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MARRIAGE AND SAME-GENDER RELATIONSHIPS (p. 67) On this item Don Warrington stated the following:

This prohibits our ministers from performing either same-sex civil marriages or same-sex blessings, with loss of credentials following if they do. Evidently the hard lessons of our Main Line counterparts aren’t lost on our leadership. It’s interesting to note, however, that there is no explicit prohibition on opposite-sex blessings such as Bishop Leo Frade did for South Florida Episcopalians. This doesn’t address the issue of ministers being forced to perform same-sex civil marriages because they are agents of the state. The church needs to get out of the civil marriage business whether the state does or not. That reality is more apparent in places such as the UK, where the Sikhs already are de-registering their churches from performing civil marriages. Our church in the UK (which is considerable) should follow suit immediately on that. I’m not convinced that part (C) will prevent an attack based on the “public accommodation” argument re use of facilities. A stronger stance would include the requirement that Church of God ministers would only perform marriages if and only if at least one of the couple be a member of the Church of God. The Church of God needs to begin advocating for the abolition of civil marriage. I’ve discussed this elsewhere. In short, this resolution is good as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough to defend the integrity of the church.

The motion was carried by the General Assembly as to read:

That we amend pages 158-159, S63. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR MINISTERS, by adding the following:

so as to read:

II. Marriage and Same-Sex Relationships

A. The Church of God rejects the cultural, political, and theological pressures to change the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. We affirm this definition based on God’s Word and the truth that Christian marriage between a man and a woman reflects the theological truth of Christ’s love for His Church.

B. Church of God ministers, whether an ordained minister or ordained bishop, shall only perform or participate in marriage ceremonies or marriage blessings between one man and one woman, as marriage is defined in the Bible. This policy also is applicable to Church of God ministers who serve in capacities outside the scope of normal pastoring, such as military, hospital, and corporate chaplains.

C. Local Church of God churches and the local Church of God ministers who serve them shall only hold, provide facilities for, conduct or preside over weddings, wedding receptions, and anniversaries (and other gatherings related to weddings, receptions, and anniversaries) that celebrate a marriage or blessing between one man and one woman, as marriage is defined in the Bible.