"Do Justice, love kindness, Walk humbly with your God."
Those words from Micah were the theme of the 218th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) that concluded
yesterday in San Jose, California. Some 1300 volunteers prepared for the arrival of 752 voting
commissioners, ecumenical advisory delegates, theological student
advisory delegates, administrative staff and Presbyterian
visitors from around the country. And do not forget the Youth
Advisory delegates - we remember when our Erin filled that role
for Lake Erie Presbytery 4 years ago.
Among those attending you would find some names that you
might recognize (even if the face might not match the name).
For example, from the Presbytery of Des Moines, there was the
Rev. Jan Scott; from Grace Presbytery in Texas elder Kim Warner
(a man, by the way); Heartland Presbytery in Kansas City sent
Elder Don Spencer; (1) from Santa Fe Presbytery there was the Rev.
David Preininger. From Palisades Presbytery in New Jersey there
was the Rev. Jeffrey Leininger. Wait a minute. That's my
cousin. Hey, Cuz. After more than 30 years in ministry, this
was Jeffrey's first General Assembly, and it was something he
told me he had been dreaming about since seminary. It was good
to be able to spend some time together.
As I have told you in previous years, the first order of
business for an Assembly is the election of a Moderator. This
year there were four candidates. The winner is generally the one
who best handles the traditional question-and-answer time prior
to the election and who looks decent on a screen that makes your
face 12 feet tall. It worked again. The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow,
38-year-old pastor of San Francisco's Mission Bay Community
Church and a leader in the "emergent church" movement, was
elected on the second ballot. Reyes-Chow is a super-sharp young
man, a graduate of San Francisco State University and San
Francisco Theological Seminary. He is the grandson of Chinese
and Filipino immigrants. The congregation he serves is an
innovative new church of San Francisco Presbytery that was
recently named winner of a 2007 Sam and Helen Walton Award for
outstanding new church development. In his address to the
Assembly, he noted that he makes as many pastoral calls by email
as by in-person visitation. Such is the future of ministry, he
said. Mission Bay has a state-of-the-art Web site and extensive
electronic communications among members and participants, which
he said is absolutely essential for a congregation that is
predominantly under-40.
The election over, it was home to a most welcome bed after
hours and hours of travel and then an evening of important
business.
Sunday means worship at the Assembly and this year, since
there was no one venue that would accommodate us all, two
simultaneous services were conducted at buildings a mile apart
with a satellite link connecting them and worshipers keeping
connected by two large screens at the front of the auditoriums.
With only two rehearsals -- and an hour's warm-up before worship --
to prepare for the two-hour experience, the service was lead by
two 225-member choirs, two full brass sections and 25 liturgists
representing 41 churches in three presbyteries. And it was
WONDERFUL!!!
In keeping with tradition, out-going assembly Moderator, the
Rev. Joan Gray, was the preacher for the morning. She used the
familiar words of John 13:34-35 as her text with Jesus' command
that we love one another as he loved us. Not a suggestion, not a
wish, not a fond hope, Jesus' COMMAND. Reminding us that this
kind of love goes against human nature, she declared that in
loving as Jesus did "we are to be engaged in a superhuman
enterprise," but noted, "The church is not meant to be an
endeavor that is powered by human nature, the church is meant to
be a God-powered institution." After referring to the troubled
times the church is experiencing, she declared, "God can do it!
The question is: Do we want it?" and with that a man from the
congregation shouted out, "Yes!" That was enough. Joan replied,
"Thanks be to God, and Amen."
Communion followed the sermon. The service concluded as
Stated Clerk, Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick recognized dozens
chaplains, young adult volunteers and ecumenical guests from
around the world and thanked them for their service. New mission
co-workers were also commissioned. It was an inspiring morning.
Sunday afternoon was free for everyone. Some went to a
reception for the new Moderator where they were greeted by a
bright green Chinese lion dancing to drums and cymbals along with
a mariachi band.
Others wandered the Exhibit Hall. Lots to see and do...and
buy. Some 90 groups had set up there. Organizations related to
the work of the denomination were there to explain their mission
and offer assistance or answer questions. There were advocacy
groups representing every end of the theological and social
spectrum plus everything in between. There was a large shopping
area that featured fair trade items from the third world. As
usual, Cokesbury provided a large and well-stocked book store
(everybody knows about preachers and their books).
Some folks even took advantage of celebrity authors signing
their books. I did that. I had heard that one of the authors
who would be sharing the signing table with me was Archbishop
Elias Chacour who wrote Blood Brothers, the single most important
book I ever read on the Israeli/Palestinian situation. I took my
copy with me to San Jose so I could get him to sign it for me.
