Category Archives: PC(USA)

Presbytery Meeting by Video Conference

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I don’t know if this is a first for any Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) presbytery, but it is the first for the Presbytery of the Northern Plains and the first one I have heard of.

On Friday January 25, 2008, the presbytery will gather at four video conference sites the presbytery has established and meet together electronically.  The web page for the presbytery meeting says that presbytery committees have been meeting at these sites, all at churches across the presbytery, for over a year.  This meeting, being the first of the calendar year, will include the installation of the new moderator and vice-moderator as well as communion.

From the geography involved the desire to video conference is understandable.  The presbytery is the whole state of North Dakota plus the northwest corner of Minnesota and just a small piece of Montana.  Since the other two presbytery meetings of the year are listed as two day meetings at specific locations, this appears to be an accommodation for winter weather on the high plains.

However, I would not be surprised if another geographically large presbytery has already done this and I am sure that more will since the technology is available.  There is obviously a balance here between the desire to be more cost and time efficient with our meetings and the recognition that we are a covenant community that does meet together to govern the church.  The use of four sub-sites is a nice way to try to strike the balance.  I hope to get some reaction to how it works out.

Presbyterian Official Blogging Continues

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My compliments to Ms. Linda Valentine, the executive director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Council.  I and others took note back in October when she blogged her trip to Asia and I wondered at that time if the blogging would continue when she got back.  It has!  It is now officially named “Let your light shine!” And it has been a pleasure to regularly read her thoughts from Louisville.  Thanks for joining the Web 2.0 world and I look forward to keeping your blog on my regular reading list.  Any more Louisville bloggers lurking out there?

Coverage of a new film on the Bible and Homosexuality

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Yesterday a newly released news story from the Presbyterian News Service, a part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), caught my attention and while the tone of the coverage concerned me, I’ve commented on this slant in coverage before and decided to let this one pass.  Until…  I read the entry Viola has at her blog, Naming His Grace, titled Reporting on Reporting and For the Bible tells me so.”

First, some background:  Earlier this year First Run Features released the film “For the Bible tells me so” ( official film web site) that examines how the Bible and the church view and deal with homosexuality and homosexual behavior from the progressive perspective.  As the Presbyterian News Service (PNS) article says, this film was shown at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians’ conference in Atlanta in November and is highlighted on the front page of their web site.  In addition, it is mentioned positively on the Witherspoon Society web site.  The PNS article is generally positive about the film and has positive and encouraging quotes from Pam Byers, the executive director of the Covenant Network.

Now turning to Viola’s comments, you would not know that she was talking about the same film.  Viola comes from the evangelical perspective and is not a fan of the film, although she does say she has only seen the trailer and the promotional information.

While I have only looked at the film’s web site and have not seen the trailer, my problem and part of Viola’s problem is not with the film, but again with the PNS coverage.  And rather than my restating my complaint, I will quote Viola:

Today the Presbyterian News Service had an article, Biblical examination, about the film. It is written by Toya Richards Hill. While it is true that this particular film has won quite a few awards at the Sundance film festival, so it is a news worthy film, it is also true that the Presbyterian News Service is, well, officially Presbyterian. So it seems to me in their news reporting they should be handling the subject of this film from a two-sided position.

That is, the Presbyterian News Service could write about how the Covenant Network likes this film and here is what all of those who made the film and agree with the film, including some theologians, say about it. (Which they did.) But on the other hand, there are those scholars and theologians and Christians in the pews who don’t agree with the film’s take on the subject and this is what they have to say about it. (Which
they did not do.) And hopefully as the film is shown across the country PNS will do that?

It is interesting to note that there is a film or video expressing an alternate conservative/evangelical viewpoint called “Speaking a Mystery.” ( official film web site) This video was produced by OneByOne and Presbyterians for Renewal and was released in April 2006 in advance of the 217th General Assembly.  Now, that film did not go into theatrical release and does not seem to have won any awards, but it was produced by PC(USA) affiliated groups.  Some browsing through the PNS archive, using the search function on the PC(USA) web site, and even doing a Google search on it I could find no mention of it on the PC(USA) web site.

Well, I’ll again say, that if the PC(USA) is trying to present themselves as an organization for all Presbyterian viewpoints, they need to be much more intentional about the balance of the news they cover and balance within the articles themselves.

On a related note, today the PNS announced a realignment of which of their reporters covers what news based on the new structure of the PC(USA) General Assembly Council.  It just looks structural and not fundamental so I’m not sure it will have any impact on how news gets reported.

More Business for the 2008 PC(USA) General Assembly

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This afternoon another seven overtures to the June 2008 Presbyterian Church (USA) were posted on the GA Business Page.

This set of overtures, while dominated by Book of Order changes, has the usual mix of business that shows up in these items.

Maybe the most unique is 023 from the Presbytery of Western Reserve which calls on the GA to honor the outgoing Stated Clerk, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, by naming him Stated Clerk Emeritus.  I’m not sure if this has ever been done before.

