I believe….What a wonderfully profound and simple statement, “I believe.”
Apostle’s Creed
August 19th, 20102010 Presbyterian Youth Triennium Video and Comments
July 26th, 2010Hi Friends,
Sarah and I just returned from the 2010 Presbyterian Youth Triennium. There were over 5,000 youth participants, 1,000 adult sponsors, and hundreds of staff. The theme was “For a Such a Time as This.” Each sermon and worship service focused on the radical call God has made on our lives to make a stand in the world for what is right and just at such a time as this. The kids heard the message to change the world through the love of Christ. It was a powerful week. To see a two minute video showing what Triennium was likePlease click on this link 2010 Presbyterian Youth Triennium or follow this thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elB5T0MPdOk.
What hope the Church has for the future. What hope the world has because of the Church of Christ. Amen.
General Assembly
July 11th, 2010Post General Assembly pastoral letter from Moderator and Stated Clerk
To Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations
________________________________________
Posted at
July 10, 2010 12:33 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS
To Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations:
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38)….
Just one week ago, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) convened with Scripture and music and prayer. Commissioners and advisory delegates from every presbytery across the church gathered around the baptismal font with hopeful expectation of what God’s Spirit would do in and through them as they sought to discern together the mind of Christ for the PC(USA).
As the week progressed, prayer was a foundational part of each day’s deliberations and decisions, and the presence of the Spirit was palpable!
“Out of the believer’s heart…
While all assemblies are significant, this one holds particular significance in the life of the PC(USA). Among the assembly’s decisions – to be ratified by presbyteries – are the addition of the Belhar Confession to The Book of Confessions and a revised Form of Government. Both of these items give a clear signal that we are a church that is not afraid to change – an important perspective to have in these days of great change in the church and the world.
The assembly celebrated and was greatly encouraged by the commissioning of 122 young adult volunteers and 17 new mission workers for service around the globe. Commissioners voted unanimously to renew the call to “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide” and were inspired by the stories of congregations that are growing in evangelism, discipleship, diversity, and servanthood. They celebrated the generosity of Presbyterians who have contributed more than $10.5 million to relief and redevelopment work in Haiti in the wake of January’s devastating earthquake.
The assembly also engaged in discussion about significant matters of faith and life – ordination standards, justice and peace in the Middle East, and civil union and marriage, to name just a few.
Information on the more than 300 assembly actions is available. Answers to frequently asked questions about the items that have already garnered media attention are attached to this letter. We commend these resources to you for their accurate and straightforward information.
Civil Union and Marriage FAQ
Form of Government FAQ
Middle East Peacemaking FAQ
Middle Governing Body Commission FAQ
Ordination Standards FAQ
While the content of the assembly’s decisions is important, what may be of equal or greater importance is the manner in which commissioners and advisory delegates did their work. They debated, but did not fight. They tackled tough issues while refraining from tackling each other. They placed great value on finding common ground as they displayed gracious, mutual forbearance toward one another. They sought the will of God within their actions, rather than regarding their decisions as the will of God. One commissioner called the experience of seeking – and finding – common ground truly “miraculous.”
In short, this assembly exhibited to the whole church and, indeed, to our society and the world a way to engage in difficult issues while maintaining respect for one another. To put it another way, they exhibited well what it means for the church to “a provisional demonstration of what God intends for the world” (Book of Order, G-3.0200).
…shall flow rivers of living water.”
Just a few short hours ago, the 219th General Assembly ended in the same worshipful manner with which it began, as well as with a similar same sense of hopeful expectation that the hard work done in Minneapolis will continue forward across the church.
Michael East and Caroline Sherard, elected by their peers as co-moderators of the young adult advisory delegates to this assembly, shared their thoughts in a blog entry:
If all our commissioners and advisory delegates returned to their places of community and encouraged others to continue similar stories, what great things could be next for the PC(USA)? These narratives have the ability to inspire discussions on new, creative, and innovative ways of being the Church. At the heart of being Presbyterian is the principle belief that our discernment is best done when we gather together. Being able to gather in one place, as one people, for the one Church is a powerful and transformative experience–one which dramatically shapes future generations.
