Category Archives: Moderator

Moderator-Designate For The Free Church Of Scotland (Continuing) 2019 General Assembly

Yesterday, February 5, was a busy day for Moderator selections and I will begin with the first news we got, that being from the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing).

Rev William Macleod, from the Free Church (Continuing) website

The Free Church (Continuing) announced that the Rev. William Macleod, pastor of the Knightswood Church, Glasgow, was selected as the Moderator-Designate for their 2019 General Assembly in May.

Mr Macleod is one of the original members of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) when it divided from the Free Church of Scotland in 2000. At that time he was serving as the pastor at Portree on the Isle of Skye. He began his pastoral service when he was ordained and inducted at the Patrick Free Church in 1976, and translated to Portree in 1993. He moved to his current pulpit at Knightswood, at that time known as Thornwood FCC, in 2006.

He has provided significant service to the Free Church (Continuing) including having previously served as GA Moderator in 2005. He also served as the editor of the Free Church Witness magazine from 2000 to 2017, and as Principal of the Free Church Seminary from 2003 to 2014 where he still serves as a lecturer in Systematic Theology.

He began his college studies at Aberdeen University where he earned a BSc in 1972. (On a personal note I was interested to see on his church bio that his studies included geology.) He began his pastoral training at the Free Church College in Edinburgh (now Edinburgh Theological Seminary) earning a diploma in theology in 1975. He continued his theological training, specifically in Systematic Theology, at Westminster Theological Seminary (Pennsylvania, US) being awarded a ThM from there in 1976.

William and his wife have three adult children and four grandchildren. His son Murdo is a filmmaker and directed the highly-acclaimed documentary Knox, about the reformer John Knox. The working title was “Give Me Scotland” and there is some good background to the film from Head Heart Hand that features Murdo. Their son Alasdair is the pastor of Knock and Point Free Church (Continuing) on Lewis. Their daughter Christina is married to Ian and they have two young children.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Mr Macleod was part of the original group when the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) divided from the Free Church of Scotland in 2000. He wrote the forward to John W. Kiddie’s account of that and the events leading up to it, A Divided Church. Permit me to close with a few of his words from that Forward.

I have been asked whether I regretted the stand I made and the actions in which I was involved. Looking back, with the wisdom of hindsight, would I follow the same course again? Without a shadow of a doubt I would. True, there were times when I and others could have shown more humility along with firmness when more gracious words could have been used, but wrongs had to be opposed.

At the end of the day what matters is not what people think of us, our success or our popularity but rather doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord, dispite the cost. Soon we will all have to stand before the Judgement Seat. The things that are important to many people today will mean little then. Our concern must be to hear the Lord say to us: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

(From A Divided Church: An account of the division in the Free Church of Scotland in 2000, p. 7-8)

We wish Rev William Macleod well as he moderates the upcoming General Assembly set to begin on May 20, 2019, and our prayers are with him. For more biographical details you can check out his church’s web page, the Free Church (Continuing) minister page, as well as the details in the official announcement. You can listen to his preaching on sermonaudio.com.

Moderator Designate For The 2019 Church Of Scotland General Assembly

This past Tuesday the Church of Scotland announced that its selection committee has chosen the Rev. Colin Sinclair as their Moderator Designate for the 2019 General Assembly.

Colin Sinclair, Moderator Designate, Church of Scotland GA

Colin Sinclair, Moderator Designate, 2019 Church of Scotland GA (Photo: Church of Scotland)

Mr. Sinclair is the pastor of Palmerston Place Church, just west of the Old Town section of Edinburgh. He was ordained as an Assistant at that parish and moved on to be the solo pastor at Newton on Ayr. He returned to Palmerston in 1996 and has been on the staff there ever since.

He grew up in Glasgow and as a student at Glasgow Academy he first became associated with Scotland Scripture Union. As he tells it, he first attended a film to promote one of their camps as an escape route to avoid a reprimand in the school hallway. The film resonated with him and he attended the camp that year and again the following year. As he says in the Kirk announcement, “I went back to camp the next year and decided then to follow Jesus Christ. So started an exciting adventure of faith that has lasted over 50 years.”

After completing his Honors Economic degree at Stirling University he spent three years as a Scripture Union training officer in Zambia, travelling around the country living out of his car. He says of that time:

“Those three years changed my life. Being away from everything familiar I was able to sort out which parts of my faith were mine, and which were not. I encountered people from many different countries and with many different beliefs. I met all the Church of Scotland missionaries there and everyone was very supportive. I learned to trust God.”

