Report to Presbytery Dec. 4, 2012

Theological Community

            Being a pastor today is an exhilarating, joyful calling and a stressful, confusing job.  Yes, being a pastor is an exhilarating, joyful calling. I borrowed those words from Eugene Peterson. He writes, “There’s a kind of exhilaration because God is doing something, and even in a little way, it’s enough at the moment.” I believe it is a blessing and great fun to live at this time which is truly an era of Reformation for the Christian Church in the world. The foundations are trembling, some old things are crashing down and some new things are growing up. God is at work in our world. Thanks be to God.

There is a particular piece of this great era of Reformation which I would like us to ponder, the vocation of the pastor. Eugene Peterson may be one of the best guides to this new territory of pastoral life today. Peterson has now written a whole stack of books pondering the question of the pastor’s vocation. These sentences from Peterson’s old book, The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, copyright 1989, may be one of his earliest explorations of this terrain. “The essence of being a pastor begs for redefinition. But one by one, pastors are rejecting the job description that has been handed to them and are taking on this new one or, as it turns out, this old one that has been in use for most of the Christian centuries.”

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

We live with almost complete vocational uncertainty. What does it mean to be a pastor? How should pastors be prepared for this work? Today the academic preparation of pastors in our seminaries is separated from the life of the church. What should pastors learn? How should we define a faithful career path for a healthy pastor?

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

There is confusion about the professional boundaries of the pastoral vocation. Pastors, in our church, are skilled professional people usually with full time salaries and benefits. Any yet many of the people we work side by side with in the Church – Ruling Elders and Deacons – are, in fact, volunteers. Can Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders be professional colleagues? Can they be friends? Is that allowed? Who can be the pastor’s friends? Does your pastor have any friends in your Church? What does that mean? Is it possible to be a pastor and a friend?

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

What exactly is a pastor supposed to do with their time? How much should pastors read and study during their work week? Are pastors today perceived as working too much? Or are pastors perceived as not working enough? What is the difference, and who decides?

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

We now live in a fully disestablished Church. I believe this is a good thing. But it raises some difficult questions for pastors. Pastors in a fully disestablished Church have no social clout, no cultural status and no innate, cultural authority. So where does the authority of the pastor come from? What is the authority of the pastoral office? Does your pastor have any authority? What does that mean?

I want to support pastors. I want to support all of our Church leaders. In the Presbyterian Church we are all in this together. We will seldom separate off the pastors for special concern, although that fact itself may be an interesting discussion point.

I have three pieces of advice for our pastors, and all our church leaders, as we have fun together in this era of Reformation:

1) Make your spiritual life a high priority. Pray often and immerse yourself in the spiritual life. Prayer is always bigger than us. Prayer is always inviting us, calling us, beckoning us beyond ourselves and back to Christ. Learning  to pray is something we might do every day.

2) Seek accountability: The paid, professional pastors in our midst should, I believe, take the initiative to seek accountability within the congregation. The pastor should invite conversation about the time, the tasks, the goals and objectives of their ministry. There should be common discussion about what the pastor does most and least, where and when. By seeking accountability the joy and challenge of pastoral ministry will be shared throughout the whole community.  

3) Create theological community: We need to do this together. I would like to create avenues, forums and time where we can build theological and spiritual community together. I am not talking about support groups. We are already doing that very well. I am talking about theological community.

Kim, the moderator of our Strengthening our Congregation Committee, put together a wonderful sheet which is in your folders. This describes a series of 24-hour retreats at Camp Krislund. I have been pushing for this. Many people have participated in creating this idea and planning this forward. Let us use our beautiful Camp Krislund. Many of you have told me you have never been to Krislund. You need to visit there; it is not very far, just up the road. It is not like going to Honduras. We have pushed out these plans and ideas which in different ways create theological community. These may be great plans. Maybe you have better ideas. But let’s do it together. Let us connect and talk and get to know each other. Pastors and all Church leaders, let us find ways to talk together about the joys and challenges of this work. Theological community. Let’s do it together.  

  

Report to the Presbytery Sept. 25, 2012

Honoring Christ

The short statement copied here was approved by the General Assembly of our Church this year. This Action Item has not received a lot of publicity or attention. I believe this Action Item, if we can take it to heart, may be essential to the health, vitality and faithfulness of our Church today.


General Assembly (2012) Action Item: 07-17 From the Church Orders and Ministry Committee; On Honoring Christ in Our Relationships with One Another

This item was approved by the Assembly with a vote of 405 YES to 230 NO.