The assembly has commended to the church a number of items for further study, out of which is hoped will come, as Michael and Caroline write, “new, creative, and innovative ways of being the Church.”
May the good and faithful work begun in Minneapolis truly be just the beginning of a season of respectful, earnest, and gracious engagement – both in our words and in our deeds – all for the sake of the gospel.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,
Elder Cynthia Bolbach
Moderator, 219th General Assembly The Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
The Rev. Landon Whitsitt
Vice Moderator, 219th General Assembly Elder Linda Bryant Valentine
Executive Director, General Assembly Mission Council
Ordination Standards
Questions and Answers
What did the Assembly do? What has changed?
The 219th General Assembly (2010) proposed a change to the PC(USA) Constitution regarding ordination standards by a vote of 373‐323‐4. This action does not change the Constitution. It is a first step in the process. A majority of the 173 presbyteries would have to vote in the affirmative to approve the replacement by July 10, 2011.
What does it mean?
G‐6.0106b is a provision in the PC(USA) Book of Order (Constitution) that provides the following standards for persons ordained as church leaders (deacon, elder or minister). The current version reads: “Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W‐4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self‐acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.”
The 219th General Assembly (2010) recommends deleting the above provision and replacing it with the following language: “Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G‐1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G‐14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation
(W‐4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”
This proposed change would focus ordination examinations on the individual calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability of candidates for the responsibilities of the office, in joyful submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.
What’s next?
Presbyteries will study this recommendation and vote over the course of the next year. If a majority of the 173 presbyteries approve the change, it will replace the previous provision in the Book of Order. The deadline for presbyteries to vote is July 10, 2011.
Where can I get more information?
http://pc‐biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id=2309
Civil Union and Marriage Issues
Questions and Answers
What did the General Assembly do? What has changed?
The General Assembly approved both the Final Report and the Minority Report of the Special Committee to Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage and ordered they be sent out for study by the wider church. The vote was 439 in favor, 208 against, with 6 abstentions.
By this action (sending both reports for study) the Assembly maintained the definition of marriage as “a man and a woman.” With the action to send the reports for study, no change has occurred, or is pending.
What does it mean?
The Special Committee Report provides descriptive material on the historical and theological aspects of marriage, as well as a look at current laws on same‐gender partnerships and their children, and the place of same‐gender covenanted relationships in the Christian community. They commend to the church their covenant, “Those Whom God Has Joined, Let No One Separate” as a guide for Presbyterians to come together to discuss difficult issues when there is disagreement. The Minority Report, also approved for study by the Assembly, concludes that Scripture is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman only and does not support any kind of sexual behavior outside marriage. The minority report also contains a covenant for the wider church to use.
What next?
The Special Committee Report and the Minority Report will be prepared for distribution as one document to the wider church. By sending both reports to the wider church, it is the hope of the Assembly that Presbyterians will find helpful background information on civil unions and marriage, as well as material to help individuals and groups remain together as they work through these difficult issues.
Where can you learn more?
Special Committee report: http://www.pc‐biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id=3333&promoID=168
Minority report: http://www.pc‐biz.org/Explorer.aspx?id=3335&promoID=169
New Form of Government
Questions and Answers
What happened? What changed?
The General Assembly voted to recommend a revised Form of Government to the presbyteries with a vote of 468 in favor, 204 against, and 6 abstentions – a 70%‐30% margin. The new Form of Government includes:
• Foundations of Presbyterian Polity ‐‐ the principles that are foundational to government, worship, and discipline for the PC(USA). Preserves the vast majority of the material in the first four chapters of the current Form of Government.
• Form of Government ‐‐ in six chapters, which spells out the constitutional framework for government of the PC(USA) as it seeks to respond to God’s call to life in mission.
