What do you want to talk about? G.A.C. or O.G.A.?
What do you want to talk about? When we speak of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) it is very important for us to remember that there are several different conversations going on at the same time. These different conversations often have nothing to do with one another.
What do you want to talk about? On one hand we can talk about the work of the Office of the General Assembly. But, in fact, I would much prefer to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. What I want us to remember again is that when we are talking about the work of the General Assembly we must be very clear about the distinction between the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council. These two entities are very distinct, with different purposes, different sources of funding, and completely different staff.
My concern is that when we talk casually about the General Assembly, in our congregations, what we typically mean is the Office of the General Assembly. The Office of the General Assembly is funded almost totally by our Per Capita assessment, it is led by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, now the newly elected Gradye Parsons, and it is responsible for the polity side of the church. The Office of the General Assembly includes the Stated Clerk’s office, the Permanent Judicial Commission, and is fully responsible for the biennial meeting of the General Assembly. Any time we are talking about polity including the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions we are talking within the purview of the Office of the General Assembly. Indeed, we must again have conversations here at our Presbytery about polity, and about proposed changes to our Book of Order. I understand that these conversations are very important. We must carry them out with prayerful discernment.
But, my friends, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. This is a very different conversation. The General Assembly Council, now under the leadership of Executive Director Linda Valentine, is the mission and program side of the General Assembly. Although we do not talk about it nearly as much, the General Assembly Council is significantly larger than the Office of the General Assembly. The General Assembly Council is funded by our mission giving and our special offerings. The General Assembly Council includes Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. The General Assembly Council also includes the Office of Theology and Worship, which creates excellent theological resources for our church. The largest piece of the General Assembly Council is our work in World Mission. The General Assembly Council’s office of World Mission recruits, trains, funds and supports our more than 200 full-time, professional mission co-workers around the world. Let’s talk about that work!
This is my request and my plea. Many of you, I know, on both sides of the debate, have concerns and deep questions about the conversations we are having about polity and the Book of Order. We will continue those conversations here at our presbytery as we consider the latest proposals. Please do not allow any frustrations you may have with our conversations about polity to distract from or frustrate your support for our world mission. They are very different conversations, representing very different entities within the church. More over, I have this crazy idea that if we can shift the conversation a little bit, and talk more, and learn more, and commit ourselves more to our work in world mission, on the General Assembly Council side of the church, it may help us find our way forward through our very difficult polity conversation. What do you want to talk about? We must continue our conversation about polity, but let us also remember this very important conversation and commitment to world mission.
Note: For more information about the General Assembly Council please see their website at www.pcusa.org/gac. World Mission also has a website at www.pcusa.org/worldmission. The Office of the General Assembly also has a website at www.pcusa.org/oga.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Support World Mission
A Report from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The jet ways which off board each jet at Toncontin International airport lead everyone to a long walkway. At the end of this walkway a pair of escalators direct everyone down to the immigration desks, baggage claim and customs. Like the whole airport, this hallway is always immaculately clean, it’s polished floor glistening and bright. The outside wall of this long walkway is glass from floor to ceiling. Like the whole facility, the glass is sparkling clean. I am delighted to return to Tegucigalpa, Honduras; a place I have learned to love. Walking along this walkway, shaking off the fatigue of the long jet rides which started early in the morning in Baltimore, I breathe in the joy and satisfaction of being here again. My body enjoys the opportunity to stretch, loosen and walk after being cramped up in an airplane for the last hours. My eyes and mind are lifted up and out through the windows and far beyond to the exquisitely beautiful horizon. The jagged peaks of Tegucigalpa’s famous mountains, which are all around in all their lush green, rise up and out of the urban sprawl and touch a beautiful sky. Strolling along this walkway is a moment of spiritual transition. Now having arrived, my mind can cast aside all the details of travel. The obsession with flight schedules, making connections in Houston, and constant concerns about delays, changes, or cancellations are now all gone. Now I am here and turn to the purposes I have in mind for these few precious days in Honduras.
Our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been doing world mission for a very long time. Our heritage of world mission is deep, long and remarkable. One of the purposes of my ministry now is to understand, celebrate and support our work in world mission. Our world mission work is where my heart is; increasing this is where my passion and energy are leading me. As we have always done, the church must again rally and unite around our world mission work. This is now one of my deepest convictions. This is a conviction which has been building, growing, developing and maturing for many years. The congregations where I have served as pastor were always blessed, renewed and vitalized by strong mission programs and generous mission giving. I believe our mission work is a vital piece, maybe the vital piece, toward the future peace, purity and unity of the church. This quick, three day trip to Honduras is an expression of my continuing education. I am here again to learn how the Presbyterian Church does world mission. I want to learn with my feet on the ground, talking with the people, understanding the decision-making, beginning to discern the challenges which must be faced, and learning this process. What does our world mission work look like in our world today?
On this trip I have the opportunity to learn with the experts. Along with Kathy Wells, the Director of Christian education in our Mechanicsburg Church; we are along for the ride as our world mission people do their work. We are here with Stan Devoogd, the area coordinator for Mexico and Central America. Stan is one of six area coordinators who work with the General Assembly Council and oversee our world mission. We are joined by our mission co-worker Tracey King, the regional liaison for Central America. Tracey’s office is in Managua, Nicaragua and she is responsible for relationships with all our mission partners, supporting our mission co-workers, and relationships with other U.S. Presbyterians working in the area. Specifically, Kathy and I have joined Stan and Tracey on this quick trip to Honduras to talk with our mission partners, and begin creating plans for a potential new PCUSA mission co-worker position in Honduras.
