First United Church of Tampa

 
extravagantly welcoming  ·  radically inclusive  ·  evangelically courageous
 

WE DECLINE TO ACT AS AGENTS OF THE STATE IN PERFORMING CIVIL MARRIAGES

APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY BY CONGREGATION

Resolution to refrain from performing the state right/legal contract aspects of marriage at First United Church of Tampa (UCC) while continuing to perform the spiritual/religious rite of marriage blessings for couples without regard to, or discrimination based upon, the sexual orientation or gender of the participants

(Approved unanimously at the Annual Congregational Meeting on February 10, 2008)

What does this mean?
 

·         The pastor (and other officiants authorized to perform marriages on behalf of First United Church of Tampa) is prohibited from acting on behalf of First United, as an agent of the State of Florida, in performing the civil and legal aspects of marriage at our church, or at other locations.

·         We continue to support and encourage First United pastors and officiants who are called to officiate over the religious rite of marriage, marriage blessings, and commitment ceremonies for all couples wishing to be united in the eyes of God, family, and friends, without regard to or discrimination based upon the sexual orientation or gender or the participants.

·         Any couple and/or any officiant wishing to use the sanctuary, facilities, or grounds of First United Church of Tampa for a marriage ceremony must agree to abide by this policy before being granted permission to use the property and facilities.

What is the purpose of this policy?

There are three main purposes:
 

·         To demonstrate our long held and often talked about belief in the separation of church and state through our policies and actions, not just our words.

·         To live up to our core value of being an Open and Affirming congregation, which we at First United have defined as, "welcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Christians into the FULL life, ministry, and leadership of our church."

·         To send a clear message to LGBT members, visitors, future members, and to the community at large that even though their country and their state sees them and their relationships as immoral,  "less than", second class, or nonexistent, we at First United do not. We treat ALL members equally and will not freely offer any right or rite to some members that is not freely available to all.

What does this policy change at First United Church of Tampa?

 Technically only three things would change:
 

·         In addition to obtaining a marriage license from the state, any couple wishing to be legally married must have a civil ceremony officiated by a justice of the peace, notary, or other official designated by the State of Florida.

·         The pastor/officiant will not sign the State of Florida marriage certificate; however, the couple will receive a “Certificate of Marriage Blessing” from First United Church of Tampa.

·         The pastor/officiant will not and cannot say, "…by the powers vested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you…".

Is the intention of this policy to make a statement against marriage or against “traditional marriage”?  Is this a protest policy?

At First United we are often encouraged to act in terms of what we are FOR rather than what we are AGAINST. Through this policy we are making a statement that we are FOR marriage and FOR traditional marriage but we are equally FOR fairness, justice, equality, and inclusion. We are FOR traditional marriage being opened to LGBT couples just as “traditional marriage” was opened to mixed-race couples in 1969. The tradition was not broken, ended, damaged, or changed by allowing previously denied couples the opportunity to participate in the tradition.

We are FOR opening this traditional institution to other loving, committed couples who are presently deprived of the rights, benefits, and responsibilities that contribute to stability and longevity in relationships; something which opposite-sex couples often take for granted. This policy won’t change state or federal law. We can’t and won’t break the law but we can change how we as a congregation participate in the legal aspects of marriage, and we can refrain from participating in or officiating over a discriminatory law by acting as agents of the state.

Are we be punishing opposite-sex couples for something over which they have no control?

This policy is not intended to punish anyone. We support and promote loving committed couples of all kinds. We support and affirm any couple who has made a lifelong, loving commitment to each other and celebrate with them if they choose to have a ceremony to publicly declare their love and commitment. This policy is intended to PROMOTE fairness, justice, equality, and inclusion for those in our congregation who are being disadvantaged by a discriminatory law, a law that our church would be supporting by acting as an agent of the state. Though this policy may cause a minor inconvenience to opposite-sex couples, it is unfortunately the necessary price to pay for taking a stand for equality and inclusion in our congregation. Remember, even with this minor inconvenience opposite-sex couples can fully participate in the spiritual AND civil aspects of marriage. No amount of money or inconvenience allows LGBT couples to fully participate in the civil/legal aspects.

Is there any precedent for such a policy?

Yes, both abroad and here in the United States. In many European countries civil marriage and religious marriage are completely separate. There is a true separation of church and state.

In the United States hundreds of congregations have adopted this policy. These include congregations from various faiths (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Unitarian, etc.) and MANY Christian denominations including, but not limited to, UCC, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Quaker congregations.

An article about this trend can be found at:
 http://articles.citypages.com/2007-11-21/news/the-wedding-crashers/

Dozens of UCC congregations across the country have taken this stand.

Lyndale United Church of Christ in Minneapolis, Minnesota, adopted a similar policy in April of 2006. Check out their website at:
 http://lyndaleucc.org/page/pageShow.html?About_Us#Marriage_Equality

 

First United Church of Tampa, UCC · 7308 E. Fowler Ave. · Tampa, FL 33617 · 813-988-4321