• Advisory Handbook for Councils for the Development of Policies and Procedures Required by the Form of Government ‐‐ an aid to councils (governing bodies) of the church for developing the policies and procedures to carry out their mission.
Nothing has changed until a majority of presbyteries vote to approve this new Form of Government. Voting must be completed by July 10, 2011, and if affirmative, the new Book of Order would take effect the next day.
The Middle Governing Body Commission
Questions and Answers
What did the Assembly do? What has changed?
The 219th General Assembly (2010) has created a Middle Governing Body Commission with the power to act as the General Assembly, upon request of presbyteries and synods. The commission has the power “to organize new synods and to divide, unite, or otherwise combine synods or portions of synods previously existing” (G‐13.0103m) and “to approve the organization, division, uniting or combining of presbyteries or portions of presbyteries by synods” (G‐13.0103n) — upon the request, by a majority vote, of the affected presbyteries and/or synod.
What does it mean?
Presbyteries and synods wishing to realign their structures or boundaries may request such actions from the commission and make those changes without having to wait until the 220th General Assembly (2012) for approval. The commission will also supervise the work of the Special Committee on Administrative Review of the Synod of Boriquen in Puerto Rico and its constituent presbyteries. That special committee has been seeking reconciliation among the governing bodies in Puerto Rico, which have experienced struggles that threaten the effectiveness of the PC(USA)’s mission and ministry in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The 219th General Assembly voted to continue the special committee for two more years.
What’s next?
The moderators of the 218th General Assembly (the Rev. Bruce Reyes‐Chow) and the 219th General Assembly (Elder Cynthia Bolbach) will appoint the 21‐member commission. The commission will serve until at least the 220th General Assembly (2012). It must include at least one representative from each of the 16 synods.
Actions regarding the Middle East
Questions and Answers
What did the Assembly do?
The General Assembly approved a comprehensive report on the Middle East – its first since 1997. The paper calls for:
• An immediate cessation of all violence, whether perpetrated by Israelis or Palestinians;
• The reaffirmation of Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation within secure and internationally recognized borders;
• The end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories;
• An immediate freeze on the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and on the Israeli acquisition of Palestinian land and buildings in East Jerusalem;
• And many other steps toward peace in the region.
The General Assembly also approved the report of the Mission Responsibility through Investment (MRTI) committee, which:
• Provides an update on all corporations that MRTI has engaged as a result of the 2004, 2006 and 2008 General Assemblies;
• Acknowledges that “Caterpillar has in many ways provided positive leadership to its community, its state, and the nation. It has donated considerable resources and equipment in support of local development and disaster relief at home and overseas. It has significantly improved workplace safety, acted aggressively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and pursued environmental conservation within its production processes. In recognition of these accomplishments, Caterpillar has been listed for seven consecutive years in the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index”;
• Strongly denounces Caterpillar’s continued profit‐making from non‐peaceful uses of a number of its products on the basis of Christian principles and as a matter of social witness;
• Calls upon Caterpillar to carefully review its involvement in obstacles to a just and lasting peace in Israel‐Palestine, and to take affirmative steps to end its complicity in the violation of human rights.
What does this mean?
Coming into the 219th General Assembly (2010), few thought that agreement on issues relating to the Middle East would be possible. Diverse perspectives divided Presbyterians from each other, and from the Jewish community. However, during the committee deliberations and again in the plenary session, through God’s grace, a place of broad consensus was found ‐‐ common ground for continued peacemaking work in Israel/Palestine. The General Assembly rejected immediate divestment from Caterpillar in favor of continued corporate engagement with Caterpillar and other companies profiting from the sale and use of their products for non‐peaceful purposes and/or the violation of human rights.
What’s next?
A Monitoring Group for the Middle East will be formed to assist the appropriate General Assembly Mission Council offices and the Middle East staff team in monitoring progress and guiding actions to ensure adequate implementation of policy directions approved by this General Assembly. MRTI will continue to engage Caterpillar, and other companies, in relation to particular actions whereby the company profits from “non‐peaceful action” of their products.