“The 220th General Assembly (2012) acknowledges that faithful Presbyterians earnestly seeking to follow Jesus Christ hold different views about what the Scriptures teach concerning the morality of committed, same-gender relationships. Therefore, while holding persons in ordered ministry to high standards of covenant fidelity in the exercise of their sexuality, as in all aspects of life, we acknowledge that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not have one interpretation of Scripture in this matter. We commit ourselves to continue respectful dialogue with those who hold differing convictions, to welcome one another for God’s glory, and not to vilify those whose convictions we believe to be in error. We call on all Presbyterians to join us in this commitment.”

We are typically polite, courteous and respectful of people in the church with whom we disagree. But when those disagreements rise to questions of biblical authority and interpretation we are seldom, I believe, truly able to engage the depth of our differences. We talk past one another. We retreat into like-minded groups. We fall silent in the face of massive disagreement. We close our hearts to the other. I suspect many of us are convinced, in our heart of hearts, that there is only one way, one correct answer and one true interpretation.

Are we in the spiritual, emotional and intellectual place within our own selves to truly believe “that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not have one interpretation of Scripture”? Is this not good news for us? This is an Action Item that may become a prayer concern. May we each “commit ourselves to continue respectful dialogue with those who hold differing convictions, to welcome one another for God’s glory, and not to vilify those whose convictions we believe to be in error.”

Is This True?

Book Review: Diana Butler Bass. Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. Harper One, 2012 (Kindle Edition).

            We are already in the year 2012. Diana Butler Bass offers, in her important new book Christianity After Religion, an interpretation of our recent decade which is compelling and troubling. My cultural perception of Christianity in our society remains captivated by the paradigm shifts of the 1980s and 1990s when the Religious Right was popular and had a lot of media attention, our mainline denominations continued their long pattern of disestablishment and diminishment and the mega-church movement was booming. But according Butler Bass, and with some penetrating sociological data, the place of church in culture may have shifted again, significantly, since 2001.

            She argues: “the first dozen years of the new millennium have been downright horrible for religion, leading to a sort of “participation crash” in churches of all sorts as the new millennium dawned. In particular, five major events revealed the ugly side of organized religion, challenging even the faithful to wonder if defending religion is worth the effort, and creating an environment that can rightly be called a religious recession”.

1)     2001: Butler Bass argues that the churches did not respond well to the September 11 terrorist attacks and many Christians got caught up in the base movement of religious bigotry and hatred. She writes, “It became hard to discriminate between healthy, life-giving religion and violent, life ending religion.”

2)     The Roman Catholic sex abuse scandal

3)     Protestant conflict over homosexuality: Butler Bass argues that the whole, long, public debate over sexuality in almost all of the large, national churches has seriously undermined our effectiveness for ministry and our standing in our society. “Although some Christians surely felt theologically and morally uncomfortable with the idea of a gay bishop, many more were appalled by the nastiness of the controversy, the obvious politicization of their denominations, the low spiritual tone of the discussion, and the scandal of churches suing their mother denominations over property.”

4)     2004: The religious Right wins the battle, but loses the war: Butler Bass cites a popular and influential recent book on American Christianity to make her case. “In their recent book American Grace, Robert Putnam and David Campbell cautiously suggest that the real victory of the religious Rights has been to alienate an entire generation of young people.” In my mind, that is a painful conclusion but my own perception tells me this may be correct. Is this true and accurate? Butler Bass concludes: “The old religious Right may have won some cherished political battles, but in the war over the hearts of their youth they surely lost more than they gained.”

5)     2007: The Great Religious Recession: Finally, Butler Bass argues that when the great economic recession hit our nation at the end of 2008, the churches were too feeble to respond to the massive human need all around. “The economic recession arrived at a moment when churches and denominations were already in a religion recession. The national economic crisis served to weaken embattled religious organizations, further marginalizing conventional faith institutions in a chaotic cultural environment.”

 

I believe we need a full discussion of these themes. What is happening in church and society? What worldly events are impacting our churches? How are powerful cultural forces influencing the churches? What is the public witness of the Church in our society today? Most of all, Diana Butler Bass’ reflections help us break out of some of the stale stereotypes from the 1980s and reflect in new ways on these important questions. Diana Butler Bass’ new book is important and worthy of careful study and group discussion. Let’s talk about it!

Book Review

Michael Jinkins. The Church Transforming: What’s Next for the Reformed Project?. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012.