He was the preacher Wednesday morning at the Ecumenical
Worship Service and called himself "a walking contradiction." He
said, "I bear in my identity all the factors that make for war
and that make for peace. I am a Palestinian." To ease
everyone's mind, he added, "I have no bombs," which prompted
laughter across the packed Civic Auditorium. He went on to
explain that he is a Palestinian Arab Christian who is also a
citizen of the state of Israel. "That complicates the
situation," he said. "A Palestinian is supposed to be a Muslim.
An Arab is supposed to be bloodthirsty." And when people learn
about his Israeli citizenship, they often wonder, "Why doesn't he
go home? But," he asked, "where is home for Palestinians?" Good
question.
Speaking of the Middle East, the Assembly weighed in of the
problems over there and endorsed the "Amman Call," which includes
affirmation of the United Nations resolutions that are the basis
of a projected "two-state" solution, a shared Jerusalem,
guarantees of the human rights of refugees and occupied peoples,
and a call to resist extremism and push for reconciliation.
The Assembly affirmed the efforts of all those who are seeking
peace in Iraq, but stopped short of calling for immediate U.S.
withdrawal of troops from that country. And the Assembly
voted to oppose preemptive military action against Iran.
Again this year, in a continuing effort to avoid the
destruction of uncounted forests in the distribution of tons of
paper, GA went electronic - all business was contained on a
system called "PC-Biz." Everybody had laptops - if not their
own, one that the Assembly provided. There were a few glitches,
as is always the case with anything like this, even in Silicon
Valley, but all in all, it was a most worthwhile effort.
As I have told you before, an old adage has it that "To err
is human, but to really foul things up requires a committee."
Nonetheless, Sunday evening, all day Monday and Tuesday and, for
some, Wednesday morning found the Assembly working in its 16
Committees, processing the nearly 1,000 items of business that
were before the body. As is the Presbyterian way, this is where
the real work of the assembly gets done. Committees wrestle with
issues, debate the pros and cons, then make a decision for
recommended action by the whole body. Much of the business is
routine and easily dealt with, but much is not as well. Those
issues will be debated fully by the entire Assembly after the
committees have done the preliminary wrestling. In general, it
is an efficient mechanism.
By the way, just as Senators Obama and McCain will have to
do soon, our Moderator must choose a Vice Moderator who fills in
for him during the assembly and joins him in representing the
church over the next two years. The Moderator chose the Rev.
Byron Wade, pastor of Davie Street Presbyterian Church in
Raleigh, NC. Wade is African-American, Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow is Asian-American. Together, the two represent a "huge
change," as Wade says, in the national life of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.). Both are around 40 years old, one just under,
the other just over. The church is changing...as it must.
Back to business. This year, for the first time in my
memory, there was a General Assembly Committee on Youth putting
flesh on the bones of our continual insistence on the importance
of youth to the church's future. One directive from the group
was for the Assembly's Office of Ministry with Youth to provide,
for congregational use, each presbytery with a copy of a new
documentary DVD, Soul Searching: A Movie About Teenagers and God.
Funded by a Lilly Foundation grant, this film for youth workers,
parents or anyone else interested in the religious and spiritual
lives of American teenagers is drawn from the findings of a
seven-year scientific study of youth which notes that teens are
rarely asked to talk about their religious beliefs and practices.
Youth workers, parents and interested adults may find watching
this film with teens a great way to start a conversation about
religious and spiritual matters. The committee also directed
that, beginning with the next General Assembly in 2010, Youth
Advisory Delegates be known as Young Adult Advisory Delegates.
A resolution "On Calling for Tolerance and Peaceful
Relations Between the Christian and Muslim Communities" was
overwhelmingly approved. We acknowledge that Christians, Jews
and Muslims may hold different understandings of how God has been
revealed to humankind, but all three groups are called to love
God and neighbor and care for the poor. That means Presbyterians
ought to be in conversation with Jews and Muslims, celebrate
religious holidays together and even set aside days to worship
together -- all to promote understanding, respect and goodwill.
One of the issues that generated a good deal of talk going
into the Assembly (at least among church professionals) was a
proposed revision to our Presbyterian Form of Government. In
recent years our Book of Order, part II of our Constitution, has
grown into more of a Manual of Operations than a Constitution, so
two years ago a task force was appointed to revise it, slim it
down, and report back to this Assembly. They did. Their work
was not adopted but will now go to the presbyteries for two more
years of study.
