The “Transforming Families” Paper

            The 215^th GA considered a paper on the subject of the changing nature of families in the United States. The paper, generally known as the “Transforming Families” paper, appeared to give the church’s blessing to a variety of non-traditional family configurations, including same-gender couples. Controversy over the language of the paper resulted in the 2003 Assembly’s decision to refer the paper back to its source, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, for further review and discussion.

            The ACSWP did considerable work on the paper during the year, consulting with a wide spectrum of opinion, and returned with a much neutrally worded document that holds high the value of marriage and two-parent households, but “does not denigrate other forms of family life that demonstrate and nurture godly character.”  The edited paper was amended very slightly and then overwhelmingly approved (482/23). 

Christian Marriage

            The Presbytery of Santa Barbara overtured the assembly to endorse a statement entitled, “A Christian Declaration of Marriage.”  The statement declares that marriage is

a holy union of one man and one woman in which they commit, with God’s help, to build a loving, life-giving, faithful relationship that will last for a lifetime,

and goes on to assert that

Our nation is threatened by a high divorce rate, a rise in cohabitation, a rise in non-marital births, a decline in the marriage rate, and a diminishing interest in and readiness for marrying, especially among young people. The documented adverse impact of these trends on children, adults, and society is alarming. Therefore, as church leaders, we recognize an unprecedented need and responsibility to help couples begin, build, and sustain better marriages, and to restore those threatened by divorce.

          Two primary concerns were raised in objection to the “Declaration”: First, its language that marriage is a “holy union” is different from our Book of Order  language that  

For Christians marriage is a covenant through which a man and a woman are called to live out together before God their lives of discipleship (W-4.9001).

 The concern was that the precise meaning of phrases like “holy union” is unclear and possibly inconsistent with Reformed understandings of marriage. Second, the General Assembly is on record several times since 1996 supporting civil rights for same-gender couples, and there was concern that this declaration does nothing to recognize those rights.  

The Committee on National Issues recommended that, in place of the “Declaration of Christian Marriage,”  

the 216th General Assembly (2004) ask all church members to join in a year of prayer for marriage renewal and reconciliation, and urge synods, presbyteries, and local congregations to seek ways of working with other Christian bodies in their areas toward these same purposes. 

There was a minority report to substitute the “Declaration,” but the motion failed and the committee’s recommendation was adopted.

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