Descriptive Summary
Creator(s)
Open for research. Medical, educational, and psychological records of living people are closed.
To browse this collection's digitized materials visit Pearl.
Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not be available on Pearl or in their entirety.
Biographical Note / Administrative History
Laird J. Stuart, a pastor and advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was born February 5, 1943 in Omaha, Nebraska. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary, and honorary doctorates from both Waynesburg University and Westminster College.
Stuart was ordained by Newark Presbytery on September 20, 1968. He spent the subsequent decades as a pastor in Milford, Connecticut; Bergenfield, New Jersey; Grand Haven, Michigan; and St. Clair, Pennsylvania. He then served as pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church (San Francisco, CA) from 1993 until his retirement in 2010.
Calvary Presbyterian Church served as the headquarters of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, an organization devoted to creating a more inclusive church for LGBTQIA+ members and their families while seeking to build unity among all Presbyterians. When the Covenant Network was formed in 1997, Stuart became an executive committee member. From 1999 to 2001, he worked as a co-moderator for the network and proved instrumental in facilitating dialogue between Presbyterians across the theological spectrum. In particular, he worked with Deborah Bloch, a co-moderator of the Covenant Network, and Jack Haberer and Jerry Andrews from the Presbyterian Coalition, to organize meetings of liberal and conservative Presbyterians. They hoped to create a space for respectful dialogue that would foster understanding between groups on either end of the debate over ordaining homosexuals.
Stuart’s leadership roles within the PC(USA) included serving on the Board of Pensions board of directors, working as a commissioner to four General Assemblies, and undertaking the role of vice-moderator for the General Assembly Committee on Mission Design in 1997. Stuart also served as moderator of the Assembly Committee on the Book of Order at the 209th General Assembly (1997) in Syracuse. The committee presented Amendment A to the General Assembly which became known for striking “fidelity and chastity” as an ordination standard.
From 1997 to 2006, Stuart was a member of the San Francisco Theological Seminary Board of Trustees and spent a year as interim president of the seminary in 2010.
Collection Overview
Correspondence, meeting minutes, and clippings document Laird Stuart’s leadership within the PC(USA) and his work with the Covenant Network of Presbyterians.
The collection is divided into three series: The Covenant Network, 1997-1998; Ordination Debate Groups, 1997-2002; and Sermons, 1996-2016.
The Covenant Network series, 1997-1998, contains documents related to the administration and work of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. The series includes minutes and correspondence from executive committee meetings; general correspondence between members; mass mailings from the network; and one folder of correspondence and articles related to Amendment A. The acceptance of Amendment A by the General Assembly in 1997 galvanized efforts to form the Covenant Network. The network unsuccessfully campaigned for presbyteries to pass the amendment in 1998.
The Ordination Debate Groups series, 1997-2002, consists of correspondence, agendas, and articles related to nine gatherings of Presbyterians on both sides of the theological spectrum from 2000 to 2002. The meetings were organized by leaders of the Covenant Network and the Presbyterian Coalition with the intention to form a space for respectful dialogue related to ordination issues. Two of the meetings were Bible studies hosted by Jerry Andrews of the Presbyterian Coalition at his church in Glen Ellyn, IL. In 2001, the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship began to coordinate similiar conversations, and the meetings were named the Pastor Theologians Gathering.
This series also includes correspondence related to the Call to Sabbatical project in 1998. This was a pastoral letter from six respected pastors calling for a 5-year sabbatical on overtures to the General Assembly regarding ordination and sexuality as well as on judicial actions arising from ordination debates. The Call to Sabbatical was not a Covenant Network initiative, although the organizers did solicit input from the network. The folders are arranged chronologically according to the date of each meeting.
The Sermons series, 1996-2016, contains 20 digital and two print copies of sermons delivered by Laird Stuart related to ordination debates within the PC(USA). Also included is a video, accessible in Pearl, of Stuart preaching at First Presbyterian Church (Portland, OR) on March 14, 2010.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is arranged as follows:
SERIES I: THE COVENANT NETWORK, 1997-1998
SERIES II: ORDINATION DEBATE GROUPS, 1997-2002
SERIES III: SERMONS, 1996-2016
Alternative Formats
To browse this collection's digitized materials visit Pearl.
Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not have been digitized in their entirety.
Administrative Information
Received from Laird Stuart in 2017.
Collection processed and guide prepared in 2018 by Elizabeth Wittrig, Pam Byers Memorial Fund Project Archivist, as part of the Pam Byers Memorial Collection.
Preferred Citation
Laird J. Stuart Papers, RG 513, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Catalog Headings
Collection Inventory
Box | Folder | Description | Alternative Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERIES I: THE COVENANT NETWORK, 1997-1998 | |||
| 1 | 1 | Amendment A correspondence and articles, 1997-1998 | |
| 1 | 1 | The Presbyterian Layman, July/August 1997 | Digital |
| 1 | 2 | Covenant Network correspondence [includes mass mailings], 1997-1998 | |
| 1 | 3 | Executive and National Committee meetings, 1997-1998 | |
| 1 | 4 | Northern California Rally for Amendment A, 1997 | |
| SERIES II: ORDINATION DEBATE GROUPS, 1997-2002 | |||
| 1 | 5 | List of ordination debate group meetings, dates and attendees [created by Laird Stuart in August 2017] | |
| 1 | 6 | Documents discussed at meetings, 1997-2002, undated | |
| 1 | 7 | Call to Sabbatical (May 4, 1998), 1998 May-June | |
| 1 | 8 | Cancelled meeting (January 13, 2000), 2000 Jan.-Mar. | |
| 1 | 9 | Rescheduled meeting (June 27, 2000), 2000 Apr.-May | |
| 1 | 10 | First meeting in Glen Ellyn, IL (September 7-9, 2000), 2000 May-Sept. | |
| 1 | 11 | Meeting at the Philadelphia Airport (December 5-6, 2000), 2000 Nov.-2001 May | |
| 1 | 12 | First meeting of Pastor Theologians Gathering (January 22-24, 2001), 2000 Aug.-2001 Feb | |
| 1 | 13 | Second meeting in Glen Ellyn, IL (March 8-10, 2001), 2000 Oct.-2001 Mar. | |
| 1 | 14 | Second meeting of Pastor Theologians Gathering (October 15-17, 2001), 2000 Aug.-2001 Feb. | |
| 1 | 15 | Third meeting of Pastor Theologians Gathering (January 23-25, 2002), 2001 Aug.-2002 Jan. | |
| 1 | 16 | Fourth meeting of Pastor Theologians Gathering (September 4-6, 2002), 2002 July-Sept. | |
| SERIES III: SERMONS, 1996-2016 | |||
| 1 | 17 | Sermons [print copies], 1997 June 29 and Oct. 12 | |
| 1 | 17 | Sermons [digital copies], 1996-2016 | Digital |
| 1 | 17 | Sermon [video], 2010 Mar. 14 | Digital |