinful acts. God spared those who did not partake in the sins of the population” Why is it that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah comes to the front line on issues such as these whilst we ignore the flood of Noah’s time when God caused the destruction of the whole world due to the wickedness of the people. ”
In conclusion the conference of Ghanaian Presbyterian Church is not bound by the amendment of the constitution of Presbyterian Church (USA) and does not and would not perform marriages for same sex – couples.