Don’t Swallow a Camel
July 6th, 2010I was reading the daily lectionary scripture for today and laughed out loud. It is Matthew 23:23-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters ofthe law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
I laughed because that is a clever way to say something so true. Sometimes we get focused on the little things and we neglect to see the big picture.
I was reading a story this morning in the book “Ministry Loves Company” about this very thing. The story is about a sweet lady who is dying of cancer. She was a saint but suddenly in the hospital bed her demeanor changed. She became demanding and harsh. Everyone knew being mean wasn’t in her nature. It was the cancer. So they let it go.
Often when we face difficult situations the issue is indicative of something other than the immediate problem. The immediate problem is the presenting problem. For instance, the lady in the hospital may have been very upset that her food was cold. She may have refused to eat it. She may have thrown it in the trash and upset the nurse. Yes, the food was cold but that was just the presenting problem. The real issue, the underlying issue, is the cancer. Attack the cancer and the rest of the problems will go away.
But life is not that simple. Which is more Christian: suffer with gnats or put out the camel? Sometimes, we have to live with the gnats. We may put up nets, buy bug spray, try different repellants, but we still have the gnats. The only way to get rid of the gnats is to get rid of the camel. But what happens when getting rid of the camel is not an option? What happens is justice, faith and mercy!
The Future of the Church in America
June 23rd, 2010I read two books recently “Cadences of Home” by Walter Brueggeman and “The Sky is Falling” by Alan J. Roxburgh. Each book compares the North American Christian Church to the Israelites in exile. In one exile, the Israelites were set free from oppressive Egyptian rule and wandered the desert and in the other exile they were punished because of their own misguided ways and were displaced by Babylonian rule. Likewise many North American Christians feel displaced in a culture where faith has been pushed to the edge of society. If we, the North American Church are like the Israelites, are we being set free from a oppresive religious past (hence the spiritual but not religious movement) or are we being punished for the church not wholly being the Holy people of God (hence the decline in mainline protestant churches)?
We have two generations of North Americans who don’t “get” the church and don’t even want to come close to one even though they are spiritually starving. Can we blame them? There seems to be no middle ground. Either there is cultural relativism (anything goes), or rigid dogmatism (my way or the highway). We are too free or not free enough. We sin or there is no sin. Most North Americans I know fall somewhere in the middle of being faithful and broken. They remain in limbo while the culture of faith seems to be searching in a desert of dry bones for its new identity.
In “The Sky is Falling,” Alan Roxburgh uses the example of a young girl in graduate school. She grew up in the church. Her parents are divorced. In her graduate studies she has been reading post-modern theorists like Focault and Derrida. (Both authors deconstruct reality breaking it down to signs and symbols.) But she goes to a church where they are having a debate over things like color schemes and baptismal rites. It is a fitting description for many people’s experience who left the church and never returned. The church couldn’t meet their inquisitive needs in a “brave new world” of religious and cultural diversity. They needed more answers than, “because I said so’ or ‘I don’t know.’
I imagine that young girl would love to see God as both real and a mystery. But most likely she may just get stuck wondering if Adam and Eve are really her cousins or just a way to explain her parents divorce because of sin. Or two worse options, she will simply leave the church and saying, “I am spiritual but not religious,” never benefiting from her natural faith; or, she stay in the church and punish herself for ever questioning her faith and never grow any deeper in her faith. We are in a strange religous desert as people of faith seeking understanding and the church but……
During the desert exile and Babylonian captivity the people of Israel realized something: they were spiritual for a reason and God let them sort that out on their own. It took some big wide circles and a few generations to get there but they got there. And so will we. My hope is that we will realize what the spiritual but religous are seeking is divine and what the dogmatic are protecting is divine. God is in the middle of both conversations waiting for us to be free and saying, “I am always your God.”
Perhaps, as always God is calling us out of the cuturally confused desert and out of religous captivity to be the people of God both seeking after the mystery of God and being wholly the Holy people of God. Perhaps we are being challenged to grow deep and wide. Perhaps God is letting the church reform and refine itself by making us address real hard questions with thoughtful answers.