The phrase, “Reformed Project”, caught my eye when I first pondered Michael Jinkins’ new book.  It is a good phrase which I had never heard before, but a phrase that immediately resonated with me. The Reformed Project sounds open ended, forward thinking, experimental and innovative. The Reformed Project should be what we are about in the Presbyterian Church. Like all projects there will be false starts and bad choices. Like all projects things may be provisional, and filled with a sort of experimental, ‘Let’s try this attitude’ that is liberating. A project is not obsessed with success. I guessed that Jinkins was onto something very interesting with his phrase “Reformed Project.” And I was right. “When we say we are Reformed Christians, we are simply saying that we are Christians committed to a particular project, the project of reforming the church” (page 12). That is a project we should be about!

Jinkins and I are, in part, preaching the same sermon. I am gratified that someone of Jinkins stature in the church today is saying these things. This sermon that I have been preaching for years, and which I believe Jinkins is also preaching, is about how our church is good and blessed. I want to preach from the highest Presbyterian pulpit, I want to shout from the highest Presbyterian mountaintop: “Can we please stop whining! Can we please stop complaining! Can we put away the “Woe is me!” litany! Do we know how rich our heritage is! Do we know how great our Church is! This Church belongs to Jesus Christ!” I am encouraged that Jinkins is standing with me. He says it better: “When we are mindful of our legacy, however – when we remember the good news of Jesus Christ that fuels our lives and gives us hope as persons – we stop worrying about our survival. And when we stop worrying about our survival, we, as a church, become powerfully attractive to those around us” (page 108). Jinkins preaches: “We really do need to stop whining about the losses we have suffered in numbers and prestige and influence as a mainline church. No one else cares, including (I suspect) God” (page 117).

Michael Jinkin’s Reformed Project includes some compelling components. He offers a rousing call to a “thinking faith.” This is our heritage. This is the air we breathe. Chapter Three which calls us again to a thinking faith is a powerful source of encouragement for every harried pastor and over scheduled church leader who wonders again about the value of theological education and who struggles to find time to read the hard books. We need a thinking faith. My worry is all caught up with Jinkins: “I worry about  what will become of Christian faith – indeed, I worry what will become of the world we live in – if Christians fail to ask the tough, deep, critical sometimes intractable questions about life.”

Jinkins also offers a fresh, creative image of the task of ministry today with his description of becoming a “docent in the house of wonder.” This is a fabulous image for ministry today, and Jinkins develops it with compelling description. What if ministry was truly about helping our people imagine again, dream again, walk again into the rushing stream of God’s grace? “Their vocation is to deliver people into an awareness of the presence of God, in which they will know themselves to be creatures created for God’s own gracious, good and just ends” (page 88).

As a Presbytery staff person, I have a unique perch from which I view our Church. My view sees a lot of conflict and confusion. Jinkins sees the same things but does not shy away from our ugly heritage of schism. In what I consider a brilliant theological reflection, Jinkins dissects for us John Calvin’s theology on schism and unity in the church. For people like me who are working every day with issues of schism, separation, unity and our profound polarization, Jinkins Chapter Four, Schism, the Unintended Consequence of the Reformed Project, is important. The Reformed Project has always struggled with these issues, and our struggle with these same things today may be painful and personal but it is all not new. Our age is not special. These issues lie “at the root of the Reformed Project . . . But, potentially, the seeds for understanding our unity in Jesus Christ also lie in Calvin’s theology, and they may yet render in us a more ‘charitable judgment’ of those with whom we differ (page 67).

Thank you, Professor Jinkins, for a bold call to hope. Thank you for helping us not be ashamed and afraid. Thank you for a lifting our pride and reminding us again of the good gifts we have all received in this Reformed Tradition. Indeed, I would like to print your last sentences as a poster to hang inside the front door of our Presbytery office: “If we can remember who we are and who we are called to be in Jesus Christ, the best days of the Reformed Project are still ahead of us. Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda” (page 121).

    

             

General Assembly (2012) #19

Differing Convictions

This may be one of the most important statements coming from our General Assembly. I fully agree with this commitment:
The 220th General Assembly approved this statement by a vote of 405 YES to 230 NO. This action came as Overture 07-17, “On Honoring Christ in Our Relationship with One Another” from the Presbytery of Sacramento.