I have learned about the structure which we now have in place in our world mission office. Hunter Farrell is the director of world mission, and works directly with Linda Valentine, the executive director of the General Assembly Council. Hunter is the voice and vision of world mission today. (Hunter will be with us for the April 2009 meeting of the Presbytery of Carlisle.) Hunter is supported by the six area coordinators, like Stan, who each oversee our mission work in a particular area of the world. The six areas each have several regional liaisons, like Tracey. Together these world mission staff people are responsible for recruiting, supporting, encouraging and connecting the 200 mission co-workers who are serving in world mission for the PCUSA.
The single most important feature of our world mission work today is its collegiality. We do mission in partnership with other churches, ecumenical partners and all varieties of Christian mission organizations all over the world. Thus our mission co-workers are always serving at the invitation of local Christian organizations, schools, hospitals or churches. This commitment to collegiality with Christian brothers and sisters in every nation expresses deep theological commitments about what we believe about world mission today.
Our task here in Honduras is to talk with our Christian partners, to understand their ministries, and to explore ways we may work together. In Honduras, like most nations today, we have several different Christian partners. In Honduras, our Presbyterian Church has had a long partnership with Heifer Project International with whom our PCUSA mission co-workers, Tim and Gloria Wheeler, are now serving. (For this trip, we are staying in the Wheeler’s home even while Tim and Gloria are in the United States doing mission itineration. The Wheelers will be in our Presbytery in October.) We met with the Heifer Project staff all afternoon on Friday in their office. We had a wonderful discussion of their model of community development. This work is commendable, and I encourage your support. Our Second Carlisle Church has a close relationship with the Wheelers, and has been doing mission trips with the Wheelers every year. Please talk with Rev. Jennifer McKenna about their work. I particularly encourage your support of Heifer’s alternative Christian gift program.
Most important, our world mission staff has been in a continuing conversation with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. We are exploring ways that our churches may work together and join in mutual mission. Thus we met all day with the executive board, “el junta,” of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Stan and Tracey led us through a three point agenda around which we worked for almost five hours. Of course, in the relaxed Latin American style, we also had a lengthy time of Bible study, shared prayer, numerous coffee breaks, a long, leisurely lunch and a lot of cordial conversation, especially since my Honduran friends keep pushing me to speak Spanish. We did spend considerable time on these questions: In what ways are the PCUSA and PC Honduras cooperating and working together now?; What would the PC Honduras propose as the responsibilities and objectives of a potential mission co-worker working with them?; How would the PC Honduras define the qualifications and personal qualities they would like in a mission co-worker? These leaders from the PC Honduras were very clear and very articulate in their appreciation for the partnership with our PCUSA. Their objectives for a potential mission co-worker working serving with them are also very clear: leadership development. They need help in the administrative organization of their Presbytery. (The PC Honduras now has one presbytery which includes all of their 20 congregations.) They need help in the theological and spiritual support of their pastors. They need help in the equipping of their Sunday school teachers and the strengthening of their ministries of Christian education. Clearly these are gifts and skills the PCUSA can bring to Honduras when the right person is called, recruited, and funded.
As I reflect on that long day of conversation with my friends in the PC Honduras, I rejoice both in my opportunity to be involved in these conversations and the beautiful work our church is doing in world mission. At this meeting we were truly brothers and sisters working together to build Christ’s church. This experience was a true embodiment of mutuality in mission and partnership. I am convinced that if our PC USA can find the will and way for growing world mission, and providing a mission co-worker to work with the PC Honduras, we will be doing a very worthy and good ministry. I plea for your generous support for our work in world mission, and specifically for this new mission co-worker position to serve the Presbyterian Church of Honduras.
The jet ways which off board each jet at Toncontin International airport lead everyone to a long walkway. At the end of this walkway a pair of escalators direct everyone down to the immigration desks, baggage claim and customs. Like the whole airport, this hallway is always immaculately clean, it’s polished floor glistening and bright. The outside wall of this long walkway is glass from floor to ceiling. Like the whole facility, the glass is sparkling clean. I am delighted to return to Tegucigalpa, Honduras; a place I have learned to love. Walking along this walkway, shaking off the fatigue of the long jet rides which started early in the morning in Baltimore, I breathe in the joy and satisfaction of being here again. My body enjoys the opportunity to stretch, loosen and walk after being cramped up in an airplane for the last hours. My eyes and mind are lifted up and out through the windows and far beyond to the exquisitely beautiful horizon. The jagged peaks of Tegucigalpa’s famous mountains, which are all around in all their lush green, rise up and out of the urban sprawl and touch a beautiful sky. Strolling along this walkway is a moment of spiritual transition. Now having arrived, my mind can cast aside all the details of travel. The obsession with flight schedules, making connections in Houston, and constant concerns about delays, changes, or cancellations are now all gone. Now I am here and turn to the purposes I have in mind for these few precious days in Honduras.
Our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been doing world mission for a very long time. Our heritage of world mission is deep, long and remarkable. One of the purposes of my ministry now is to understand, celebrate and support our work in world mission. Our world mission work is where my heart is; increasing this is where my passion and energy are leading me. As we have always done, the church must again rally and unite around our world mission work. This is now one of my deepest convictions. This is a conviction which has been building, growing, developing and maturing for many years. The congregations where I have served as pastor were always blessed, renewed and vitalized by strong mission programs and generous mission giving. I believe our mission work is a vital piece, maybe the vital piece, toward the future peace, purity and unity of the church. This quick, three day trip to Honduras is an expression of my continuing education. I am here again to learn how the Presbyterian Church does world mission. I want to learn with my feet on the ground, talking with the people, understanding the decision-making, beginning to discern the challenges which must be faced, and learning this process. What does our world mission work look like in our world today?