Good Question from a Friend
June 1st, 2010I had some great friends over for Memorial Day. We had plans to go hiking and see the giant Lily Pads at Landsford Canal State Park. But it rained all day Monday, as most of you in South Carolina know. So we sat on our screened in back porch, talked and ate. We spent hours out there and we covered a lot of ground on faith, politics, family and old friends. Then one of the guests randomly asked, “Can you have chivalry and gender equality?” Oh, his wife shot him a look like, ‘You can’t ask that or go ‘there’ in polite company.’ But he doesn’t care he is that type of guy. He will ask anything. We were laughing at his question. Then we all hesitated for a moment. We pondered silently, hummed and hawed, and said nothing.
In the lectionary bible readings for this Sunday, 1 Kings 17:17-24 and Luke 7:11-17. We find two widows whom God blesses before they even ask for blessings. It is pure grace. They aren’t followers of Jesus. They don’t cry out to Jesus. Jesus just gives to them. The commentaries I have read about these women all say what a tragedy it is that they do not have men in their lives any more because women in their era could not own property, and were considered second class. But each of the widows in these stories were slowly making due in their situations before God miraculously provided for them. So I wondered are these stories more than miraculous healing stories? Is God saying, “I don’t care about social status, I am going to bless you. “ Do they empower women to do what they need not only in order to merely survive but to excel with God’s blessing? Could it be that the miracle wasn’t the one time provision of food or one time resurrection of a dead son but that the miracle is the freedom from social structures that inhibit the quality of life for those women?
If there is no more slave or free, Greek or Jew, male or female then is chivalry dead? Can we have equality and chivalry?
Photos from Fun Day @ the state park.
May 22nd, 2010
Thanks to Scott and Laurie for providing these photos.
Pentecost and Baptism
May 20th, 2010Dear Friends,
This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. The color for Pentecost is red. It is appropriate on Pentecost for church goers to wear a red tie, shirt, blouse, dress or simply a flower. This Sunday we will celebrate communion together and we will baptize Jewell Clack in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In Matthew 28:19-20 Christ said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Baptism in the reformed tradition is an outward sign of an invisible grace that we believe is already at work in the lives of God’s children. In Baptism we die to what separates us from God and through the waters we are raised to new life in Christ. The waters of baptism symbolize the waters of creation, the flood, and the water from the stone during the Exodus. Water links us to the goodness of God’s creation. Biblically, water represents new life, cleansing, and nurturing. As a sacrament the act of baptizing with water is a sign of God’s covenant with the church. In acts when Lydia met Paul and was moved by the Spirit to believe the Good News, her whole household was baptized. In covenant theology we believe God calls not just one person but whole families and generations into grace. That is one of many reasons we baptize children. Infant Baptism is a profession that it is God who saves. We can’t save ourselves. I am glad because I can’t do my taxes without the internet. Basically when we baptize a child we are saying God chooses us long before we could ever choose God. It is only by grace and nurturing that we choose God later in life and confirm our faith. As such baptism signifies the faithfulness of God, the washing away of sin, rebirth, putting on the fresh garment of Christ, being sealed by God’s Spirit, adoption into the covenant family of the church, and the resurrection of Christ. This Sunday we will affirm our beliefs, share communion and be strengthened by the promise from Jesus that he is always with us, always! Thanks be to God!
Blessings,
Trey
The Pastor’s Ponderings (Welcome)
May 15th, 2010Hello Members of Purity Presbyterian, Friends, Family, and Visitors. I am glad to welcome you to this blog. I will post thoughts, devotions, current events, and other musings on this page. It will be set up as an open dialogue so comments may be shared. My hope and prayer is that this blog will be an open forum for discussion on topics relative to the church, faith, God, and our lives. I look forward to blogging with you. If you see Jason Jones please tell him thank you for making this blog and revising the Purity web page.