Some Korean-American Presbyterians oppose gay, lesbian ordination

Beginning Sunday, gays and lesbians can be ordained as elders and pastors, according to change approved by Presbyterian Church U.S.A. But some  Korean American churches oppose the change. 

But some groups in the assembly, including the National Council of Korean Presbyterian Churches, which held a three-day conference in Anaheim last month to discuss the change, are speaking out in opposition. The Korean council, the second largest racial ethnic caucus in the denomination, represents 430 Korean-American churches with about 55,000 active members, group members say.
"We would not ordain active homosexuals," said Pastor Tae Young Ko, senior pastor at Good Shepherd Presbyterian in Rowland Heights and the conference moderator. "This meeting reaffirmed that the Korean-American community would not support this and we will try to help local churches strongly reaffirm our conviction."
Collins said his church supports the amendment but is not surprised that the Korean council, among others, is not happy.
"For the most part, it was don't ask, don't tell in our denomination," he said.
Lt. Dan Choi, a Tustin High School and West Point graduate who was discharged last year from the Army National Guard after announcing he was gay on "The Rachel Maddow Show," said many in the Korean-American community are anti-gay and very conservative.
"I think it's a great decision by the (assembly) and I hope that all other religious denominations will recognize their fellow gay and lesbian congregants," Choi said. "Jesus would have us love all gay people and treat them as equal preachers of God."
Choi, an Iraq war veteran, said he grew up in a strict Korean-American household and his father was a senior pastor in a church in Garden Grove. He said his public announcement in 2009 strained his relationship with his parents and they do not speak to this day.

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