On this trip I have the opportunity to learn with the experts. Along with Kathy Wells, the Director of Christian education in our Mechanicsburg Church; we are along for the ride as our world mission people do their work. We are here with Stan Devoogd, the area coordinator for Mexico and Central America. Stan is one of six area coordinators who work with the General Assembly Council and oversee our world mission. We are joined by our mission co-worker Tracey King, the regional liaison for Central America. Tracey’s office is in Managua, Nicaragua and she is responsible for relationships with all our mission partners, supporting our mission co-workers, and relationships with other U.S. Presbyterians working in the area. Specifically, Kathy and I have joined Stan and Tracey on this quick trip to Honduras to talk with our mission partners, and begin creating plans for a potential new PCUSA mission co-worker position in Honduras.
I have learned about the structure which we now have in place in our world mission office. Hunter Farrell is the director of world mission, and works directly with Linda Valentine, the executive director of the General Assembly Council. Hunter is the voice and vision of world mission today. (Hunter will be with us for the April 2009 meeting of the Presbytery of Carlisle.) Hunter is supported by the six area coordinators, like Stan, who each oversee our mission work in a particular area of the world. The six areas each have several regional liaisons, like Tracey. Together these world mission staff people are responsible for recruiting, supporting, encouraging and connecting the 200 mission co-workers who are serving in world mission for the PCUSA.
The single most important feature of our world mission work today is its collegiality. We do mission in partnership with other churches, ecumenical partners and all varieties of Christian mission organizations all over the world. Thus our mission co-workers are always serving at the invitation of local Christian organizations, schools, hospitals or churches. This commitment to collegiality with Christian brothers and sisters in every nation expresses deep theological commitments about what we believe about world mission today.
Our task here in Honduras is to talk with our Christian partners, to understand their ministries, and to explore ways we may work together. In Honduras, like most nations today, we have several different Christian partners. In Honduras, our Presbyterian Church has had a long partnership with Heifer Project International with whom our PCUSA mission co-workers, Tim and Gloria Wheeler, are now serving. (For this trip, we are staying in the Wheeler’s home even while Tim and Gloria are in the United States doing mission itineration. The Wheelers will be in our Presbytery in October.) We met with the Heifer Project staff all afternoon on Friday in their office. We had a wonderful discussion of their model of community development. This work is commendable, and I encourage your support. Our Second Carlisle Church has a close relationship with the Wheelers, and has been doing mission trips with the Wheelers every year. Please talk with Rev. Jennifer McKenna about their work. I particularly encourage your support of Heifer’s alternative Christian gift program.
Most important, our world mission staff has been in a continuing conversation with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. We are exploring ways that our churches may work together and join in mutual mission. Thus we met all day with the executive board, “el junta,” of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Stan and Tracey led us through a three point agenda around which we worked for almost five hours. Of course, in the relaxed Latin American style, we also had a lengthy time of Bible study, shared prayer, numerous coffee breaks, a long, leisurely lunch and a lot of cordial conversation, especially since my Honduran friends keep pushing me to speak Spanish. We did spend considerable time on these questions: In what ways are the PCUSA and PC Honduras cooperating and working together now?; What would the PC Honduras propose as the responsibilities and objectives of a potential mission co-worker working with them?; How would the PC Honduras define the qualifications and personal qualities they would like in a mission co-worker? These leaders from the PC Honduras were very clear and very articulate in their appreciation for the partnership with our PCUSA. Their objectives for a potential mission co-worker working serving with them are also very clear: leadership development. They need help in the administrative organization of their Presbytery. (The PC Honduras now has one presbytery which includes all of their 20 congregations.) They need help in the theological and spiritual support of their pastors. They need help in the equipping of their Sunday school teachers and the strengthening of their ministries of Christian education. Clearly these are gifts and skills the PCUSA can bring to Honduras when the right person is called, recruited, and funded.
As I reflect on that long day of conversation with my friends in the PC Honduras, I rejoice both in my opportunity to be involved in these conversations and the beautiful work our church is doing in world mission. At this meeting we were truly brothers and sisters working together to build Christ’s church. This experience was a true embodiment of mutuality in mission and partnership. I am convinced that if our PC USA can find the will and way for growing world mission, and providing a mission co-worker to work with the PC Honduras, we will be doing a very worthy and good ministry. I plea for your generous support for our work in world mission, and specifically for this new mission co-worker position to serve the Presbyterian Church of Honduras.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Camp Krislund update
July 2008
Dear Presbyterian brothers and sisters,
We write to express our grateful appreciation for the generous support which many of our congregations have already pledged toward our Funding the Future Campaign at Camp Krislund and your participation in Krislund’s Summer Camp program. We also write to offer this brief status report.
As we write this letter the most important and faithful expression of the Camp’s ministry is in full swing: our summer camping program. Krislund Summer Camp is again this year a vital program. Because of the financial stress on the regular program budget, Steve Cort has taken on the extra responsibility of serving as the Summer Camp’s program director. We appreciate his devotion and commitment to the summer program. Under his leadership a team of counselors, junior counselors, adventure coordinators, kitchen staff, life guard and nurses have been gathered to serve the almost 700 young people who will come to Camp. Of these campers, many are on full scholarships.