Because

• Jesus taught that our highest ethical obligation is to ‘… love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27); and this is how ‘everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (John 13:35);



• having experienced Christ’s gracious love for us while we are yet sinners, we are called to ‘welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God’ (Romans 15:7);

 • we affirm the solemn commitments expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination, installation, and commissioning, including that we intend to fulfill our ministries ‘in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and … continually guided by our confessions’; that that we will be friends among our colleagues in ministry; that we ‘seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love [our] neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world’ (Book of Order, W-4.4003);



• ‘… we hold that interpretation of the Scripture to be orthodox and genuine which is gleaned from the Scriptures themselves (from the nature of the language in which they were written, likewise according to the circumstances in which they were set down, and expounded in the light of like and unlike passages and of many and clearer passages) and which agree with the rule of faith and love, and contributes much to the glory of God and man’s salvation’ (The Book of Confessions, Second Helvetic Confession, 5.010);
 • the larger Catechism lifts up the duty of holding ‘… a charitable esteem of our neighbors,’ and forbids the sin of ‘… misconstruing intentions, words, and actions’ (The Book of Confessions, 7.254–255).
 The 220th General Assembly (2012) acknowledges that faithful Presbyterians earnestly seeking to follow Jesus Christ hold different views about what the Scriptures teach concerning the morality of committed, same-gender relationships. Therefore, while holding persons in ordered ministry to high standards of covenant fidelity in the exercise of their sexuality, as in all aspects of life, we acknowledge that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not have one interpretation of Scripture in this matter. We commit ourselves to continue respectful dialogue with those who hold differing convictions, to welcome one another for God’s glory, and not to vilify those whose convictions we believe to be in error. We call on all Presbyterians to join us in this commitment.

Shared Mission Giving: What's happening?

Our Coordinating Council has begun a comprehensive planning process in order to look forward in our common mission and ministry. This process will include a brief, electronic survey about our presbytery’s ministry which will soon be delivered by email. In addition, this process will include our budget planning process as we seek to financially plan for several years forward. A key issue in our financial planning process is our understanding of what is happening in Shared Mission Giving in our congregations. Please consider this giving pattern within our Presbytery:




Shared Mission Giving             Total Dollars       Total Congregations participating

2008                                            $509,480           36

2009                                            $451,022           32

2010                                            $421,898           20

2011                                            $402,528           25

Through June 30, 2012               $146,997           29



Specifically, please consider these questions as part of a discussion with your session:

• Are you participating in Shared Mission Giving?

• Is this an important part of the ministry of your congregation?

• In what ways do you discuss and interpret the work of Shared Mission Giving with your whole congregation?

• What is the future trend for your support of Shared Mission Giving within your congregation?

• Would you consider increasing your support of Shared Mission Giving?

• Has your congregation recently transitioned from Shared Mission Giving contributions to a more Designated Mission Giving model?


I will appreciate your comments around this discussion. Please call, write or email. I encourage you to participate in Shared Mission Giving as one piece of your larger mission giving. If you seek to transition to a fully designated model of mission giving, I will be glad to suggest places, including our presbytery itself, where you can direct your designated giving.

General Assembly (2012) #18

This pastoral letter was sent from the leadership team of our General Assembly:

July 7, 2012

Churchwide pastoral letter from the 220th General Assembly (2012)

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Earlier today, the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adjourned after a week of worship and work as the highest council of the denomination. Just under 900 elected commissioners and advisory delegates from every presbytery came from north, south, east, and west to discern together the mind of Christ for the PC(USA).

This assembly’s theme, “walking, running, soaring into hope” (Isaiah 40:31) was a fitting description of the assembly in many ways. At one level, the commissioners worked tirelessly—meeting literally well into the early morning hours today to complete their work—and doing so with much energy and passion. At a deeper level, the deliberations and discernment of this assembly reflect a church that is endeavoring to know how to demonstrate faithfully and effectively the gospel of Jesus Christ in the 21st century.

Some of the highlights:

Worship – The assembly paused daily in the midst of its business, in the same space, to worship. Each of the preachers used the same text, Mark 2:1-12, chosen by outgoing GA Moderator, Cindy Bolbach. Commissioners and advisory delegates prayed and sang often, using selections from the upcoming new hymnal from the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, Glory to God, which the assembly voted to commend to the church (available in 2013;www.presbyterianhymnal.org).

Community – Those who have experienced a General Assembly speak overwhelmingly of the sense of connectedness that develops over the course of the assembly, and this one was no exception. Group meals, committee work, mission tours, exhibit hall, and more provided opportunities to make new friends and reconnect with those for whom an assembly is a “family reunion.” You can get a sense of that community through the photo and video gallery and more atwww.pcusa.org/ga220. The community extended beyond Pittsburgh, as well—thousands gathered in this country and around the world through social media to watch the proceedings (www.twitter.com/search/ga220).

