Do big gay faith news stories come in threes? If so, we’ve already had two this week:

• The Presbyterian Church got enough member region (presbytery) votes Tuesday to allow gay clergy, after more than three decades of debate and nearly a year after church leaders had agreed to the shift. This is now the fourth Protestant denomination in the United States to have made the move, preceded the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church. See coverage from Reuters and The New York Times.
• The U.S. Navy seemed poised to allow chaplains to officiate same-sex unions, as the military prepares for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but the outcry from conservative Christian politicians has halted that notion — for now? See the coverage from the AP, Religion Clause, CNN and Spiritual Politics.

Speaking of the consequences of repealing DADT, as I had predicted, America’s elite (thank you, Navy Seals, for re-popularizing the correct meaning) universities — Harvard, Stanford, Columbia — are now taking steps to bring ROTC back. So, it would appear that the benefits — a stronger pool of officers — may outweigh the religious right’s concerns that homophobia will discourage enlistment/reenlistment. Time will tell… I’ll keep an eye on this story.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.