At the same time our plans for the future growth of the camp are underway in response to your generous support of our Funding the Future Capital Campaign. Your financial support for this effort has been remarkable. We are very grateful for the Coordinating Teams in each presbytery, the many campaign advocates in our churches, and the many elders who have responded to our presentations and solicitations at your session meetings. Thus far 94 of our congregations and many individuals have pledged more than $1.8 million to the Funding the Future Campaign. Of course, the Campaign continues.
In proper stewardship of these abundant gifts, we have already taken significant steps to address the most pressing financial need of the Camp, but the least glamorous aspect of our campaign. We have paid more than $460,000 toward our land debt. We expect that our commercial land debt with NorthWest Savings Bank will be completely paid this year! This is the first major component of our campaign. Gifts from our Funding the Future Campaign are not intended to pay off our other significant land debt which is held by the Synod of the Trinity. Our presbyteries will hear more about the restructuring of our Synod loan as these plans develop.
Under the leadership of our Director of Development and Maintenance Kent Rishell, we have accomplished a remarkable amount of legal and administrative infrastructure work in preparation for new construction at Krislund. We have received authorization and permits from both Centre County and the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection for our proposed construction. This allows us, first of all, to move forward with the two major infrastructure demands of any new construction: water and sanitation. With an estimated cost of $170,000, we expect the Camp’s new water system to be installed this fall. After satisfying stringent environmental regulations, our new well has been drilled and the system is ready to be installed. This new water system will completely replace the old system and will be large enough to include any and all of our future new construction. The next step, to be accomplished in 2009, is the installation of our new sanitation system. This is an additional system which is necessary to support all our new construction. Our current, state-of-the-art, natural sanitation system will still be used as it is now, but it cannot be expanded to include any new construction.
Of course, any project the size and scope of our Funding the Future Campaign will face obstacles and challenges. Our biggest challenge thus far has been the concept of new adult housing at the Camp. This, we know, is the most exciting and visible element of our campaign. Our new adult housing will allow us to move our Camp’s ministry and mission into bold new directions reaching many more people all year long. But the concept of one large adult lodge attached to the back of the existing retreat center has proved untenable because of construction and environmental-impact costs created by its sweeping design. Thus we have formed a Design and Construction Team to consider other options for adult housing at the camp. (Please call Mark if you are interested in joining the work of this team.) Conceptually, this team has decided to take a step back and consider again any and all options for adult, year-round housing at the Camp given our theological vision of ministry, the restraints of the legal and environmental regulations and the financial constraints of the Funding the Future Campaign. This effort will move forward with careful discernment.
As our Funding the Future Campaign has developed we sadly learned that our creative plans for an “omni building” can not be included within our current campaign. Thus our plan for this multi-purpose building which will support our Summer Camp program and also offer flexible, indoor recreational opportunities all year remains a dream. Given the success of our Funding the Future Campaign we hope there will be energy and enthusiasm to move forward with this dream in the future.
Our plans, hopes and dreams for our beloved Camp Krislund are bold and big. We have appreciated your generosity and support. We hope all our congregations will join us in creating a camp and conference center that in all its ministry and mission loudly proclaims the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sincerely,
Presbytery of Carlisle Presbytery of Huntingdon Presbytery of Northumberland
Executive Presbyter General Presbyter Executive Presbyter
Mark Englund-Krieger Joy Kaufmann William Knudsen
Dear Presbyterian brothers and sisters,
We write to express our grateful appreciation for the generous support which many of our congregations have already pledged toward our Funding the Future Campaign at Camp Krislund and your participation in Krislund’s Summer Camp program. We also write to offer this brief status report.
As we write this letter the most important and faithful expression of the Camp’s ministry is in full swing: our summer camping program. Krislund Summer Camp is again this year a vital program. Because of the financial stress on the regular program budget, Steve Cort has taken on the extra responsibility of serving as the Summer Camp’s program director. We appreciate his devotion and commitment to the summer program. Under his leadership a team of counselors, junior counselors, adventure coordinators, kitchen staff, life guard and nurses have been gathered to serve the almost 700 young people who will come to Camp. Of these campers, many are on full scholarships.
At the same time our plans for the future growth of the camp are underway in response to your generous support of our Funding the Future Capital Campaign. Your financial support for this effort has been remarkable. We are very grateful for the Coordinating Teams in each presbytery, the many campaign advocates in our churches, and the many elders who have responded to our presentations and solicitations at your session meetings. Thus far 94 of our congregations and many individuals have pledged more than $1.8 million to the Funding the Future Campaign. Of course, the Campaign continues.
In proper stewardship of these abundant gifts, we have already taken significant steps to address the most pressing financial need of the Camp, but the least glamorous aspect of our campaign. We have paid more than $460,000 toward our land debt. We expect that our commercial land debt with NorthWest Savings Bank will be completely paid this year! This is the first major component of our campaign. Gifts from our Funding the Future Campaign are not intended to pay off our other significant land debt which is held by the Synod of the Trinity. Our presbyteries will hear more about the restructuring of our Synod loan as these plans develop.
