General Assembly (2012) #7

Rev. Juan Rodas: Ecumenical Representative from Honduras

                I am proud that our Presbytery in cooperation with our office of World Mission sponsored the participation of Rev. Juan Rodas with our General Assembly. Juan is the pastor of the Pena de Horeb Presbyterian Church in Tegucigalpa and a leader in the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Our Presbytery has worked close with his congregation in our mission work in Tegucigalpa. Their congregation’s mission committee has organized the new home construction projects which we have been supporting. We have now contributed to the construction of six new homes for Presbyterian families from Juan’s congregation.  Juan is having a wonderful experience here this week. The ecumenical representatives from around the world have formed their own little community while here together.

                Juan is eager and excited that he has been invited to bring ecumenical greetings to the General Assembly when we convene in plenary session this evening at 7:00.

                Juan will be coming to the Presbytery of Carlisle after the General Assembly. He will be in worship with our Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church this Sunday, July 8. Our mission committee is hosting a luncheon with Juan at noon on Monday, July 9 at our Presbytery office. 

General Assembly (2012) #6

The Church with broken wings.

“Rise up, church, with broken wings,

Fill this place with songs again

of our God who reigns on high;

by God’s grace again we’ll fly.

Shout to the north and the south;

Sing to the east and the west.

Jesus is Savior to all;

Lord of heaven and earth.”

            This verse is from a new praise song which will be included in “Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal.” I attended the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation breakfast today where their new hymnal was introduced, along with many of the other new books published this year. As part of our breakfast meeting, the special committee for the new hymnal led us in singing several of the new additions to the hymnal. The verse here is from “Men of Faith, Rise Up and Sing” which is a praise and worship song from Delirious?, an English Christian rock and worship band. The catchy, upbeat tune of this song and the image of the ‘church with broken wings’ spoke to me. Yes, maybe we are church with broken wings. It seems that our days of soaring high with vision and energy are past. Now, too much, contention and conflict, mistrust and a lack of collegiality burden us. Especially here at the General Assembly, we seem to bring out all our ‘issues’ again, replaying, rehashing and seeking a way forward. Often it feels like we are a ‘church with broken wings’. But this is not the message of this wonderful, new worship song. And this is not the truth that sings in my heart. I believe and I pray that “by God’s grace again we’ll fly.”

            I encourage you to check out our new hymnal at Presbyterianhymnal.org. The full text and music for “Men of Faith, Rise Up and Sing” is available there along with other new samples. Information about pre-ordering is also now available. 

General Assembly (2012) #5

Gradye Parsons reelected as Stated Clerk

                In a remarkable expression of unity, the General Assembly reelected Grady Parsons to a second, four year term. Gradye ran unopposed, and was elected unanimously by a voice vote.  Gradye is known for often referencing the Bible story of Jesus and the disciples in the storm as a parable for the church today: “We are in the boat. There will be storms. We will not die.”

General Assembly (2012) #4

Mission Coordination Committee, Action Item 10-09; Approved by Committee by a vote of 51 – 0.

All the Committees  of the General Assembly are scheduled all day today with their lists of Action Items. Given my position within our Presbytery, I pay close attention to some of the behind the scenes, administrative work that supports the work of our Church. I have followed in recent years the careful planning process that Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council, Linda Valentine, has put in place to guide the work of the Mission Council. This year a new “Mission Work Plan” was developed and forwarded to the Mission Coordination Committee. This year Carlisle Teaching Elder Commissioner Steve Gribble is serving on the Mission Coordination Committee. A number of General Assembly staff people, including Linda Valentine and Roger Dermody, discussed this plan with the Committee. The Committee had a careful and thoughtful discussion of it, before voting to approve it.

Two aspects of this are important in my mind. First, this intentional planning process is an important example for the Presbytery and our congregations. We need to do careful planning. This Mission Work Plan is a good, comprehensive example of strategic thinking. It is a good exercise to define goals, objectives and our priorities. Second, I appreciate the focus of this Mission Work plan. I would like to communicate this plan around our Presbytery, and discuss how we respond to this plan from our General Assembly Mission Council.

