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Scott Anderson ordained
Written by Jana Blazek, Outlook online content manager   
MADISON, WISC (October 8, 2011) - In a service spanning nearly two hours this morning, Scott Anderson was ordained as a teaching elder.  He is the first openly gay man to be ordained to the ministerial office since the adoption of Amendment 10-A this past July, which lifted the requirement that ordinands live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.” 

Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wisconsin, welcomed 325 people to the service of ordination.

            Those leading worship consisted of the John Knox Presbytery administrative commission, and featured Peg Chemberlin (President, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA), Ken Meunier (Executive Presbyter, John Knox Presbytery), Nancy Enderle (Interim Executive Director, Covenant Network of Presbyterians), and Lisa Larges (Candidate for Ministry of Teaching Elder).

            Mark Achtemeier drew from Isaiah 49 in his sermon.  He compared the path to ordination to that of newly liberated exiles who had not journeyed alone and asked God to make Scott’s ministry “a life giving spring of water.”

            Anderson was ordained to the office in the 1980’s but set aside his ordination in 1990 when news of his homosexuality was made public by members of his congregation.  He has served as executive director of the California Council of Churches and, currently, the Wisconsin Council of Churches in the intervening years. Through those years he has continued to press the denomination to open its doors to allowing same-sex partnered persons to be able to be ordained. 

He has said that he hopes to be able to return to service as a pastor of a local church congregation.

Anderson closed the service by giving thanks for those who had supported him along his journey and also expressed gratitude for those who disagreed with today’s event but remained rooted in the knowledge that we are all one in Christ Jesus.
 

Comments  

 
#11 Tom Eggebeen 2011-10-22 08:19
Ordination has always been a "statement" of some sort ... about those who are "eligible" and those who are not. Certainly all the issues related to the ordination of people of color, and women, were fraught with statements and stances. Ordination has always been a function of gatekeeping, and, hence, power, and will be so, I suppose, to the end of the age.
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#10 Pat Slomanski 2011-10-15 13:35
What a sad day in the PCUSA when Scott Anderson put his own agenda and his own desires above God's Word. What a sad day in the PCUSA in hundreds, maybe even thousands, of PCUSA members let their feelings and emotions rule and cheered him on as he represents and serves God yet "repents and sins no more." Mr. Anderson may be humble and quite sincere in his love of God, but if he truly believed God's Word he would obey it. He also would have NEVER jeopardized the well-being of a once great denomination. He will have to answer to God for his efforts. So will Mr. Achtemeier whose mother I am sure is turning over in her grave. What a sad, sad day October 8 was in the life of the PCUSA. God help us all repent and take God's Word seriously. This is my earnest prayer for the future.
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#9 p.w. gregory 2011-10-13 12:13
There was a day and age when ordination was about 'service', sacrifice, dedication to vocation. Words like that. Sadly today ordination has been politized, and is now cloaked in the language of "power", justice, and making statements, with the usual theator and drama assocaited with the stage. Rev. Anderson may nor may not be a service to his church or the Kingdom, but one thing is indeed true, it is not about you Rev. Anderson, or your cause.
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#8 Bill Wisneski 2011-10-11 19:01
re: John McNeese - Yes Jesus said "follow me" He also said a lot of other things. He sent out the discples with power to preach the good news, heal, cast out demons, etc. And throughout the New Testament some were chosen to be "set apart" (ordained if you will). While we all have a responsibility to the Kingdom of God, some have been called to be "ordained". This is in both the Old Testament and New Testament. We cannot reduce all of God's word to "Jesus said".
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#7 john McNeese 2011-10-11 12:23
Has it occurred to anyone that problem may not be who can be ordained, but with the institution of ordination itself? Is setting aside people for ordination, who supposedly meet certain standards of righteousness and holiness, compatible with the priesthood of believers? Ordination is appears to me unbiblical,of human construct. Jesus simply said follow me.
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#6 john McNeese 2011-10-11 12:21
Has it occurred to anyone that problem may not be who can be ordained, but with the institution of ordination itself? Is setting aside people for ordination, who supposedly meet certain standards of righteousness and holiness, compatible with the priesthood of believers? Ordination is appears to me unbiblical,of human construct. Jesus simply said follow me.
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#5 Eric McLaughlin 2011-10-11 09:12
Philip Hollins response is indeed spot on and so is Cathy Thiltgen's. There was a point being made with this that unfortunately had little to do with the overall good of the Church. The force of the LGBTQ cause is behind this ordination, as well as the revision of Amendment of 10-A, and it will be behind further ordinations and actions. Those on each side of LGBTQ ordination issues are holding fast to their positions - both with lofty reasons. The LGBTQ cause on many levels is just and has reached this level because of the psychology of disgust and the taboo nature of homosexuality in the Church over centuries. But the basis and legitimacy of the LGBTQ cause may not be as cut and dried as simply being "born this way." What we have lacked and continue to lack is a dispassionate conversation on the issue rooted deeply in mutual respect. At the end of the day, however, this member believes our problems are much greater than who's gay and who's not. Much can be solved by individuals returning to the Throne and remembering why we are Christians in the first place and let the Spirit's passion lead again. No body seems too concerned with how complicit the American church is with the rampant consumerism and materialism and the price we US Christians pay for stuff and how are souls and families are suffering much more from greed and envy than they are from hot-button issues over sexuality.
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#4 Cathy Thiltgen 2011-10-09 19:25
Phillip Hollins' response reflects my view on this subject as well. The idea that an entire denomination will divide as a result of this issue is extremely sad. For me, I have been part of PCUSA for 30 years. Also, Mr. Hollins did not degrade Mr. Anderson's call by God. Being called by God is a deeply personal issue and the individual being called has an obligation to respond in order to be a true Christian. Why didn't Mr. Anderson seek a demonination that already allowed same-sex partnered persons to be ordained? If so, he could have fulfilled his call and, at the same time, the Presbyterian Church could have been spared any future division in its membership.
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#3 Art Mills 2011-10-09 14:21
Scott Anderson is a gifted preacher and pastor. It was my honor to intern with him back in 1987-88. Why does Mr. Hollins have to attempt to degrade Scott's call by God and the church as nothing more than mere ambition? The PCUSA is blessed by the movement of God's spirit that has enabled this loving, gifted pastor to serve again as a Teaching Elder and Minister of the Word and Sacrament.
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#2 Christopher Cooper 2011-10-09 08:28
What a joyous day for the PCUSA! Congratulations to Rev. Anderson. Blessings on his ministry and the PCUSA from a former member that left largely due to this issue.
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