Business – The assembly addressed roughly 800 items of business in the form of overtures, reports, commissioner resolutions and more. We commend to you PC-biz (www.pc-biz.org), the online site where you can read about each item of business. Some topics that were before the assembly are likely to draw media attention—perhaps they already have where you live. We want to highlight some of them, sharing with you the actions taken by the assembly:

·         Definition of marriage – The assembly chose not to change the current definition of marriage that is in the PC(USA) constitution, namely, that marriage is a civil contract “between a man and a woman.” Rather, through its action to approve a two-year study, the assembly is inviting the entire church to engage in serious, deliberate conversation on this issue.

·         Middle East – The assembly chose not to divest from three companies participating in “non-peaceful pursuits” in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Rather, the assembly voted “to pursue a positive and creative course of action with respect to the current Palestinian/Israeli conflict,” and to “devise a plan of active engagement and projects that will support collaboration among Christians, Jews, and Muslims.” The assembly also approved a boycott on “all Israeli products coming from the occupied Palestinian territories.”

·         1001 Movement – The assembly overwhelming supported a movement to create 1001 worshiping communities (www.onethousandone.org). Those communities of faith will perhaps look much different from traditional congregations, but those that are already underway—in coffee shops, shopping malls, even on bicycles—are changing the world and the church for the sake of the gospel.

Commissioners and advisory delegates wrestled passionately together in heart, mind, and prayer, yet did so respectfully and graciously. Rarely were votes taken that had a wider margin than 60%-40%. On marriage and the Middle East issues, the voting results were extremely close. More than once, commissioners rose with requests to reconsider items already approved.

Obviously, we are working through difficult issues that do not get easily resolved by one or two votes, or even within one or two years. Nevertheless, we stand firmly in the conviction and hope that God is present with us – behind, before, and beside us.

Each assembly committee opened its meeting with prayer and reflection on Paul’s encouragement to the church in Ephesus: “…making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:3). This is our prayer, as well.

We pray that every effort will be made to continue conversation at every level of the church—from congregations to presbyteries to synods to the General Assembly—encouraging and engaging one another, maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

May the good and faithful work begun in Pittsburgh continue, remembering that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our peace,

The Rev. Neal D. Presa 
Moderator, 220th General Assembly

The Rev. Tom Trinidad 
Vice Moderator, 220th General Assembly

The Rev. Gradye Parsons 
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

Elder Linda Bryant Valentine 
Executive Director, Presbyterian Mission Agency 
(formerly General Assembly Mission Council)

General Assembly (2012) #17 Amendment to Book of Order

A Constitutional Amendment to the Book of Order approved.

            This overture, copied here, from the Presbytery of San Jose was approved by the Church Orders and Ministry Committee. The General Assembly also approved this amendment to G-2.0104a in our Form of Government by a vote of 329 YES to 275 NO. Please note this amendment adds one sentence to G-2.0104a: “This includes repentance of sin and diligent use of the means of grace.” None of the current language is deleted.

The Presbytery of San Jose overtures the 220th General Assembly (2012) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendment to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative vote:

Shall G-2.0104a of the Book of Order be amended as follows: [Text to be added is shown as italic.]

“a. To those called to exercise special functions in the church—deacons, ruling elders, and teaching elders—God gives suitable gifts for their various duties. In addition to possessing the necessary gifts and abilities, those who undertake particular ministries should be persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the Christian gospel in the church and in the world. This includes repentance of sin and diligent use of the means of grace. They must have the approval of God’s people and the concurring judgment of a council of the church.

RATIONALE

Section G-2.0104 of the Book of Order states:

a. To those called to exercise special functions in the church—deacons, ruling elders, and teaching elders—God gives suitable gifts for their various duties. In addition to possessing the necessary gifts and abilities, those who undertake particular ministries should be persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the Christian gospel in the church and in the world. They must have the approval of God’s people and the concurring judgment of a council of the church; and

The Westminster Larger Catechism, 7.305 states:

Q.            195. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?

A.            In the sixth petition (which is, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”), acknowledging that the most wise, righteous, and gracious God, for divers holy and just ends, may so order things that we may be assaulted, foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations; that Satan, the world, and the flesh, are ready powerfully to draw us aside and ensnare us; and that we, even after the pardon of our sins, by reason of our corruption, weakness, and want of watchfulness, are not only subject to be tempted, and forward to expose ourselves unto temptations, but also of ourselves unable and unwilling to resist them, to recover out of them, and to improve them; and worthy to be left under the power of them; we pray: that God would so overrule the world and all in it, subdue the flesh, and restrain Satan, order all things, bestow and bless all means of grace, and quicken us to watchfulness in the use of them, that we and all his people may by his providence be kept from being tempted to sin; or, if tempted, that by his Spirit we may be powerfully supported and enabled to stand in the hour of temptation; or, when fallen, raised again and recovered out of it, and have a sanctified use and improvement thereof; that our sanctification and salvation may be perfected, Satan trodden under our feet, and we fully freed from sin, temptation, and all evil forever. (The Book of Confessions, The Larger Catechism, 7.305)

When a church member is found guilty of an offense because of acting contrary to the Scriptures and/or the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), that person is censured and the following is part of the public rebuke:

“We urge you to use diligently the means of grace to the end that you may be more obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ” (Book of Order, D-12.0102).