Under the leadership of our Director of Development and Maintenance Kent Rishell, we have accomplished a remarkable amount of legal and administrative infrastructure work in preparation for new construction at Krislund. We have received authorization and permits from both Centre County and the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection for our proposed construction. This allows us, first of all, to move forward with the two major infrastructure demands of any new construction: water and sanitation. With an estimated cost of $170,000, we expect the Camp’s new water system to be installed this fall. After satisfying stringent environmental regulations, our new well has been drilled and the system is ready to be installed. This new water system will completely replace the old system and will be large enough to include any and all of our future new construction. The next step, to be accomplished in 2009, is the installation of our new sanitation system. This is an additional system which is necessary to support all our new construction. Our current, state-of-the-art, natural sanitation system will still be used as it is now, but it cannot be expanded to include any new construction.
Of course, any project the size and scope of our Funding the Future Campaign will face obstacles and challenges. Our biggest challenge thus far has been the concept of new adult housing at the Camp. This, we know, is the most exciting and visible element of our campaign. Our new adult housing will allow us to move our Camp’s ministry and mission into bold new directions reaching many more people all year long. But the concept of one large adult lodge attached to the back of the existing retreat center has proved untenable because of construction and environmental-impact costs created by its sweeping design. Thus we have formed a Design and Construction Team to consider other options for adult housing at the camp. (Please call Mark if you are interested in joining the work of this team.) Conceptually, this team has decided to take a step back and consider again any and all options for adult, year-round housing at the Camp given our theological vision of ministry, the restraints of the legal and environmental regulations and the financial constraints of the Funding the Future Campaign. This effort will move forward with careful discernment.
As our Funding the Future Campaign has developed we sadly learned that our creative plans for an “omni building” can not be included within our current campaign. Thus our plan for this multi-purpose building which will support our Summer Camp program and also offer flexible, indoor recreational opportunities all year remains a dream. Given the success of our Funding the Future Campaign we hope there will be energy and enthusiasm to move forward with this dream in the future.
Our plans, hopes and dreams for our beloved Camp Krislund are bold and big. We have appreciated your generosity and support. We hope all our congregations will join us in creating a camp and conference center that in all its ministry and mission loudly proclaims the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sincerely,
Presbytery of Carlisle Presbytery of Huntingdon Presbytery of Northumberland
Executive Presbyter General Presbyter Executive Presbyter
Mark Englund-Krieger Joy Kaufmann William Knudsen
Friday, July 18, 2008
Response to Newsweek, "What He Believes"
To Newsweek magazine;
I appreciate your effort to understand the faith of Barack Obama, but as usual your view of Christianity is simplistic and narrow. Newsweek magazine, along with almost all the dominant public media today, refuses to acknowledge the rich diversity and multiple expressions of Christian faith in America today. You seem only interested in measuring and evaluating Obama’s faith through the lens of evangelical Christianity. By that measure, his journey of faith seems unique and different. But since Obama came to faith and was baptized in the United Church of Christ would it not be more appropriate to see him as standing within the long tradition of mainline Protestantism in America? The tradition of mainline Protestantism is as old as our nation itself and must be distinguished in important but subtle ways from modern evangelical theology. Mainline Protestantism today still represents a huge swath of American Christianity including such classic denominations as the United Church of Christ (and its antecedents), my own Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Lutherans, the Methodists, the Episcopalians and the American Baptists. Of course, we share the same Christian faith with our evangelical brothers and sisters, but the differences in worldview, patterns of faith development and spiritual culture are significant. These differences are especially important when discussing the religious faith of Abraham Lincoln. The Christian faith of the society in which Lincoln lived was dominated by the mainline Protestant churches. Much of Lincoln’s reflection on and response to religious faith can only be properly understood against the backdrop of mainline Protestantism. The same week Lincoln was in Gettysburg to offer his “Address”, he attended worship in the town’s Presbyterian Church. Our Gettysburg Presbyterian Church still marks the pew where he sat. (Decades later, this is the same church where the Eisenhower family was very active.) Since your reporters and researchers seem committed to following every footstep that Obama has walked, it would be convenient for you to walk across the quadrangle from the Law School to the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, chat with the faculty there, and educate yourselves about the fullness of American Christianity today. Barack Obama is right at home in our tradition of mainline American Protestantism, and we are proud to claim him. By the way, John McCain seems very comfortable in our tradition as well, and we are also proud to claim him.
I appreciate your effort to understand the faith of Barack Obama, but as usual your view of Christianity is simplistic and narrow. Newsweek magazine, along with almost all the dominant public media today, refuses to acknowledge the rich diversity and multiple expressions of Christian faith in America today. You seem only interested in measuring and evaluating Obama’s faith through the lens of evangelical Christianity. By that measure, his journey of faith seems unique and different. But since Obama came to faith and was baptized in the United Church of Christ would it not be more appropriate to see him as standing within the long tradition of mainline Protestantism in America? The tradition of mainline Protestantism is as old as our nation itself and must be distinguished in important but subtle ways from modern evangelical theology. Mainline Protestantism today still represents a huge swath of American Christianity including such classic denominations as the United Church of Christ (and its antecedents), my own Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Lutherans, the Methodists, the Episcopalians and the American Baptists. Of course, we share the same Christian faith with our evangelical brothers and sisters, but the differences in worldview, patterns of faith development and spiritual culture are significant. These differences are especially important when discussing the religious faith of Abraham Lincoln. The Christian faith of the society in which Lincoln lived was dominated by the mainline Protestant churches. Much of Lincoln’s reflection on and response to religious faith can only be properly understood against the backdrop of mainline Protestantism. The same week Lincoln was in Gettysburg to offer his “Address”, he attended worship in the town’s Presbyterian Church. Our Gettysburg Presbyterian Church still marks the pew where he sat. (Decades later, this is the same church where the Eisenhower family was very active.) Since your reporters and researchers seem committed to following every footstep that Obama has walked, it would be convenient for you to walk across the quadrangle from the Law School to the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, chat with the faculty there, and educate yourselves about the fullness of American Christianity today. Barack Obama is right at home in our tradition of mainline American Protestantism, and we are proud to claim him. By the way, John McCain seems very comfortable in our tradition as well, and we are also proud to claim him.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
General Assembly reflections part 14
The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 14
NOTE: This is a copy of the official, church-wide letter sent out after the Assembly:
June 28, 2008
To Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The 218th General Assembly adjourned just a few short hours ago. Even now, 973 commissioners and advisory delegates are making their way back home from San Jose, CA, where they worshiped daily, discussed and debated overtures, and celebrated the countless ways Presbyterians are engaged in ministry near and very far away—all with a focus on discerning the mind of Christ for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and seeking ways to live out this assembly’s theme: “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).