His association with Scripture Union has continued since that time. He served as a General Director in Glasgow, and he recently concluded several years of service as the International Chair of Scripture Union. Scripture Union Global has a nice video where he recounts his time with the organization and how it has influenced him.

Besides his significant involvement with Scripture Union, he has served at both local and national levels of the Church of Scotland, most recently as Convener of the Mission and Discipleship Council.

In the Kirk announcement, he speaks of his experience as a minister. In the concluding quote he says:

“I think that has become my philosophy over the years. What’s lovely is seeing young people who started off as SU campers become leaders themselves. I have loved seeing folk grow up, whether it is to become elders in the Church or to go into vocational ministry or to take their Christian faith into different avenues of public service.”

Not surprisingly, his theme for his moderatorial year will be Discipleship.

If you are interested in hearing more from him you can check out the Plamerston Church sermon page, as well as an oral history recorded by the University of Stirling.

Mr. Sinclair’s wife, Ruth Murray, is a medical social worker.  They have four children – all of whom are involved in Christian ministry – and three grandchildren.

And finally, his nomination continues a recent trend of Moderators having a brush with celebrity. While the current Moderator officiated a celebrity wedding, Mr. Sinclair appears (as an extra) in the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. As that article says, “He spent the day running up and down a hill at Doune Castle in ­Perthshire with hundreds of other extras dressed as soldiers – only to be “attacked” by police in the film’s final scene.”

There is significant press coverage of the announcement: Besides the Church of Scotland official announcement and the official Life and Work article, other online media includes the Edinburgh Evening News, the BBC, Premier, and some local outlets like the Oxford Mail.

Our congratulations to Mr. Sinclair and our best wishes as he prepares for his moderatorial year. We look forward to his service as Moderator during General Assembly week and our prayers are with him. And I leave you with his thought which has been picked up by all the media stories I have read and seems to sum up his philosophy of ministry well…

“Our message is still Good News and it still changes lives.”

 

Moderator Designate For The 2019 Free Church Of Scotland General Assembly

The Commission of Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland has announced the selection of The Rev. Donald “Donnie” G. MacDonald of Portree and Bracadale Free Church in Skye as the Moderator Designate for the 2019 General Assembly.

Donnie G MacDonald - Moderator Designate

Donnie G MacDonald – Moderator Designate (photo: Free Church of Scotland)

Mr MacDonald, who is widely known as “Donnie G”, was ordained as a pastor 26 years ago, and his 25-year anniversary was marked by the Free Church last year. He began his ordained ministry at Ferintosh and Resolis Free Church where he spent 11 years. In 2003 he moved to his current charge. He is a native of Fort William but grew up on Skye, attending Borrodale Primary School and Portree High School. His college work in Glasgow included Chemistry and Molecular Biology, but he continued his education in preparation for the ministry at Free Church College, now Edinburgh Theological Seminary.

In response to the nomination, Mr MacDonald is quoted as saying “It is very humbling to be asked to be Moderator Designate of the Free Church of Scotland General Assembly for 2019. It is an honour to serve Jesus in any capacity and I will do my best to fulfil this responsibility simply but diligently.”

He reflects on the position of the Free Church in another quote: “The many Free Church congregations scattered throughout the country are working hard to bring that Gospel message to both the urban and rural settings of Scotland, revitalising the old and planting the new. We also remain committed to looking beyond our own borders to explore innovative ways of supporting mission work.”

On a side note, what jumped out to me in this last quote was the mention of ministry in a rural setting, a topic of some discussion and encouragement at the 2018 General Assembly.

Finally, you can see more about his Portree Congregation at their Facebook page, which does include the news of his nomination. He has recordings of his sermons available on both the church website as well as some preached elsewhere on Sermon Audio.

And so, we congratulate Donnie G and wish him well for his moderatorial year. Our prayers are with him as he prepares to moderate the upcoming GA and we look forward to following the GA in May, unfortunately on the live stream this year. Best wishes.

 

 

New Moderator And Clerk Of The National Youth Assembly Of The Church Of Scotland

The 2018 National Youth Assembly of the Church of Scotland wrapped up a week ago and at that Assembly the new leadership took up their roles. It is a pleasure to congratulate Tamsin and Seonaid as they begin this year.

NYA Moderator Tamsin Dingwall (photo Church of Scotland)

Tamsin Dingwall, the new Moderator, is from Aberfoyle, near Stirling, and a member of Aberfoyle Parish Church. She is a youth worker there as well as at a neighbouring church. In addition, she is a member of the local high school’s chaplaincy team. She has been an active fundraiser for charities, most recently at Sleep in the Park in Edinburgh. She is training for her next challenge, the Loch Ness marathon, in aid of Alzheimer’s Scotland, a goal she set after her father was diagnosed with the condition.

