ASHVILLE, N.C.  In separate votes, the Western North Carolina Association of the United Church of Christ confirmed an openly homosexual minister and reaffirmed a 1983 resolution banning homosexuals from ministry.
According to The Associated Press, the contradictory decisions at the association's annual meeting led some people to think members didn't fully understand what they were doing.
Delegates of 62 churches voted Oct. 14 to confirm Cindy Maddox of Ashville's First Congregational Church. Maddox's confirmation came after a last-ditch effort to single her out for nonconfirmation.
"This was a parliamentary nightmare all day long," said the Rev. Dr. Bob Thompson of Corinth Reformed United Church of Christ in Hickory, N.C. "She got approval in the middle of confusion."
The 1983 resolution remained standing after secret, written ballots were cast by the 140 delegates.
"The United Church of Christ is one of the most liberal and affirming denominations in the country, and yet, as far as I know, this is the only association that has such a resolution," said Maddox, who has spoken often of her lesbian lifestyle, according to the news service.
The United Church of Christ leaves ordination decisions to regional associations.
After nearly two years of study and discussion on the issue of homosexual clergy, it's not clear whether the sensitive issue was laid to rest.
"This is not about hatred or exclusion or homophobia. There are a number, maybe hundreds, of issues in the Bible that are unclear or ambiguous," Thompson said. "But God's gift of sex, marriage and celibacy  that's a pervasive and cohesive witness of Scripture. There is no ambiguity about that in the Bible."