So far, everything smooth and quiet. But we all know that
is too good to last. The first heat came from a debate on what
one would think could be boring in the extreme - the translation
of a 400-year-old catechism. Heidelberg, to be exact, the one
that begins "What is your only comfort in life and in death?" As
you know, the Heidelberg Catechism is in our Book of Confessions
(part I of our PCUSA Constitution) and an overture had come to
the Assembly asking that corrections to the text be made in five
specific places. It turns out that the text we have in our book
is a translation that was done in 1962 (with one of the principal
translators being Dr. Eugene Osterhaven, my father's seminary
classmate and for whom I was given the middle name Eugene) and it
seems that some unauthorized additions were made to the final
version which went unnoticed.
Easily correctable, right? WRONG! One of the unauthorized
additions turns out to be about one of the perpetual hot buttons
of the church, homosexuality. Question 87: "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, two phrases in that 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 in dispute is "homosexual perversion."
Neither the original German nor Latin translations contain text
corresponding to this phrase, nor "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.
What is next? A special committee will be appointed
by the Assembly Moderator to study the issue and bring back a
proposal to the next Assembly in 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 following Assembly in 2012.
If that Assembly approves the changes, then the corrected
Heidelberg Catechism will replace the current version in the Book
of Confessions. Whew!
During the course of the catechism debate, one of the
commissioners noted that this was about more than a textual
correction, it was about "an elephant in the room," and he was
right - the issue of the place of gays and lesbians in both
church and society. That came to the fore again in the report of
the Committee on Church Orders and Ministry. An overture had
come to the Assembly asking for the removal of a passage in the
Book of Order that had been inserted in 1995 which 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, 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. (2)
After much discussion and by a relatively close vote, the
Assembly concurred with the overture and voted to remove the
paragraph and include new language:
Those who are called to ordained service in the church,
by their assent to the constitutional questions for
ordination and installation, 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
establishes the candidate's sincere efforts to adhere
to these standards.
That action will now go to the presbyteries for an up or
down vote. If a majority of the presbyteries agree (which is
really rather doubtful), then the original wording will be
stricken and the new language added.
Friday morning saw the election of a new Stated Clerk, the
chief administrative officer of the denomination. For the past
twelve years that job has been handled masterfully by our friend,
Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick who chose not to stand for election to a
fourth four-year term. A search committee was formed last year
which chose to recommend the Rev. Gradye Parsons, associate
stated clerk and director of operations for the Office of the
General Assembly (OGA), Cliff's right-hand man. Three others
chose to stand for election as well, but Gradye won handily on
the first ballot. A down-to-earth sort of fellow, his first
words at the podium following his installation were "Hi Mom."
A week-and-a-half ago, as I was preparing to leave for San
Jose, I was reading the current issue of Newsweek and a column by
a man named Jimmy Doyle entitled, "Let Me Worship as I Am."
Jimmy is a gay man, formerly Roman Catholic, now an Episcopalian,
who changed because he felt more welcome in that church than the
church in which he grew up. He says, From a young age I felt
called to follow Christ. But as a gay man, I took a long time to
find my spiritual home." What he had to say further was
disquieting to say the least. He reflected,
The very word "Christian" makes me wish I'd had a Druid
spiritual awakening. In today's lexicon, Christian is
equated with fanatics who need God to be as human as
can be: male, full of pride and hate, war-loving and
with a voting record that can only be described as
shortsighted. For me to have found the answer to my
spiritual hunger in the teachings of Jesus was at best
highly inconvenient. (3)
Inconvenient? What a sad conclusion to reach. Of course,
this is not the fault of Jesus, just Jesus' "followers."
True, the Presbyterian Church (USA) still has a way to go as
regards being fully inclusive, but that day will come, at least
according to Dr. John Buchanan, who spoke on Monday. It was
while Buchanan was General Assembly Moderator that the Book of
Order saw the inclusion of that passage that was voted out this
week. It is a section that would have "disqualified everyone I
know" from ordained office, Buchanan said as he offered a litany
of sins, from lewd glances to premarital sex, that the
Confessions call sin and would prevent ordination, but he pointed
out that only one group was affected by the amendment - the gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered. They were the target.
Buchanan, however, offered hope to that group which he called
"marginalized by their church." Saying that the PC(USA) would
become inclusive, Buchanan said, "We're going to get there,
brothers and sisters, because our children are already there."
When Buchanan added, "California is already there," he received
applause from the audience, recognizing that California recently
legalized gay marriage. He said that inclusion will come in the
PC(USA) because "the arc of the gospel is inclusion...Change will
happen because it's his church not ours -- the church of Jesus
Christ."
Do Justice...Love Kindness...A Humble Walk with God. A
Micah kind of church. The Presbyterian kind of church. My kind
of church. Yours too, I hope. We're not there yet, but, by the
grace of God, we're on the way. Precious Lord, take our
hand...Lead us home.
Amen!
1. These are names of FPC members and a former pastor.
2. Book of Order, G-6.0106b
3. Newsweek, 6/23/08, p. 18
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