This Mission Work Plan has been approved by the Committee and will be considered by the whole General Assembly. The plan is copied here, and may be found at PC – biz as item 10 – 09.

Mission Work Plan 2013 – 2016:

The General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) recommends that the 220th General Assembly (2012) approve the following vision, mission, directional goal statements, and core values for the 2013–2016 GAMC Mission Work Plan:

Vision: Presbyterians joyfully engaging in God’s mission for the transformation of the world.

Mission: Inspire, equip, and connect the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in its many expressions to serve Christ in the world through new and existing communities of faith, hope, love, and witness.

Directional Goals:

Transformational Leaders

Inspire, equip and connect the church to: Cultivate, nurture, and sustain diverse, transformational leaders for Christ’s mission.

I chose you and appointed you so that you could go and produce fruit. John 15:16 (CEB)

Compassionate and Prophetic Discipleship

Inspire, equip, and connect the church to: Make, receive and send disciples who demonstrate and proclaim God’s justice, peace, and love in an increasingly globalized world.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. [God] has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of the sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luke 4:18–19 (CEB)

New Worshiping Communities

Inspire, equip, and connect the church to: Ignite a movement within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that results in the creation of 1,001 new worshiping communities.

They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved. Acts 2:47 (CEB)

Young Adults

Inspire, equip and connect the church to: Engage and join with young adults in reforming the church for Christ’s mission.

I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. Genesis 17:7 (CEB)

General Assembly Engagement

Engage with, respond to, resource and represent the General Assembly in alignment with the vision and mission for the General Assembly Mission Council.

The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter. Acts 15:6 (CEB)

Organizational Integrity

Build confidence, trust, and engagement in all that we do by being Collaborative, Accountable, Responsive, and Excellent (C.A.R.E.).

If anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things. Philippians 4:8a (CEB)

Core Values of the General Assembly Mission Council

C.A.R.E. (Collaborative, Accountable, Responsive, Excellent)

Within the GAMC and the wider church, we will be:

Collaborative. Working together in an inclusive community, we will invite input, share ideas, and seek the best ways to accomplish our common goals.

Accountable. Relying on the Holy Spirit to enable us to trust and to be trustworthy, we will take responsibility for our actions and work with integrity, transparency, and love.

Responsive. Acting as servant leaders, we will faithfully respond to the voices and needs of the church by being timely, helpful, enthusiastic, and mission-centered.

Excellent. Demonstrating faithful stewardship and service through God’s empowering grace, we will work with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.

General Assembly (2012) #3

Inside and Outside

                On Monday morning at the General Assembly all the difficult work begins. The glorious opening worship service opened the week on Saturday. The first several, full, business sessions included a lot of preliminary work like introducing the commissioners to the electronic voting system, introducing the various agencies of the General Assembly, and discussing the process and procedures for debates and decisions. Of course, there is now a long standing tradition of devoting an early, full business session to the election of the new Moderator.  Again at this General Assembly this was done on Saturday evening, the first day of the Assembly.

                Now on Monday morning all the Commissioners gather in their assigned Committees to tackle the Action Items assigned to them. Committees will meet for their meetings during the day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning. The full plenary session of the General Assembly will not gather together again until Wednesday afternoon.

                It seems to me, as I try to grasp all the different action items before this Assembly, that it is possible to categorize them into Inside the Church issues and Outside the Church issues. This year there are several Inside the Church issues before the Assembly that are important and transformative:

•                 The report of the Mid Council Commission and the possible elimination of the Synods as a governing body. This also includes the question of non-geographic presbyteries.
•                 The report on the Nature of the Church in 21^st Century is an important theological statement about the way we understand the Church today.
•                 The proposal concerning the revision of the four Special Offerings is significant and has already sparked significant debate.
•  

                The issues coming before us in what I am calling “Outside the Church” are also numerous and significant. These include:

•                 The debate over our understanding and involvement in the Middle East.
•                 The debate of Immigration policy in United States.

