The Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley, a central Alabama group of churches affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), voted 75-39 Thursday in favor of approving gay marriages.

They became one of about 38 presbyteries nationwide that have voted in favor of gay marriage, with 14 voting against. The change to the 1.8-million-member denomination's official stance will become official if 86 of the 171 presbyteries vote in favor.

The denomination's General Assembly last year issued an authoritative interpretation allowing same-sex marriages, but the vote will change language in the constitution that says "marriage is a civil contract between a woman and a man" to language stating that marriage is between "two persons."

Commissioners representing churches from Tuscaloosa to Anniston and Birmingham to Montgomery debated the issue at their meeting at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa.

Two dozen people, ministers and lay members, spoke on the issue, taking turns between for and against.

The Rev. Ed Hurley, pastor of South Highland Presbyterian Church, spoke against it. "We really don't need to jump ahead of the Episcopalians on this issue," Hurley said.

The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama has announced it will bless same-sex unions for couples that have been married in a civil ceremony, but has not yet approved same-sex marriages in churches performed by clergy.

"I'd just like to be able to do my job and marry couples when the state of Alabama says okay," said the Rev. Shannon Webster, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. That includes being able to perform weddings for gay couples in his church who are in committed relationships, he said.

Gay marriage became legal in Alabama on Monday after a federal judge in Mobile struck down the state's laws against it.

Webster was in Linn Park on Monday, watching as more than a hundred gay couples came out of the Jefferson County Courthouse with their wedding licenses.

Dozens of clergy were in the park, performing spontaneous ceremonies for couples. Webster said he prefers that gay marriage in the church follow a protocol of the couple being members in a church and seeking pre-marital counseling before being married in a sacred ceremony in a church.

"It seemed frivolous and impetuous," Webster said. "We would have dealt with it more seriously, with church members in the context of a church community. For us, it's a worship service."

As the Presbyterian Church (USA) has moved toward full recognition of gay rights in recent years, approving the ordination of practicing homosexuals and last year initiating the vote to approve gay marriage, some conservative congregations have left.

Several smaller Presbyterian denominations still oppose gay ordination and gay marriage. "Too many churches have closed or left the denomination," said outgoing moderator Coke Clark. He announced he was leaving the PCUSA, but not over theological differences. He said he lives in Helena and there are no PCUSA churches nearby, so he joined a Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Hurley said South Highland Presbyterian welcomes gays. "All people are welcome at our church," he said. "South Highland Presbyterian Church does not work to oppose gay marriage. All people are welcome at our church. Among our membership and leadership opinions are quite varied. All people are welcome at South Highland. Our session, board of elders, does have a stated church policy consistent with traditional Christian marriage."

"You can be a faithful Presbyterian on either side of the issue," said the Rev. Terry Newland, a Presbyterian synod executive attending the meeting. "Churches and ministers have never been required to do gay marriages and they still aren't required to."