On Sunday, a change in the Presbyterian Church USA's constitution took effect. The church no longer requires members of the clergy to be either married or celibate. Rather, anyone seeking ordination must be "in a committed relationship." That means gay and lesbian Presbyterians can now qualify to become pastors, deacons or elders. Not all congregations have to follow the rule, but not all congregations were following the old rule, either.Some LGBT clergy have already been ordained. Among them is Beth Van Sickle, a lesbian who has been an elder in her Ohio congregation since the 1980s. Her ordination was challenged in the past, but now she's now seeking to be ordained further. She talks here with WFPL's Gabe Bullard today on Here and Now.
LGBT in Presbyterian Church USA [Audio]
http://archive.wfpl.org/HereNow/20110711-van_sickle.mp3