There are issues that have a huge impact both inside the church and outside the church.

• This year the debate over the definition of marriage clearly is the most heated issue and divisive question before us.
• In a less controversial light, the call for 1,001 New Worshipping Communities is a goal with impact both inside and outside the Church. We must as a church begin to embed into our heart and soul the need to plant, create and give birth to new communities. Simply continuing and maintaining our current congregations is not good enough. But for several generations we have neglected our calling and spiritual obligation to plant new communities of faith.  
• The concern which has influence both inside and outside the church and is important to me is our commitment to World Mission. At this General Assembly we will celebrate the 175^th anniversary of Presbyterian World Mission, which was started in Pittsburgh in 1837. In my mind, this continues to be one of the most essential aspects of our common ministry.

The list of issues and concerns is long and important. Please pray for the work of our General Assembly. 

General Assembly (2012) #2

Rev. Dr. Neal Presa Moderator

                I am pleased with the election of Neal Presa as our new Moderator. He was elected out of a group of four qualified, articulate and experienced candidates.  Of course, the office of moderator of the General Assembly is an important symbol for our church. Almost any Presbyterian leader with some church experience can lead a meeting. But our Moderator is a symbol of who we are and, even more, who we would like to be. As such a symbol, Neal Presa is an excellent choice, in my mind, for our desire to live into a larger global Christianity.

                Neal Presa is a Filipino-American whose education included an M.Div. from San Francisco Seminary, an Th.M. from Princeton Seminary and M. Phil. and Ph.D. from Drew University. He is currently serving as the pastor of the Middlesex Presbyterian Church in the Presbytery of Elizabeth, New Jersey. He has extensive experience in global ecumenical relations. This experience included service on the American and North American Area Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches and participation with the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council. In a Presbyterian New Service article he is quoted: “We must reclaim our unity in the God who gathers us in worship and sends us out into our communities and, indeed, the whole world to invest and share our lives in others.” 

General Assembly (2012) #1

Opening Worship
I am writing from Pittsburgh, the site of the 220th meeting of the General Assembly (2012). The General Assembly started today with a glorious opening worship service within the large Convention Center. It was estimated that about 3,500 people were in attendance. As is our tradition, the outgoing Moderator Cynthia Bolbach was the preacher. Because of her recent battle with cancer, she preached seated in a wheelchair. Her message was a moving call to relationships and service across all the many boundaries that exist in the church. The worship service was filled with music featuring a huge choir, a brass quintet, a large bell choir, and Bill Carter and his Presbybop Quartet.

There was a creative and interesting touch on the traditional Unison Prayer of Confession. During the prayer all the congregation turned toward the opposite side. The “right” side of the congregation first confessed, allowing the “left” side to respond. Then it was switched. Although this was very simple, it was for me a significant and meaningful gesture symbolizing a reaching out across the “aisle”. We need to ask forgiveness of all those whom we consider to be “on the other side.” Maybe we will find some peace and unity if we can truly ask those across the aisle from us to forgive us.

Act of Confession from the Opening Worship of the 220th General Assembly:

Right side: I confess to God Almighty before the whole company of heaven, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned by my own fault, in thought, word, and deed; wherefore I pray God Almighty to have mercy on me, forgive me all my sins, and bring me to everlasting life.

Left side: May Almighty God have mercy on you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins and give you time to amen your life.

Right side: Amen.

Left side: I confess to God Almighty before the whole company of heaven, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned by my own fault, in thought, word, and deed; wherefore I pray God Almighty to have mercy on me, forgive me all my sins, and bring me to everlasting life.

Right side: May Almighty God have mercy on you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins and give you time to amen your life.

Left side: Amen

The opening worship service ended with this eloquent Charge and Blessing:

Eternal God, you call us to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.