A feature on Andrew O’Brian Photography talks about Tamsin’s work at her family’s post office and how that has added dimensions in a small community. The article says “Being from a small community also means that a lot of her work is community based and not necessarily what a regular Post Office would do, however it is a unique opportunity to build relationships with vulnerable people in the community, which has been incredibly educational and rewarding.”

The Life and Work article quotes her as saying: “I am so honoured and still slightly shocked that I have been chosen to be the Moderator of the National Youth Assembly this year. This will be only my second year at NYA and I am overjoyed that I will have the privilege of leading the discussions on end of life issues, ecumenism and social media. These are such topical issues and I feel some of the discussions may be rather difficult and emotional; I can’t wait to see what people have to say regarding these topics. This is such a big honour and I truly hope that I can continue to take full advantage of all the amazing opportunities that the National Youth Assembly has given me. I would like to help other young people new to faith and NYA see what amazing things they can achieve with such an amazingly supportive Church”

Tamsin has taken over the NYA Moderator Twitter account (@nyamoderator) and has quickly put her mark on it.

NYA Clerk Seonaid Knox (photo Church of Scotland)

Seonaid Knox will serve as the new Clerk of the National Youth Assembly. She is an elder in St John’s Church in Gourock, near Greenock, and additional service to the church has included helping as a youth group leader and being part of the annual summer club leadership. She also helps lead worship as she sings in the praise band. She first attended NYA as a 16-year-old, and has been a small group leader and a youth rep twice. Professionally she works as a researcher for an MSP and in her spare time plays rugby for Greenock Wanderers. She has also written about rugby for the Scottish Rugby Union.

She tells Life and Work: “Over the past 10 years I’ve gone from someone who doubted their faith to someone who is fully committed to the Church and its work. I’ve thrown myself into Church life and am looking forward to the next chapter as Clerk of the National Youth Assembly.

“I’m not afraid of hard work and recognise that it won’t always be plain sailing, but that’s what makes the future exciting. The National Youth Assembly – and Church of Scotland as a whole – are forward-thinking, progressive entities that I’m thrilled to be a part of. NYA might be preparing to undergo future reform but I still hope and believe that, regardless of what form it takes on, it can be a beacon for the Church and act as a platform for young people to grow in their faith.

“As NYA Clerk I seek to balance open-mindedness with conscientious judgement, ensuring that I remain open to new ideas and perspectives but still rooted in my faith to continue the amazing work of those who have held this position before me.”

Congratulations to both of them and prayers and best wishes to them as this begin this exciting and demanding year of representing the NYA.

Live Blog: 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – Election Of The Moderator (Saturday evening)

Good evening – we are up to Saturday night – the election of the Moderator. Thanks for joining in.

First, I will be live blogging this but the live blog plug-in I used at the last GA has gone silent (and with it I probably lost that content). So I am back to the old fashion method. I will keep typing and regularly hit the update button. You will unfortunately need to hit your browser refresh button to see the new content. Sorry, no push technology this year.

The times are CDT

To follow in a bit more real time you can watch on Twitter the GA hashtag #GA223, if you are OK with 280 character updates. It should be good. I will not be tweeting too much during the evening but I know a lot of others will be.

So here we go.

[Ed. Note: Edited for typing errors and clarity on 7/17/2018]

7:00 PM The house band is warming up the crowd.

7:01 PM The co-moderators call the house to order and ecumenical guests from Asia are introduced.

They are from:
Presbyterian Church in Korea
Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea
Christian Council in Hong Kong
Presbyterian Church of Myanmar

The latter brings greetings and a prayer

7:06 PM Commissioning service of the GA commissioners

7:15 PM Necrology – A time to remember all the Ministers of Word and Sacrament who have joined the Church Triumphant since the last General Assembly
Not projected on the screen but copies of the 10 page list distributed
Time to look over the list indivudually
Prayers for those saints

7:20 PM Election of the Moderator – the six candidates (three teams) are escorted onto the stage and an opening prayer is offered

7:22 PM The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly informs us that the proposed nominations of the the teams that intend to be nominated are in order

7:24 PM Nominations made from the floor
Chantal Atnip and Ken Hockenberry (CA & KH)
Eliana Maxim and Bertram Johnson (EM & BJ)
Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlmann (VCO & CK)

7:28 Speeches – order by random drawing. Each team has 5 minutes to share as they wish

CA&KH go first
CA talks a bit about her service at the local level
Talks about KH’s polity experience
Tells her story of sense of call along the lines of what is in the printed materials
Finishes by talking about the Book of Acts and the Holy Spirit providing all the early church needed
What it means to be connectional and covenantal
She takes the whole 5 minutes