Beginning today and continuing over the next two years, elected commissioners will be about the task of interpreting the actions they took at this assembly. Already, their decisions have been broadcast across the church and, in this Internet world—with information received in real time, live blogs, and more—many people have already weighed in on the assembly’s actions, sharing their thoughts and feelings about the implications of those decisions on our life together in the PC(USA).
The assembly dealt with well over 400 business items. Some items had undivided agreement, including a covenant to join together to carry out mission together and a churchwide commitment to “Grow God’s Church Deep and Wide.” There was an action to continue to study a revised Form of Government, and one committee devoted its time entirely to youth issues. In addition, we continued our longstanding work toward peace in the Middle East. More information on these and other actions will be coming soon.
A few of the many assembly actions will make, or already have made, headlines across the country. Most likely, you will read about the actions from a number of sources over the next many days and weeks, but we want you to hear about this important gathering directly from the General Assembly. That is why we are writing this letter to you.
Perhaps the subject that will make the most headlines has to do with the ordination standards of our church. It is a subject with which Presbyterians are familiar and one that tends to evoke great debates and deep emotions. With that in mind, we want you to know what the assembly did—in the actual wording—in regard to ordination standards, and what will happen next.
By a 54% to 46% margin, the assembly voted to propose an amendment to our Book of Order to change one of our current ordination standards. The change is to replace the current language that says officers of the church must live by “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” (G-6.0106b) to this new language: Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate’s sincere efforts to adhere to these standards.
By a 53% to 47% vote, the assembly adopted a new Authoritative Interpretation (AI) on G-6.0106b: Interpretive statements concerning ordained service of homosexual church members by the 190th General Assembly (1978) of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and the 119th General Assembly (1979) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and all subsequent affirmations thereof, have no further force or effect.
By a 54% to 46% vote, the assembly adopted a new AI on G-6.0108 which restores the intent of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church report (2006) to allow someone who is being considered for ordination or installation as a deacon, elder, or minister to register a conscientious objection to the standards or beliefs of the church and ask the ordaining body to enter into a conversation with them to determine the seriousness of the departure.
The assembly left unchanged the definition of marriage found in the Directory for Worship (W-4.9000)—“a civil contract between a woman and a man.”
By its actions, the assembly has initiated a new opportunity to focus ordination on primary allegiance and obedience to Jesus Christ, as well as to Scripture and the church’s confessions. The assembly places the responsibility onto sessions and presbyteries for discerning a candidate’s fitness for ordination.
In all of this, it is important to note that the assembly has not removed the church’s standard of “fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness.” For the proposed change—making obedience to Christ the ordination standard—to become part of the Book of Order , a majority of presbyteries will need to ratify it over the next year.
We know the assembly actions may do little to ease the anxiety that seems to permeate our life together as a denomination. The debate isn’t new and the future holds difficult challenges. As the Rev. Dan Holloway, moderator of the committee that took up the items on ordination standards, said, “As we move forward, it is essential that we have conversations that are gracious and loving and welcoming, since we are not all of one mind.” Our hope is that none of us will act or react immediately to the decisions, choosing instead to pray and talk with one another about these issues.
During the question-and-answer time for the Stated Clerk election on Friday morning, now Stated Clerk-elect Gradye Parsons spoke of the story of Jesus being in the boat with his disciples in the middle of the lake when a storm arose (Luke 8). If fear could have capsized their boat, the disciples would have found themselves working hard to tread water in the midst of the wind and waves. Yet, Jesus calmed the storm and proceeded to question them about their faith.
Like the disciples, we, the PC(USA), are in the boat together, sometimes not altogether sure where we are headed. We see the storm approaching and our fears rise with the waves. Yet, as he was with the disciples, so, too, is Christ in our midst—calming the wind, settling the waves—being present and guiding us as we proceed ahead.
Gradye offered the following mantra as a summary of the Luke story: Get into the boat. Go across the lake. There will be a storm. You will not die .
As we move forward from this assembly, we know that storms may come, but we put our confidence and trust in the one who both calms the storms and leads us into God’s future with hope.
The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow
Moderator of the 218th General Assembly
The Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Elder Linda Bryant Valentine
Executive Director, General Assembly Council
NOTE: This is a copy of the official, church-wide letter sent out after the Assembly:
June 28, 2008
To Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The 218th General Assembly adjourned just a few short hours ago. Even now, 973 commissioners and advisory delegates are making their way back home from San Jose, CA, where they worshiped daily, discussed and debated overtures, and celebrated the countless ways Presbyterians are engaged in ministry near and very far away—all with a focus on discerning the mind of Christ for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and seeking ways to live out this assembly’s theme: “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).