We respectfully overture for the above specified amendment to G-2.0104a.

General Assembly (2012) #16 Mid Councils

Mid Councils report

            The Report of the Mid Council Commission is sweeping, comprehensive and bold. I highly recommend careful study of their report, which is a book length analysis of our Church today. I followed the discussion of the Commission’s report at the Committee meeting. It was clear to me that the kind of bold, creative innovation which the Mid Council Commission was advocating in their report is hard to mesh into the strict process and procedures of our meeting of the General Assembly. This seemed to be almost a clash of cultures within the church itself around the huge question of how to become more flexible, innovative and willing to experiment. Thus while there was great appreciation for the Mid Council report, the Assembly was not able to approve it and simply approved further discussion. My personal and sad perception of the reality around this discussion is that there is not enough trust in the church to allow the kind of bold innovation which the Mid Council report advocated. This debate on the floor of the General Assembly was passionate and the final text, copied here, was approved by a vote of 364 to 293.

Final Text:
Refer Recommendations 1-4 to refer the Mid Council Commission report and recommendations 1-4, to a task force to further discuss, refine, and bring to the 221st General Assembly (2014) recommendations that consider the composition and organization of the Mid Councils in ways that reinvigorate their capacity to support missional congregations, and advance the ecclesial nature and character of those presbyteries, within the unity of the church. The Moderator of the 220th General Assembly (2012) will name the task force. It will be composed of an equal number of persons from the Mid Council Commission, COGA, and commissioners to the 220th General Assembly (2012). The optimal size of such a task force is twelve-to-fifteen persons. The Office of the General Assembly, including the coordinator of the MidCouncil Relations, will provide staff support to the task force.

General Assembly (2012) #15 Special Offerings

Special Offerings Taskforce rejected

            The General Assembly essentially rejected the Report of the Taskforce on Special Offerings by a vote of 530 YES to 37 NO. The final text of the Assembly’s action is copied here.

Final Text:
In the spirit of Items 10-19 and 10-5 (overtures from the Presbyteries of Pittsburgh and Western North Carolina), it is important to maintain existing programs, percentages, and designees in the One Great hour of Sharing, the Christmas Joy Offering, and the Pentecost offering and the Peacemaking Offering. The 220th General Assembly (2012) recommends that the current distribution patterns be maintained for the next funding cycle and that the existing special offerings task force be asked to report to the 221st General Assembly (2014) on the effect of new fundraising techniques, to work collaboratively with funding recipients, update progress on the $20 million by 2020 goal, and recommend additional strategies.

General Assembly (2012) #14 ON MARRIAGE

FINAL ACTION: Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

          After the defeat of the Committee’s main motion and the defeat of two minority reports, the Committee on Civil Unions and Marriage Issues proposed the following new business (copied below). It was also approved by amendment that this action will answer all the action coming before the General Assembly under the topic of civil unions and marriage.

          This action is the only and the final action of the 220^th General Assembly concerning the issues of civil unions and marriage. This action was approved by the vote of 489 YES and 152 NO.       

Final Text:

That the 220th General Assembly (2012) approve the following resolution:

“In a desire to promote the peace, unity, and purity of the church, we move the whole Presbyterian Church U.S.A. enter into a season of serious study and discernment concerning its meaning of Christian marriage in the two-year period between the 220th General Assembly (2012) and the 221st General Assembly (2014). We would further move the Office of Theology and Worship prepare and distribute educational materials to all presbyteries and congregations. These materials should include the relevant Scriptures, key methods of biblical interpretations, current understandings of our Constitution, and some suggested guidance for prayerful and reconnecting ways of listening to one another.

“We would ask that all presbyteries report to the Office of the General Assembly on how this was conducted in their congregations at least three months prior to the 221st General Assembly (2014).

“This motion is offered in the hope and trust that such discernment will genuinely seek the rule and will of God be done in our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as it is in Heaven under the guidance of the Triune of God.”

General Assembly (2012) #13

Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

The debate about the definition of marriage:

            The General Assembly, during its afternoon session on Friday July 6, debated the question of marriage as presented by the General Assembly Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues. The Committee brought a Report asking for a Constitutional Amendment to change our definition of marriage. The Committee also brought TWO minority reports. Both minority reports were defeated.