EM&BJ
They each introduce themselves
EM includes how she met Bertram when he worked in Seattle
BJ talks about what led him to move from a Baptist upbringing to a Presbyterian calling
EM talks about only doing it if BJ would join her. He says he told her no, but she prevailed
EM says they see the PC(USA) reframing what it means to be church, and to see God’s church grow
BJ talks about how the PC(USA) must recapture the vision in Matthew 25
EM talks about how the church must promote justice in our communities and nations
Unison: “Here we are – send us”

CK & VCO
Start with a bilingual welcome
Tell a bit about themselves
VCO – They are bold, unapologetic women. TE and RE pairing represents the parity of the system
CK – In their partnership want to invite church into diversity. Call to embrace Jesus Christ and confront injustice. “We choose welcome”
Invite commissioners to look around at each other.
CK The stories you bring. God is not done with us yet
VCO – Look forward to seeking the will of God and love of the Spirit

7:44 PM – Questions
Stated Clerk give the ground rules: There will be 45 minutes. The teams will rotate in what order they answer successive questions. Each team has 2:30 minutes and can decide who on the team will answer

Question 1 – My small church did the previous moderators’ “One church, one book” challenge. How will you support pastors that have very little experience in handling these issues

CA – From an area that has that experience. Worked on this in a synod gathering bringing back exercises from Big Tent. KH – Continue these conversations. Example from a church where a black couple shared they were denied GI Bill benefits

BJ – Grateful this work has started and to the questioner that he is interested in continuing with his congregation. Need to have these conversations in seminaries to equip pastors. EM – The sin has run rampant for 100’s of years so it will take time and work to address it. Your context will help determine what form the work will take. Needs to happen in denominational structures as well.

CK – She took up the study in the two presbyteries she is the resource leader for. Discovered there are lots of resources – TED Talks, Belhar and C67, papers, people, listening to stories. VCO – Presbytery used Waking Up White which led to wonderful conversations. Need to keep pressing on.

Question 2 – Young adults: Over the last two days a lot of orientation and interaction with YAADs. Great experience here but friends at home don’t have any interest. Spiritual but now religious. How do you bring them back into the fold?

EM – Seattle is very spiritual but not religious. They want to be involved, they want to see it happen. How are lives being transformed. Don’t think about getting them back inside the building. Think about getting them involved where they are. BJ – Amen. (When pushed to use time) A lot of things geopolitically provide an opportunity to model who we are and draw them in.

VCO – Need to listen to each other. Listen to signs of the time. Do church differently? Go out there? We don’t see where they are and what they want. They want connection with God and we are disconnected. Her current church when she arrived. The doors were closed. Doors need to be open. CK – My step-daughters are here, and they got excited about the people who walk for fossil fuel divestment. They are excited about hearing about justice. Partners in making the world a better place.

CA – Need to claim we do good things because we love Christ. We gave an offering this morning and Tuesday we are going to walk because we love Jesus. Need to claim that. KH – His daughter asked that question as she advanced to candidacy. Her answer: seek justice. Seeking justice in local community is attractive. I don’t know if 1001 New Worshiping Communities is still in existence [ed note – it is] but some groups that made things real

Question 3 – Why some co-moderator, and one moderator/vie moderator?

VCO – We portray parity in our equal standing. CK – Important to me as well. Pastors come and go but ruling elders stick around. Also important to have diversity as equals

CA – Told you the story of my call. Heard that she needed to stand as moderator. Call old enough that before co-moderators. Over the years looking for the right person to stand with. God in his/her infinite wisdom led me to Ken late in the process. We are a team, similar view. KH – I got a phone call and I had no desire to serve as a moderator but wanted to support her. May be more sharing than in past. And again, TE/RE parity.

EM – I have always flourished in collegial relationships. Knew I would need to do it with someone I trusted and could call me out. BJ – Had not thought about this, EM drew this out. My ministry has been partnership so a co-mod relationship makes sense.

Question 4 – What is your greatest strength and weakness as a team?

KH – I enjoy parliamentary procedure – I know that sounds weird [ed note – no it doesn’t] – but I enjoy the process. CA – My strength is my relational abilities. KH – Weakness – resist temptation to get burned out and get cynical. CA – This position is way out of my comfort level. Thrilled and excited, but out of comfort level

EM – I love people and move easily between different groups. Weakness, I can over do it and need trusted people to call me out on it. BJ – Strength as a team – work well together and not afraid to call people out. Personal weakness – not always trust myself

CK&VCO – We get in our heads a lot. We both do it. VCO – strength as a team – we are very loving. And I cry a lot. Is that a weakness? CK – vast experience we have – 42 years of ordained ministry. Weakness we have as a team is we forget what it means to be in someone else’s shoes.