Beginning today and continuing over the next two years, elected commissioners will be about the task of interpreting the actions they took at this assembly. Already, their decisions have been broadcast across the church and, in this Internet world—with information received in real time, live blogs, and more—many people have already weighed in on the assembly’s actions, sharing their thoughts and feelings about the implications of those decisions on our life together in the PC(USA).
The assembly dealt with well over 400 business items. Some items had undivided agreement, including a covenant to join together to carry out mission together and a churchwide commitment to “Grow God’s Church Deep and Wide.” There was an action to continue to study a revised Form of Government, and one committee devoted its time entirely to youth issues. In addition, we continued our longstanding work toward peace in the Middle East. More information on these and other actions will be coming soon.
A few of the many assembly actions will make, or already have made, headlines across the country. Most likely, you will read about the actions from a number of sources over the next many days and weeks, but we want you to hear about this important gathering directly from the General Assembly. That is why we are writing this letter to you.
Perhaps the subject that will make the most headlines has to do with the ordination standards of our church. It is a subject with which Presbyterians are familiar and one that tends to evoke great debates and deep emotions. With that in mind, we want you to know what the assembly did—in the actual wording—in regard to ordination standards, and what will happen next.
By a 54% to 46% margin, the assembly voted to propose an amendment to our Book of Order to change one of our current ordination standards. The change is to replace the current language that says officers of the church must live by “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” (G-6.0106b) to this new language: Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate’s sincere efforts to adhere to these standards.
By a 53% to 47% vote, the assembly adopted a new Authoritative Interpretation (AI) on G-6.0106b: Interpretive statements concerning ordained service of homosexual church members by the 190th General Assembly (1978) of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and the 119th General Assembly (1979) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and all subsequent affirmations thereof, have no further force or effect.
By a 54% to 46% vote, the assembly adopted a new AI on G-6.0108 which restores the intent of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church report (2006) to allow someone who is being considered for ordination or installation as a deacon, elder, or minister to register a conscientious objection to the standards or beliefs of the church and ask the ordaining body to enter into a conversation with them to determine the seriousness of the departure.
The assembly left unchanged the definition of marriage found in the Directory for Worship (W-4.9000)—“a civil contract between a woman and a man.”
By its actions, the assembly has initiated a new opportunity to focus ordination on primary allegiance and obedience to Jesus Christ, as well as to Scripture and the church’s confessions. The assembly places the responsibility onto sessions and presbyteries for discerning a candidate’s fitness for ordination.
In all of this, it is important to note that the assembly has not removed the church’s standard of “fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness.” For the proposed change—making obedience to Christ the ordination standard—to become part of the Book of Order , a majority of presbyteries will need to ratify it over the next year.
We know the assembly actions may do little to ease the anxiety that seems to permeate our life together as a denomination. The debate isn’t new and the future holds difficult challenges. As the Rev. Dan Holloway, moderator of the committee that took up the items on ordination standards, said, “As we move forward, it is essential that we have conversations that are gracious and loving and welcoming, since we are not all of one mind.” Our hope is that none of us will act or react immediately to the decisions, choosing instead to pray and talk with one another about these issues.
During the question-and-answer time for the Stated Clerk election on Friday morning, now Stated Clerk-elect Gradye Parsons spoke of the story of Jesus being in the boat with his disciples in the middle of the lake when a storm arose (Luke 8). If fear could have capsized their boat, the disciples would have found themselves working hard to tread water in the midst of the wind and waves. Yet, Jesus calmed the storm and proceeded to question them about their faith.
Like the disciples, we, the PC(USA), are in the boat together, sometimes not altogether sure where we are headed. We see the storm approaching and our fears rise with the waves. Yet, as he was with the disciples, so, too, is Christ in our midst—calming the wind, settling the waves—being present and guiding us as we proceed ahead.
Gradye offered the following mantra as a summary of the Luke story: Get into the boat. Go across the lake. There will be a storm. You will not die .
As we move forward from this assembly, we know that storms may come, but we put our confidence and trust in the one who both calms the storms and leads us into God’s future with hope.
The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow
Moderator of the 218th General Assembly
The Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Elder Linda Bryant Valentine
Executive Director, General Assembly Council
Friday, June 27, 2008
General Assembly reflections part 13
The 218th General Assembly reflections part 13
Copied from pcusa.org
The most emotionally charged overture from the Theological Issues and Institutions Committee came from the Presbytery of Newark asking the 218th General Assembly “to correct translation problems in five responses of the Heidelberg Catechism as found in The Book of Confessions and to add the original Scripture texts of the German Heidelberg Catechism.”
The issues surrounding this confession are complex and multi-layered. After hearing much information and debate, and defeating a minority report, the Assembly approved the overture to initiate the process to revise the Heidelberg Catechism by a vote of 436-280-11.
The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. adopted The Book of Confessions in 1967, which included a 1962 translation of the Heidelberg Catechism prepared for and published by United Church Press. According to the overture rationale, Professor Edward Dowey of Princeton Theological Seminary chaired the committee of the General Assembly that compiled the confessions. He later admitted that a thorough check of this version was never undertaken and certain “illicit” changes made to this Heidelberg translation went undetected. After consulting the original German, as well as early Latin versions, five passages in the original text were discovered to be rendered incorrectly and key theological meanings were obscured.