            The Committee recommendation was also DEFEATED by a vote of 308 YES to 338 NO.  The Committee recommendation is copied here, but please note that the report was DEFEATED.  The Committee Report and two Minority Reports were all DEFEATED.

The Presbytery of Hudson River overtures the 220th General Assembly (2012) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendments to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative vote:

1.     Amend W-4.9001 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“Marriage is a gift God has given to all humankind for the well-being of the entire human family. Marriage is a civil contract covenant between a woman and a man two people, and according to the laws of the state also constitutes a civil contract. For Christians marriage is a covenant through which a man and a woman two people are called to live out together before God their lives of discipleship. In a service of Christian marriage,two people make a lifelong commitment is made by a woman and a man to each other,publicly witnessed and acknowledged by the community of faith.”

2.     Amend W-4.9002 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“a. In preparation for the marriage service, the teaching elder† shall provide for a discussion with the man and the woman two people to be married concerning” [The remainder of this section remains the same.]

3.     Amend W-4.9004 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“The service begins with scriptural sentences and a brief statement of purpose. The man and the womantwo people to be married shall declare their intention to enter into Christian marriage and shall exchange vows of love and faithfulness. The service includes appropriate passages of Scripture, which may be interpreted in various forms of proclamation. Prayers shall be offered for the couple, for the communities which support them in this new dimension of discipleship, and for all who seek to live in faithfulness. In the name of the triune God the teaching elder† shall declare publicly that the woman and the man they are now joined in marriage.” [The remainder of this paragraph remains the same.]

4.     Amend W-4.9006 as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“A service of worship recognizing a civil marriage and confirming it in the community of faith may be appropriate when requested by the couple. The service will be similar to the marriage service except that the opening statement, the declaration of intention, the exchange of vows by the husband and wife two people,and the public declaration by the teaching elder† reflect the fact that the woman and man they are already married to one another according to the laws of the state.”

General Assembly (2012) #12

Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

The debate about the definition of marriage: Minority Report Two

            The General Assembly, during its afternoon session on Friday July 6, debated the question of marriage as presented by the General Assembly Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues. The Committee brought a Report asking for a Constitutional Amendment to change our definition of marriage. The Committee also brought TWO minority reports. The second Minority Report recommended a clear definition of marriage as a union of man and one woman.  After lengthy debate the second Minority Report was defeated:

The second Minority Report is copied here. NOTE: this recommendation was DEFEATED by a vote of 266 Yes to 397 No:

Minority Report two:

Responding to the wide variety of overtures concerning the definition of Christian Marriage in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the General Assembly makes the following statement:

Our Confessions, based on their understanding of Scripture, define Christian marriage as a union of one man and one woman. Any redefinition of marriage should recognize the confessional nature of the definition and should be preceded by careful and prayerful formal confessional amendment process. As our society debates the legal status of same-sex relationships, the church recognizes and reaffirms that any change in the definition of marriage in civil law does not and cannot change the church’s constitution. As our confessions instruct us, the church is called to lead men and women into the full meaning of life together, extending the compassion of Christ to all (The Confession of 1967).

As our church ministers amidst a contemporary culture that includes same sex couples, the church should lovingly respond with grace and truth. Additionally, the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) provides the following authoritative interpretation of W-4.9001:

“When W-4.9001 speaks of marriage, it is expounding how marriage is defined and understood by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), under the authority of the Scriptures and guided by the confessions. It is not merely describing how marriage was practiced in any particular society at any particular time. Therefore, this definition of marriage in the Directory for Worship is binding upon teaching elders and commissioned ruling elders authorized to perform Christian marriages. “Officers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who are authorized to perform marriages shall not state, imply, or represent that a same-sex ceremony is a marriage because under W-4.9001 a same-sex ceremony is not and cannot be a marriage” (Spahr v. Presbytery of Redwoods, 2008). A change in the definition of civil marriage under state law does not alter the definition of marriage under the PC(USA) Constitution (Southard v. Presbytery of Boston, 2011). The church’s definition of marriage may be changed only through amendment of both W-4.9001 and the confessional passages upon which it is based.”

General Assembly (2012) #11

Civil Unions and Marriage Issues:

The debate about the definition of marriage.

            The General Assembly, during its afternoon session on Friday July 6, debated the question of marriage as presented by the General Assembly Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues. The Committee brought a Report asking for a Constitutional Amendment to change our definition of marriage. The Committee also brought TWO minority reports. The first Minority Report recommended a time of discussion until 2014. After lengthy debate the first Minority Report was defeated.