Question 5 – In San Francisco Bay area we have people who are third, or even fourth generation out of the church. So we have some evangelism to do. Speak to your theology around that.

BJ – Many mission fields available to us right now. We need to meet people in their needs. Need to pay attention to the community and see what they need. EM – We are not the church of building large buildings anymore. The church of Acts was concerned with building relationships and not buildings. Have people ask “Why to they care about people others don’t care about.” We have to embody it.

CK – God called me to Massachusetts to be of service. Reminded by a friend that they are in the top five of unchurched communities. Talk about an intentional effort to put churches in places with no center place. Took locks off door and became a gathering place. People think of it as their church even if only for community building, and not worship. VCO – Ditto. Need to rethink structures that we have.

CA – We are in a time of Acts again. Ate, prayed, shared all things together. Vision for sharing that with people who are not part of the church. Her church is starting an initiative for community education in parenting. KH – What breaks God’s heart? That is the starting point for ministry.

Question 6 – (Last question) In a society divided by so many issues and believing that if we don’t agree we can’t be in relationship. Who will you handle times when people don’t agree.

VCO – A loss for words because I am often different. But need to concentrate on what we have in common. Need to be able to listen. Continue striving and showing up. CK – Repentance. For breaking down instead of building up. Need reconciliation. Build new bridges. How can I not do that again.

CA – need to set the table. Presbyterian polity says we can have different opinions and worship together. We can share our God and Jesus and break bread together. KH – And then be ready to stay at the table. Stay engaged, stay in relationship. Shift conversation from difference to their stories. Probably find common ground in stories.

BJ – Speaking personally, I often are in settings where I know people disagree with me. I am also a pastor and sense responsibility to speak truth. A burden and a calling to speak to my siblings in Christ about what it means to love God and neighbor as yourself. Put our relationship through lens of Christ, but it is hard work. EM – Our center needs to be Christ but we fill it with other stuff. I want to be in relationship with people who are different than me.

8:37 PM – Announce that Peg, a GA attendee from National Capital Presbytery, fall yesterday and passed away today. Prayer is offered with GA holding hands and gathering around the commissioners from National Capital.

Time is closed with singing Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah, candidates are dismissed.

8:43 PM – Stated Clerk gives voting instructions

YAADS – CA&KH – 10   EM&BJ – 90     VCO&CK – 33
That’s a winner if YAADs are the usual good predictor

Commissioners – CA&KH – 45   EM&BJ –  250    VCO&CK – 229
No Majority – vote again – Need 262

YAADs – CA&KH – 5   EM&BJ – 98     VCO&CK – 30
Migration to the leader, a usual pattern

Commissioners – CA&KH – 18   EM&BJ –  256    VCO&CK – 248
No Majority – vote again

YAADs – CA&KH – 4   EM&BJ – 101     VCO&CK – 30

Commissioners – CA&KH – 9   EM&BJ –  255    VCO&CK – 261
No majority – Moderator confirms still one vote short

YAADs – CA&KH – 4   EM&BJ – 99     VCO&CK – 29

Commissioners – CA&KH – 9   EM&BJ –  253    VCO&CK – 266
We have Co-Moderators

Interesting to note that this is one of the rare times that the YAADs did not predict. In addition, the shift to another team as voting went on is seldom seen. I fully expected the YAADs to have called it and the migration would be to the leaders in the first round that agreed with the YAADs. Welcome to GA – never know what you will get.

9:10 PM – The new co-moderators enter and we move to the installation of the co-moderators
The affirmations
The questions
The prayer of installation

The symbols of office – the stoles and the crosses – are passed.

Brief comments by the new Co-Moderators.

Presentation of Communion Sets to the outgoing Co-Moderators from the Committee on Local Arrangements

Presentation of gavels to the incoming Co-Moderators from the Committee on Local Arrangements

Thanks to the outgoing Co-Moderators from the Stated Clerk and a memento and moderator’s cross replica presented to them

After the closing prayer from a YAAD the General Assembly is in recess until 2:30 PM tomorrow afternoon. (Using the newly presented gavel)

Some Quick Thoughts On The Teams Standing For Moderator Of The 223rd PC(USA) GA

As I wrote the three previous pieces on the teams standing for Moderator of the 223rd PC(USA) General Assembly, I found some interesting threads. One of these was that half of them have some connection to Florida (Bertram, Vilmarie, and Chantal). Not sure how relevant that is, but some other notes:

  • It is mostly an East Coast bunch: Bertram – NYC, Vilmarie – Miami, Cindy – Massachusetts, Chantal – Pennsylvania. Ken is in the Midwest (but still east of the Mississippi) and Eliana is in Seattle. That also gives Ken the shortest distance to travel.
  • As is typical, there are the Princeton Theological Seminary connections: Half the TE’s have M.Div.’s from there – Bertram and Ken; Cindy’s is from Austin and Eliana’s is from Seattle.
  • Both Bertram and Cindy have theater experience
  • Both Cindy and Chantal were born abroad as children of U.S. active duty military personnel. In addition Eliana is a native of Colombia.
  • Two attended Presbyterian schools for their undergraduate training: Cindy – Whitworth, Ken – Grove City.
  • It is four women and two men, four teaching elders and two ruling elders, and three people of color. So, there will be a female Moderator or Co-Moderator this year, and a 2-out-of-three chance of a ruling elder.

My best wishes to all of them. I regret that with a problem with my airline flights I will not arrive in time for the meet-and-greet tomorrow morning, but looking forward to the election and press conference afterwards. And hope to catch some of you in the hall.

On to GA

Standing For Moderator Of The PC(USA) – Chantal Atnip And Ken Hockenberry

As we approach the convening of the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) this Saturday afternoon, we look forward to the election of the Moderator(s) on Saturday evening. There are three teams that have declared and been endorsed, two co-moderator teams and a moderator/vice-moderator team. All three announced and were endorsed in quick succession last December. I am going to present these in three consecutive posts over the next two days and will do so in the order they announced, or more precisely the order their announcements appeared in the PC(USA) news outlet of record 😉 , the Presbyterian Outlook. So we conclude with…

Chantal Atnip and Ken Hockenberry

The third announcement for Moderator came from Chantal Atnip who later announced that Ken Hockenberry would be joining her as her Vice-Moderator candidate. While they have no moderatorial web site that I found, they do have three extended articles on the Synod of the Trinity web site news section: One with her announcement, one in interview format with her discussing the sense of call and other matters, and another announcing the vice-moderator choice. Their information and responses to questions is the first set in the Moderators Handbook put out for the General Assembly, beginning on page 3 of the PDF file.

Chantal is a ruling elder who has served as the treasurer for the Synod of the Trinity for the last 13 years. She is an active member of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church of Harrisburg, PA, where she currently serves as clerk of session. She has a degree from Florida State University in Mathematics and Math Education. Her career has been varied including teaching and IT work, particularly software development and as co-founder of a computer consulting company.

While connected with the Synod of the Trinity, she has little experience at the national level, something she describes as an asset for her standing for Moderator [quote from the Synod article]:

“I am not connected to the national church, so I have a different set of eyes and a different voice than the other people who are running for moderator,” she said. “I bring an openness and an ability to cross the different levels of the denomination. I have been asked what I plan to do (if elected moderator). I don’t ‘plan’ to do anything. A moderator is just that – we moderate. We are to be problem solvers.”

You can follow Chantal on Twitter @AtnipChantal.

Ken Hockenberry is a teaching elder in the Presbytery of Chicago serving as the interim pastor at Carter-Westminster United Presbyterian Church in Skokie, Illinois. He did his M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary and some additional post-graduate work at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Before his present call he was the pastor of Beulah Presbyterian Church in Louisville as well as serving as the stated clerk (part time) of Mid Kentucky Presbytery. The Synod article also mentions that he has served as the moderator of the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse, and the bio in the Moderators Handbook mentions his decade of service as a pastor in that area.

You can follow Ken on Twitter at @ClerkKennyH.

In their choices on the optional questions in the in Moderators Handbook, they did not answer what the church of tomorrow looks like, but instead chose to give their elevator speechs about what it means to be Presbyterian. Chantal talked a little about her faith journey and wove in the 223rd GA. Here is Ken’s answer, in full, where his experience as a stated clerk is on full display:

To be Presbyterian means I am part of a church community immersed and empowered by grace and gratitude. We believe God’s grace and love is freely given to us, rather than something we have to earn. Because we are immersed in this free gift of grace, we are empowered to engage in acts of gratitude, giving thanks to God through worship, as well as ministry and missional service to others.

To be Presbyterian also means that I am part of a church community where elders are called to rule and to teach. That’s what the word “Presbyterian” means: “governed by elders.” God – through the Holy Spirit – calls ordinary people to general missional service in the church and in the world, following in the way of Jesus Christ. God also calls some ordinary people to particular kinds of missional service, into what we call the ordered ministries of Deacons, Ruling Elders, and Teaching Elders or Ministers. This means our church community operates with a high degree of shared leadership, found and called from the bottom – up, rather than from the top – down.

