The Presbytery voting on amendments to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Order and ecumenical statements continues.  And while Amendment 08-B has gotten all the attention, there are actually 14 different items that need to be voted on — ten amendments and four ecumenical statements.

Well, the latest official vote count from the Office of the General Assembly shows that 12 of those 14 items have now been officially adopted.  And while most proposals passed overwhelmingly, Amendment 08-A on membership vows and 08-F on Presbytery membership of Certified Christian Educators have 50 no votes each to about 88 yes votes on them, a sizable objection.  For the ecumenical statements, while they all had strong support it is interesting to note that the statement with the Episcopal Church did garner 10 No votes to the 124 yes.  A not overwhelming but noticeable objection.  I have to wonder how much is a polity objection to their having an episcopal structure with bishops and how much is a dissatisfaction with their aggressive pursuit of property cases against congregations that leave to join other Anglican Provinces.  Remember, this is nothing near a full communion document but a statement of mutually agreed principles.

Finally, while many think that the closely watched 08-B to modify the “fidelity and chastity” section will ultimately be a very close vote (currently 55 to 79 official and 64 to 81 unofficial), on the official tally 08-I on Certified Christian Educators is actually closer with only 17 votes separating the 77 yes and 60 no votes.  In both cases, it could be until the very end of voting before the outcome is certain.  Stay tuned…