The first Minority Report is copied here. NOTE: this recommendation was DEFEATED by a vote of 323 Yes to 346 No:

A Call for Listening

a. The General Assembly charges the Office of Theology and Worship to design and implement a discussion in each presbytery around the meaning of marriage and proposing ways for us to remain unified as a denomination.

These conversations would answer the following questions:

(1) What is the meaning of marriage in our post-Christendom environment in United States and Puerto Rico.

(2) How do our officers live and make faithful decisions about officiating at marriages in this environment?

(3) How can our denomination respect difference in opinion about the meaning of marriage?

These conversations are to provide a safe space for listening to Scripture, to the confessions, and to one another, and to propose solutions to the missiological issues raised by challenges to the traditional definition of marriage in our society and the prevalence of divorce in church and society. They are to take into account the effects of globalization, changing gender roles, and differences in the church over human sexuality. Each presbytery is encouraged to implement this conversation in each of its sessions around the same three questions. These conversations and the report should be completed by August 2014. Presbyteries shall report on these conversations to the Stated Clerk and the Office of Theology and Worship by August 2014.

b. The General Assembly directs the Presbyterian World Mission office to receive feedback from our worldwide mission partners about their understanding of the meaning of marriage and their suggestions about how to move forward missiologically as a denomination, and to forward this feedback to the Stated Clerk and the Office of Theology and Worship by August 2014.

General Assembly #10

Committee #15 Middle East and Peacemaking Issues

            With a passionate, long debate the General Assembly approved an “invest in Palestine” approach and rejected a “divest from Israel” approach. This answer was hammered out in a debate which took the Assembly until 10:30 at night and the recess of the Thursday night session. Thus as Friday morning begins, the Assembly finds itself more than three hours behind on the agenda. At one point the Moderator acknowledged more than 40 people lined up at commissioner microphones seeking to speak.

            Committee #15 brought a recommendation to approve an action of divestment from Caterpillar, Motorola and HP. Immediately a Minority Report was brought as a substitute motion asking for a policy of investment in Palestine. The committee’s majority report, after long debate, was rejected by a vote of 333 to 331. Finally the minority report was approved by a vote of 369 to 290.

            Copied here are the action items from the final action. (Item 5 here was added and approved as an amendment during the debate):

Final Text:

1.     call for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to pursue a positive and creative course of action with respect to the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict that will make a difference in the lives of those who are most vulnerable on all sides and that will preserve an effective witness to peace in the entire region;

2.     call for a process of engagement that will bring Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the U.S. into effective partnering for study, travel, and social action;

3.     advocate for the development of educational programs that expose U.S. Christians, Jews, and Muslims to the varied experiences of both Palestinians and Israelis;

4.     devise a plan of active investment in projects that will support collaboration among Christians, Jews, and Muslims and help in the development of a viable infrastructure for a future Palestinian state. We also encourage greater denominational engagement with Christians in the West Bank around issues of job creation and economic development.

5. instructs the General Assembly Mission Council to create a process to raise funds to invest in the West Bank, and the program will be inaugurated no later than the meeting of the 221st General Assembly (2014).

General Assembly (2012) #9

The Most Important Thing: Presbyterian World Mission

            When I am asked what was the single most important thing that came before the 220^th General Assembly, my answer will be the commissioning of our new missionaries through Presbyterian World Mission. This did not require a vote, or a lengthy debate, it was more liturgical than legislative. But clearly, the continuing growth of Presbyterian World Mission, our ability to create new mission positions in response to the requests of our Church partners around the world, the ability to recruit and train new missionaries for these positions, and most of all the increasing financial support from all around the church which makes this growth possible is the most important thing in our church today.

            I am proud that the Presbytery of Carlisle was involved in creating a new missionary position in cooperation with the Presbyterian Church in Honduras which is now filled by Mark and Ashley Wright serving in Tegucigalpa. I am proud that out of this relationship with the Presbyterian Church in Honduras, we were able to bring Rev. Juan Rodas to the General Assembly as an ecumenical representative.  

            Copied here is part of the Presbyterian News Service article about our new missionaries:

Continuing a 175-year tradition, the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Wednesday evening (July 4) commissioned 152 Presbyterian mission co-workers and young adult volunteers who have accepted assignments since the previous General Assembly.

The commissioning was held in the state where, in 1837, Presbyterians established their first national denominational mission agency. Presbyterian World Mission traces its heritage to that board formed in Philadelphia. Nine mission co-workers were at the commissioning, representing the 30 new and reassigned mission co-workers who have been appointed since 2011.