(Tim) Back on November 7, 2008, Metropolitan New York Presbytery held its 60th stated meeting at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Around fifteen minutes prior to adjournment, the Rev. Dr. Craig Higgins asked for permission to hand out a two page document titled, A Proposal to the Metropolitan New York Presbytery Regarding Women in the Diaconal Ministry.
The Proposal had not been on the docket for the meeting, hence Teaching Elder Higgins' request for permission to distribute it.
The Proposal had not been e-mailed to members of presbytery prior to the meeting, although Tim Keller, along with a number of fellow presbyters, had signed the Proposal prior to that meeting.
Since the Proposal was not distributed until the end of the meeting, a large proportion (maybe up to half) the presbyters had already departed.
The Proposal's signatories admitted there were "certain tensions" between the PCA's Book of Church Order and what they were here presenting...
Nevertheless they said they planned to submit their Proposal at the next presbytery meeting for Metro NY Presbytery's adoption.
Here is how the Presbytery's November 7, 2008 approved minutes describe the action:
Shortly after TE Higgins presented the Proposal, the meeting was adjourned. Here is the text of the Proposal as handed out to Metro NY Presbytery that day:
November 2009 [sic; the correct year would have been 2008]
Declaration of Current Practices
As a Presbytery we recognize that there exists, within this Presbytery and throughout the Presbyterian Church in America, a wide variety of practices regarding women in diaconal ministry.
• In some churches, only men are ordained as deacons and they alone conduct the diaconal ministries of the congregation.
• In some churches, only men are ordained as deacons, yet Sessions appoint others--men and/or women--to assist the deacons in their work.
• In some churches, only men are ordained as deacons and women are appointed by the Session to serve as deaconesses who assist the male deacons.
• In some churches, only men are ordained as deacons, yet the congregation elects women to serve as deaconesses who assist the male deacons.
• In some churches, men are ordained as deacons and women are commissioned as deaconesses (without ordination), though both the men and the women are elected by the congregation and serve as equal partners in diaconal ministry. [Footnote] 1
• In some churches, both men and women serve as equal partners in diaconal ministry and are given the title "deacon," though no one is ordained to this ministry.
First, we, the undersigned, request the Presbytery
• To recognize this diversity of practice;
• To acknowledge that while certain tensions exist between this diversity of practice and the Book of Church Order, these practices are within the historic breadth allowed by this Presbytery, and that this reflects a breadth of practice that has existed in the PCA for most, in not all, of this denomination's history; and
• To acknowledge that those holding the various views reflected above all are seeking to be "in conformity with the general principles of Biblical polity" (3rd ordination vow, BCO 21-5 & 24-6).
Furthermore (as a separate action), we request the Presbytery to overture the 2009 General Assembly as follows:
• To recognize the wide diversity of practice within the PCA and to acknowledge that this diversity has existed for much of our history; and
• To appoint a committee to determine if amendments to the BCO are necessary in order to bring the BCO into conformity with the PCA's historic breadth of practice, and, if so, to propose the appropriate amendments.
Original presenters
The Rev. Matthew C. Brown
The Rev. Dr. Craig R. Higgins
Supporting
The Rev. Dr. Timothy J. Keller (dissenting from the request to overture GA)
The Rev. Dr. Mark Reynolds
The Rev. Stephen Ro
The Rev. Randy Lovelace
The Rev. Vito Aiuto
The Rev. Chris Hildebrand
The Rev. Jamison Galt
The Rev. John Sweet
The Rev. Craig Chapman
[Footnote] 1 It should be noted that the Northeast Presbytery--a predecessor to this Presbytery--explicitly acknowledged the right of a Session to appoint men and women for diaconal ministry (BCO 9-7) by means of a congregational election.
Adopted by the Session of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Rye, NY
