THE BELL CURVE:

Facing a national economic crisis, the likes of which we haven’t seen for going on a century, hasn’t seemed to cool the ardor or divert the attention of about half of our voting citizens who are determined to make sure that same-sex marriages will never be allowed to take root in California. Banks may shut down and Osama bin Laden run free, but at least we’ve kept marriage sacrosanct.

That, of course, is if Proposition 8 — which would change the state Constitution to deny same-sex couples the right of marriage — passes Nov. 4. The polls predict it will be close. So if you have no fixed moral or religious stand on this issue and find yourself confused about its impact, read on. Help is on the way at the stunning new campus of Newport Beach’s St. Mark Presbyterian Church. There on Nov. 2 a Town Hall meeting will examine Proposition 8 from a half-dozen different perspectives.

When I checked out the program with a group of St. Mark staff people the other day, the Rev. Gary Collins said, “We hope people in the community — people of faith as well as those who don’t follow a particular religion — will come to clarify any confusion that the rhetoric surrounding this issue has generated. It will be a totally inclusive meeting, and everyone will be free to ask questions.

“Someone has to stand up and oppose the misinformation being spread about this proposition. So we hope to preach beyond the choir, to get into theological, constitutional and social issues. Our effort is to move the movable middle.”

To this end, the town hall meeting will offer a panel of experts in each of these three categories. Jennifer C. Pizer specializes in constitutional law and was co-counsel for gay and lesbian couples in the case in which the California Supreme Court recognized their freedom to marry. The Rev. Laurence Keene is a noted author, scholar and sociologist who recently retired after 33 years as senior minister of the Church in the Valley in Van Nuys. And Rep. Linda Sanchez serves on the House Judiciary Committee, which deals with civil liberties and constitutional amendments.

A few days before I visited St. Mark, the Los Angeles Times ran a lengthy front-page story about a statewide prayer vigil that evangelical leaders say involves thousands of mostly young people. Many of them live in communal houses, supported by donations, where they spend most of their waking hours in prayer and fasting and calling on God to ensure the passage of Proposition 8.

The vigil will end with what organizers hope will be a massive rally at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego where the centerpiece — in case it had slipped God’s mind — will be 12 consecutive hours of prayer for the passage of Proposition 8.

So, I asked Collins, are you sending up counter prayers asking God to defeat Proposition 8?

“That isn’t the way it works,” he said. “We believe in the power of prayer, but our prayer is for the moral issue of social justice to be successful. In our view, prayer is not a means of commanding God to bring about certain results but rather to put ourselves at God’s disposal.”

I asked if St. Mark’s support of homosexual issues had divided his church, and Collins replied that there was a small exit when the church took a strong inclusive stand on gay members in 1992, but since then the St. Mark position on gay issues had attracted new members instead of losing old ones.

It was a forum at St. Mark on the biblical treatment of homosexuality that inspired the award-winning documentary “For the Bible Tells Me So,” which played early this year in theaters throughout the country.

This documentary will lead off the town hall meeting at 3 p.m. It will be followed by a reception offering light refreshments until the town hall convenes at 5:30 p.m. in the St. Mark Sanctuary at 2200 San Joaquin Hills Road in Newport Beach.

In the news release put out by St. Mark, Collins is quoted as saying: “The objective of the town hall meeting is to engage the community in an enlightened and educated discussion with a distinguished and highly informed panel representing the legal, political and theological facets of this issue.”

It is his conclusion and mine that considering Proposition 8 in these lights can only lead to its rejection. But there is no effort to hide the bias. Supporting same-sex marriage is in line with the church’s perspective on human rights and constitutional law. I share this perspective. I would also like to see the two gay members of my family share fully the rights and privileges of their fellow citizens.

JOSEPH N. BELL lives in Newport Beach. His column runs Thursdays.