An Overture to reaffirm the Position Papers on Homosexuality (1986) and The Sanctity of Marriage (2004) and restore them to the EPC website has been approved by Pacific Northwest Presbytery for consideration at the 46th General Assembly.
Questions about the status of the two papers has emerged amid denominational debate on same sex attraction and ordination. Members of the Ad-Interim Committee on Same-Sex Attraction (AIC) have claimed that these two older position papers were “rescinded” or “superseded” by the Position Paper on Human Sexuality adopted in 2017. Recently, the AIC added a final footnote at the end of the current revised version of the Position Paper which states:
“This ‘Position Paper on Human Sexuality’ is the official update and revision of both the older ‘Position Paper on Homosexuality’ and the ‘Position Paper on The Sanctity of Marriage.’”
A contrary view has been expressed by Jeff Jeremiah, who was the Stated Clerk during the 36th General Assembly. According to the Minutes from that Assembly, the Position Papers on Homosexuality and The Sanctity of Marriage were never rescinded but merely removed from the EPC website. In a letter to Pacific Northwest Presbytery written by TE Bill Heming, Jeremiah explained the history behind that GA action:
On June 26, 2015 the US Supreme Court legalized the marriage of homosexuals. While this decision clarified the status of married homosexuals, what was not clear was the rights of churches and religious groups, which on religious grounds opposed this judicial ruling. In the EPC, fears were expressed to the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) and the National Leadership Team (NLT) that churches could face civil lawsuits from LGBTQ+ groups alleging illegal discrimination for refusing to employ homosexuals or to make their facilities available to such groups …. Another response came from EPC churches fearful of the appearance of the Position Paper on Homosexuality and the Position Paper on the Sanctity of Marriage on the EPC website. Since material on the EPC website is available to the general public, they claimed these two Position Papers in their public presence ‘placed a target on the back’ of EPC churches. Due to the lack of clarity in the courts as to the religious rights of churches in the face of the LGBTQ+ agenda at the time, it was proposed that the Position Papers on Homosexuality and the Sanctity of Marriage be removed from the EPC website but made available upon request.
Given this history and the fact that some churches have had difficulty obtaining the two position papers from the Office of the General Assembly, Pacific Northwest Presbytery has overtured the 2026 Assembly to again make the papers available on the website. The overture states:
Therefore, in an effort to correct and clarify the misconception that the Position Paper on Homosexuality and the Position Paper on the Sanctity of Marriage had been “rescinded” or “superseded,” the Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest overtures the 46th General Assembly to 1) Re-affirm the Position Paper on Homosexuality and the Position Paper on the Sanctity of Marriage as the position of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church on these matters, and 2) Restore the Position Paper on Homosexuality and the Position Paper on The Sanctity of Marriage to the EPC website.
Pastor Bill Heming of Parkway Presbyterian Church offered this rational for the overture:
“While having these Position Papers available upon request may have served amid the fear and confusion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, such fears and confusion are no longer valid …. The simple solution to the problem is to restore the Position Paper on Homosexuality and the Position Paper on The Sanctity of Marriage to the website. This action would make these documents available to Sessions and Pastors navigating these fraught issues and give wisdom from our denomination’s history. The restoration of these papers to the website, coupled with the re-affirmation of these papers, would also clarify that these remain the public positions of the EPC.”
Commissioners to the 46th General Assembly will face a major choice, whether to approve the Pacific Northwest Presbytery overture to reaffirm these two historic position papers and keep them on the EPC website, or to remove them as recommended by the AIC report.
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