Best wishes to Chantal and Ken in their standing for Moderator and Vice Moderator. And prayers for the commissioners as they discern the next moderatorial team. We can meet the candidates Saturday morning and I look forward to the press conference with the successful team following the election Saturday evening.

Moving on… A quick summary

Standing For Moderator Of The PC(USA) – Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlmann

As we approach the convening of the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) this Saturday afternoon, we look forward to the election of the Moderator(s) on Saturday evening. There are three teams that have declared and been endorsed, two co-moderator teams and a moderator/vice-moderator team. All three announced and were endorsed in quick succession last December. I am going to present these in three consecutive posts over the next two days and will do so in the order they announced, or more precisely the order their announcements appeared in the PC(USA) news outlet of record 😉 , the Presbyterian Outlook. So we continue with…

Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlmann

Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlmann

The second team to announce that they would be standing for Co-Moderators was Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlmann. They have an extensive and well designed moderatorial web site with not just their basic information and sense of call, but a blog as well that talks a bit more about their journey to GA. And a lot of the site is quadralingual with not just English, Spanish, and Korean, but a Portuguese version as well.  Their information and responses to questions is the third set in the Moderators Handbook put out for the General Assembly, beginning on page 23 of the PDF file.

Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri is a ruling elder and educator who lives in Miami with her family. Her service as a Youth Advisory Delegate (YAD) to the 205th General Assembly (1993) gave her the understanding of the connectional church, and she later served as a commissioner to the 212th General Assembly. She was ordained as a ruling elder at the Iglesia Presbiteriana en Caparra Terrace, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and has served as a member and chair of several presbytery committees as well as the Vice Moderator of Synod Boriquén and council member. On the national level she has been a member of the General Assembly Committee on Theological Education.

Vilmarie’s higher education includes a B.A. in Education from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master’s in Education from Turabo University. Professionally, she has taught high schoolers and adults, first in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and now in Miami, Florida, where her husband, Rev. José Manuel Capella-Pratts, is the pastor of Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana.

Cindy’s higher education was at Whitworth College in Theatre and Religion and then earning an MDiv from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While in seminary, Cindy served in the U.S. Naval Reserves as a Chaplain Candidate. She was ordained to a call as a solo pastor at New Jersey Presbyterian Church in Carlisle, OH and later she moved to Clinton Presbyterian Church, Clinton, MA, after he marriage to the Rev. Eric Markman. For the last three years she has served as Resource Presbyter for the Presbyteries of Boston and Northern New England.

Cindy can be followed on Twitter at @CindyKohlmann.

Throughout the answers to their five questions in the Moderators Handbook they weave in the preaching theme of the “Kindom of God.” In question one which asks specifically about the theme of “Kindom building for the 21st century” they say:

Jesus’ call to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness” comes at the end of his words regarding worrying and striving after daily necessities in the Sermon on the Mount. It is within this context that we believe the Kindom of God will be firmly established, both individually and corporately: when scarcity becomes abundance, safety overcomes insecurity, marginalization is replaced by full community, and daily needs are no longer in question for any person.

And in answer to the question about describing the church of tomorrow they begin with

The church that is emerging is a reflection of the Kindom of God, where the radical love of Jesus Christ is on full display, the power of the Holy Spirit is blowing us to new places, and the creative force of Almighty God is breaking out in new ways.

Best wishes to Vilmarie and Cindy in their standing for Co-Moderators and prayers for the commissioners as they discern the next moderatorial team. We can meet the candidates Saturday morning and I look forward to the press conference with the successful team following the election Saturday evening.

Moving on… Team #3 coming soon

Standing For Moderator Of The PC(USA) – Eliana Maxim and Bertram Johnson

As we approach the convening of the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) this Saturday afternoon, we look forward to the election of the Moderator(s) on Saturday evening. There are three teams that have declared and been endorsed, two co-moderator teams and a moderator/vice-moderator team. All three announced and were endorsed in quick succession last December. I am going to present these in three consecutive posts over the next two days and will do so in the order they announced, or more precisely the order their announcements appeared in the PC(USA) news outlet of record 😉 , the Presbyterian Outlook. So we being with…

Eliana Maxim and Bertram Johnson

The first team to announce was Eliana Maxim and Bertram Johnson. An extensive amount of information about them can be found on their moderatorial web site, as well as a Facebook group for their candidacy. Their information and responses to questions is the second set in the Moderators Handbook put out for the General Assembly, beginning on page 10 of the PDF file.