Most of the Assembly’s attention focused on Question 87 of the catechism: “Can those who do not turn to God from their ungrateful, impenitent life be saved?” The current text of the answer reads: “Certainly not! Scripture says, ‘Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God. Make no mistake: no fornicator or idolater, none who are guilty either of adultery or of homosexual perversion, no thieves or grabbers or drunkards or swindlers, will possess the kingdom of God.’”
According to the overture rationale, two phrases in the current answer that were supplied by the 1962 translators do not appear in the original text or in any translations produced prior to 1962. The primary phrase that is in dispute is “or of homosexual perversion.”
Neither the original German nor Latin contains text corresponding to this phrase, “Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God. Make no mistake:”
If approved, the corrected text would read: “Certainly not; for as Scripture says no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, greedy person, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or anyone like that shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
The other four responses to the catechism questions would also be amended in a way that makes them more accurate and faithful to the original text. This approach would satisfy concerns that have been raised without the need of a major rewriting of the present translation.
According to the Rev. Mark Tammen, associate stated clerk and director of Constitutional Services for the Office of the General Assembly, a special committee will be appointed by the 218th GA moderator to study the recommendation and bring back a proposal to the 219th Assembly (2010). If that Assembly approves the proposal, it will be sent to the presbyteries for approval. If two-thirds of the presbyteries vote to adopt the amendments to the catechism, it will return to the 220th Assembly (2012). If that Assembly approves the changes, then the corrected Heidelberg Catechism will replace the current version in The Book of Confessions.
Copied from pcusa.org
The most emotionally charged overture from the Theological Issues and Institutions Committee came from the Presbytery of Newark asking the 218th General Assembly “to correct translation problems in five responses of the Heidelberg Catechism as found in The Book of Confessions and to add the original Scripture texts of the German Heidelberg Catechism.”
The issues surrounding this confession are complex and multi-layered. After hearing much information and debate, and defeating a minority report, the Assembly approved the overture to initiate the process to revise the Heidelberg Catechism by a vote of 436-280-11.
The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. adopted The Book of Confessions in 1967, which included a 1962 translation of the Heidelberg Catechism prepared for and published by United Church Press. According to the overture rationale, Professor Edward Dowey of Princeton Theological Seminary chaired the committee of the General Assembly that compiled the confessions. He later admitted that a thorough check of this version was never undertaken and certain “illicit” changes made to this Heidelberg translation went undetected. After consulting the original German, as well as early Latin versions, five passages in the original text were discovered to be rendered incorrectly and key theological meanings were obscured.
Most of the Assembly’s attention focused on Question 87 of the catechism: “Can those who do not turn to God from their ungrateful, impenitent life be saved?” The current text of the answer reads: “Certainly not! Scripture says, ‘Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God. Make no mistake: no fornicator or idolater, none who are guilty either of adultery or of homosexual perversion, no thieves or grabbers or drunkards or swindlers, will possess the kingdom of God.’”
According to the overture rationale, two phrases in the current answer that were supplied by the 1962 translators do not appear in the original text or in any translations produced prior to 1962. The primary phrase that is in dispute is “or of homosexual perversion.”
Neither the original German nor Latin contains text corresponding to this phrase, “Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God. Make no mistake:”
If approved, the corrected text would read: “Certainly not; for as Scripture says no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, greedy person, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or anyone like that shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
The other four responses to the catechism questions would also be amended in a way that makes them more accurate and faithful to the original text. This approach would satisfy concerns that have been raised without the need of a major rewriting of the present translation.
According to the Rev. Mark Tammen, associate stated clerk and director of Constitutional Services for the Office of the General Assembly, a special committee will be appointed by the 218th GA moderator to study the recommendation and bring back a proposal to the 219th Assembly (2010). If that Assembly approves the proposal, it will be sent to the presbyteries for approval. If two-thirds of the presbyteries vote to adopt the amendments to the catechism, it will return to the 220th Assembly (2012). If that Assembly approves the changes, then the corrected Heidelberg Catechism will replace the current version in The Book of Confessions.
General Assembly reflections part 12
The 218th General Assembly reflections part 12
Copied from pcusa.org
The Rev. Gradye Parsons was elected stated clerk of the General Assembly.
Parsons has served as associate stated clerk of the General Assembly for the past eight years. In that role, he has been the director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), including director of OGA’s General Assembly Meeting Services department.
Parsons has staffed a number of General Assembly committees. He spearheaded the development of a review process for each of the six agencies of the PC(USA) and staffed five of the six committees that conducted the reviews, with the exception being the review committee for OGA. Before his national church responsibilities, Parsons served as pastor of two churches in Tennessee for fifteen years. He was executive presbyter and stated clerk of Holston Presbytery for six years.
Copied from pcusa.org
The Rev. Gradye Parsons was elected stated clerk of the General Assembly.
Parsons has served as associate stated clerk of the General Assembly for the past eight years. In that role, he has been the director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), including director of OGA’s General Assembly Meeting Services department.
Parsons has staffed a number of General Assembly committees. He spearheaded the development of a review process for each of the six agencies of the PC(USA) and staffed five of the six committees that conducted the reviews, with the exception being the review committee for OGA. Before his national church responsibilities, Parsons served as pastor of two churches in Tennessee for fifteen years. He was executive presbyter and stated clerk of Holston Presbytery for six years.
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