The BOP claims that allowing ministers to opt out on theological grounds would represent a “dramatic change in the fundamental polity of the denomination” and claims it would “compromise and jeopardize the theological foundation of the community nature of the benefits plan.”

A California pastor became one of the first of what may be many teaching elders in the Presbyterian Church (USA) to sever ties with the denomination’s health and retirement plan after its board agreed to offer health benefits to same-gender domestic partners.

The Rev. Mark Patterson, lead pastor of Community Presbyterian Church, Ventura, Calif., publicly released a letter he sent to the PCUSA’s Board of Pensions (BOP) last week stating that the board’s closed-door decision had forced him “to choose between staying with the BOP and its programs or submission to the Scriptures and constitution of the church.”

“My faith and conscience require me to take this second course,” Patterson said, adding that he had already procured other health insurance and pension services from another provider.

In 2010, the 219th General Assembly of the PCUSA approved an increase in mandatory dues paid to the BOP to fund spousal and dependent benefits for same-gender domestic partners and their children.

The dues hike would require all congregations to pay up to a one-percent increase of total effective salary of all plan members to fund the measure, which will provide benefits to same-sex partners equivalent to those made available to spouses and dependents of current plan members.

Since the controversial final decision in March, the BOP has sent a letter on June 6 outlining the process by which sessions and other employing agencies can formally declare their objections. Enrollment for partnered gay clergy and other church employees will begin this fall and the change will take effect Jan. 1, 2013. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

“Not only will this allow organizations to officially record their position, it should also help the board estimate how many congregations and other employing organizations would seek coverage-objection status in this matter. Such an estimate would be valuable in anticipating potential effects on the benefits plan and in determining the next steps in designing an effective relief of conscience mechanism,” read the June 6 letter by the BOP. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

As of July 26, 112 churches have passed and sent dissenting resolutions, according to BOP Vice President Andy Browne – about 1.6 percent of churches billed by the BOP.

In his most recent letter, Patterson pointed out that Scripture and the PCUSA’s own Book of Confessions and Book of Order all define marriage as between a man and a woman.

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[Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced in this article is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]