 

Teaching Elder Eliana Maxim is currently serving as the associate executive of Seattle Presbytery, a position she has held for the last seven years. She began exploring her call to professional ministry by serving as director of children and family ministries at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church. Her ministerial training began at Union Seminary in Richmond, VA, before transferring to Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry where she completed her MDiv.

She is a native of Colombia and her family emigrated when she was a young child, settling in the Los Angeles area. Her service in ordained ministry is a second career, having first completed a communication arts degree at Loyola Marymount University and then working as a news producer at CNN.

Currently, she also serves as a faculty member of the Transitional Ministry Workshop at Menucha, Oregon. Her service to the denomination includes the 220th GA’s Committee on the Belhar Confession, the 222nd General Assembly’s Way Forward Commission, the Committee on the Office of General Assembly, and vice-moderator of the National Hispanic/Latino Caucus of the PC(USA).

She can be followed on Twitter at @elianamaxim.

Teaching Elder Bertram Johnson serves as Minister of Justice, Advocacy, and Change at The Riverside Church in the City of New York and is a member of the Presbytery of New York City. While working on his BA at the University of Florida he volunteered for youth ministry with Young Life. Following graduation he spent a year serving youth and families at a neighborhood community center in Washington, D.C., as an intern with Sojourners.

He did his formal ministerial training at Princeton Theological Seminary where he completed an MDiv and Rutgers University where he completed an MSW. He then moved to the Pacific Northwest and continued working in church employment. His web site bio continues his faith journey:

When the denomination’s polity regarding LGBTQ ordination became more restrictive, although he was certified to receive a call and was working at Mt. Baker Park Presbyterian, Bertram decided to withdraw from the ordination process.

After work as an oncology chaplain and directing spiritual and practical care programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, he was led back to the ordination process and was ordained as a teaching elder at Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church in January 2014. He has served on the GA Nominating Committee and is a member of the NEXT Church Leadership Team.

One of the possible questions for the moderatorial teams to answer in the Handbook asks them to describe the church of tomorrow. Eliana and Bertram begin their answer saying:

The church of tomorrow is less concerned with membership and denominational pedigree than it is with incarnational faith, community engagement, and authentic relationships. There seems to be a desire to return to a parish model, where the church is involved in the life of the surrounding community and mission partnerships are determined not on large programmatic commitments made through denominational channels, but on local ecumenical, interfaith and secular allies.

And they balance this with

Lack of membership or affiliation desire can also mean lack of pledging and tithing for our local churches and this obviously impacts the financial health every body in our denomination from the local church through the mid-councils and onto our per capita funds that support the mission and ecclesial arms of the PCUSA.

Lots of good stuff in their answers to the questions and I encourage you to have a look at the full answer to this one and the answers to the others.

Best wishes to Eliana and Bertram in their standing for this position and prayers for the commissioners as they discern the next moderatorial team. We can meet the candidates Saturday morning and I look forward to the press conference with the successful team following the election Saturday evening.

Moving on… Team #2 coming up later

Moderator-Designate For The Free Church Of Scotland (Continuing) 2018 General Assembly

As we approach the start of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) General Assembly convening tomorrow, I need to get caught up on this detail from last January.

The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) has selected the Rev. David Blunt as the Moderator-designate for the 2018 General Assembly. Mr. Blunt has been the pastor of the Free Church (Continuing) congregation of North Uist & Grimsay for the last eleven years.

He was born in Essex in 1958 and lived most of his childhood in Hampshire. Mr. Blunt’s original college studies were in Environmental Science at the University College of Wales. From there he conducted research at Dundee University.

In the course of personal study of the Bible and mentoring by Christians around him, he was convinced of the truth of the Gospel in 1983. He then found paths of Christian service, including assisting at a city mission and teaching part-time at a Christian primary school. Sensing a call to the gospel ministry, Mr Blunt received his ministerial training at the Free Church College.

Having competed his training, in 2000 he was inducted by the Free Church (Continuing) as an Evangelist/Church Planter in the Aberdeen area.  Seven years later accepted a call to his present position with the North Uist & Grimsay congregation in the Western Isles.

His higher denominational service includes work as a Presbytery Clerk and as well as the Clerk to Assembly Committees. In addition, last year he began as the editor of the denominational magazine Free Church Witness. A published writer, Mr. Blunt is the the author of Presbyterianism, published by the Free Church (Continuing), and of Which Bible Version: Does it Really Matter?, published by the Trinitarian Bible Society.

Our prayers are with Mr. Blunt as the Free Church (Continuing) assembly begins tomorrow and he is installed to the position of Moderator.