Central Presbyterian Church is a caring, inquiring, and inclusive community of faith. The congregation has been at the forefront of challenging denominational and theological positions that exclude gay and lesbian people from leadership in the church and deny access to legal and Christian marriage. Our commitment to inclusion is not, however, narrow. Our early ordination of gay and lesbian officers led the denomination into a deep debate about the extent of inclusion in the Presbyterian Church.
Today our denomination has removed all barriers to the ordination of gay and lesbian members and gives full access to the church’s pastoral ministry in marriage. Our ministry seeks to open avenues of participation to all people without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, or abilities. We work to promote respectful reconciling partnerships with people of other religious traditions or no religious tradition and find common cause in a common good.
This commitment is based on two strong Christian affirmations: that God is the creator and redeemer of all creation, including human and non-human species and that no one measures up to the standards of perfection, leaving us all in need of mercy, forgiveness, and redemption and calling us to be humble in our relationships. We believe this is what Christ teaches and is recorded in John 6:37, “I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.”
At Central, we experience God’s inclusive love and acceptance in our common life together an in our outreach to the community.