SACRAMENTO, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A large Sacramento church voted to leave the largest U.S. Presbyterian denomination, in part because it now ordains openly gay clergy.
Freemont Presbyterian Church members voted 427 to 164 to seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA), a 2-million member denomination with more than 10,600 congregations, and join the 115,000-member, 300-congregation Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian Church (USA) last week ordained Scott Anderson as its first openly gay minister.
"Let me make it clear that Fremont didn't leave the PC(USA) -- they left us," the congregation's senior pastor, the Rev. Donald Baird, said shortly before the vote.
Executive Minister Mark Eshoff said the issue was more than gay ordination. It was about holding true to biblical Scripture and remaining focused on Christ, he said.
Those who wanted to remain were turned down when they asked to delay the vote so they could learn more about the 30-year-old Evangelical denomination's theology, which considers homosexuality a sin and includes other conservative teachings.
The minority said they were concerned the Evangelical theology was too narrow and would make Fremont less welcoming.
"Jesus taught us to be inclusive," The Sacramento Bee quoted Nancy Aaberg as saying. She said she was concerned about the Evangelical church's stance on divorce.
Cindy Harris, who is preparing to become a PC(USA) minister, said, "I think God can and will call whoever he wants to call, regardless of sex or orientation."
Freemont is the seventh Sacramento-area church to leave the PC(USA) in the past two years, the Bee reported.
The denomination is one of a growing number of moderate and liberal Protestant churches that ordain openly gay or lesbian clergy or are discussing it.
Churches ordaining openly gay or lesbian clergy include the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church, the Liberal Catholic Church, the Swedenborgian Church of North America and the Apostolic Johannite Church.
The United Methodist Church, the Reformed Church in America and the Moravian Church are among the denominations debating the issue.