The other non-polity overture is 022 from the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta that calls for Presbyterians to work for peace in Iraq and the withdrawal of troops, but does not set a specific time-table.

Overture 017 takes a slightly different approach to the ordination standards debate by asking for the inclusion of wording in G-6.0106b and G-6-0108b that indicate that the ordination standards are binding.  I would note that this overture from the Presbytery of St. Andrew is a double-edged sword since by opening up the wording of these sections for editing, other changes could be made as well by the committee or the Assembly as a whole.  However, this will not be the only overture dealing with the Book of Order wording for ordination standards so the committee and Assembly will probably deal with them as a group and everything will be on the table.

Maybe the most radical of the new group is overture 019 from the Presbytery of Baltimore which would modify the whole of the Directory for Worship section on Marriage, W-4.900, to change the wording from “between a man and a woman” to “between two people.”

Another overture, number 020 from the Presbytery of Indian Nations, could lead to a dramatic shift in the way the denomination does its ecumenical business.  This overture calls for shifting funding for ecumenical relationships from the per capita to the mission budget.  This would mean a switch from a guaranteed to a more uncertain funding source.  The rationale is that the ecumenical activities are not directly related to the functioning of the General Assembly and so should not be included in the per capita funding.  The overture also asks for a review of all the items in the per capita supported budget to be sure they fall into the strict requirements of what that money can go to.

Overture 018 would modify the procedures of Permanent Judicial Commissions so that they would not have to craft their final decision immediately upon hearing and deciding the case but would create the outline and could, over the next ten days, use e-mail and conference calls to produce their final decision.  It appears that the web page for this overture needs some proofing and editing as well since one line ends mid-sentence and the text to be added is not properly formatted.  This overture comes from the Presbytery of Stockton which is in the Synod of the Pacific, one of the geographically larger synods, and the desire to use technology to bridge distances is understandable.

Finally, I have left one of the more intriguing overtures for last, and I must admit I’m not entirely sure what to make of it yet, but it might be a good change.  Overture 021 would amend G-6.0401 concerning the office and qualifications for a deacon.  Instead of the current language that “The office of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of sympathy, witness, and service after the example of Jesus Christ.” the new language would substitute “empathy” so it would read “The office of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of empathy, witness, and service after the example of Jesus Christ.”  In their overture the Presbytery of Albany says:

Deacons are often called to tend to the sick, elderly, lonely, grieving, and those in need. In such cases, if a deacon truly acted in a sympathetic manner, he or she would be taking on other’s emotions and carry feelings to a level that would be unhealthy, over burdensome, and emotionally exhausting. By taking on a more empathic role, deacons can tend to others by considering another’s feelings and responding to their needs, helping them move through various stages of emotion at their own pace and comfort level, with autonomy and grace.

I’m still trying to figure out how all of this related to “bear each other’s burdens.” (Gal. 6:2)

Two other items of business to note at this time.  The first is that the Final Report of the Form of Government Task Force has been posted and the two new sections are recommended to be handled as two separate items of business.  Second, if you are thinking of running for Stated Clerk you have only one more week to get your application form in to the Stated Clerk Search Committee.

I don’t anticipate any more GA updates until January and then I expect more moderator nominations to be rolling in along with plenty more overtures.

Episcopal Diocese to Realign and Church Property in California

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Yesterday the Diocese of San Joaquin took their second and deciding vote to leave The Episcopal Church and realign with the southern-most Anglican Province in South America, known as the Southern Cone.  The vote was 70-12 within the clergy and 103-10 among the lay delegates at the annual diocese convention in Fresno, California.  A representative of the Archbishop of the Southern Cone read a statement from the Archbishop that began “Welcome Home. And welcome back into full fellowship in the Anglican Communion.”

While roughly 60 churches individually have left the Episcopal church and realigned with overseas Anglican Provinces, this is the first diocese to part ways with the Episcopal church over the differing views of the Bible and homosexuality.  Three other dioceses, Fort Worth, Texas, Quincy Illinois, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are in the process and others are discussing beginning the process.  In the Diocese of San Joaquin there is the group Remain Episcopal that is loyal to the Episcopal Church, that opposed the realignment of the diocese, and whose web site says they will remain with the Episcopal Church.

I think that it goes without saying that the Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is not in favor of the move.  She is quoted in an Episcopal Church news story as saying “The Episcopal Church receives with sadness the news that some members of this church have made a decision to leave this church.”  The quote finishes with “The Episcopal Church will continue in the Diocese of San Joaquin, albeit with new leadership.”

The news is full of stories, such as this one from Associated Press.  Also, the San Joaquin Diocese news page has several entries about the convention and the action.  I have found nothing from the Worldwide Anglican Communion yet.

This action brings up the interesting question of property ownership when a whole diocese (or presbytery) parts ways with the denomination.  The Diocese of San Joaquin says churches that wish to remain with the Episcopal Church can stay with their property.  The word from the national office and the group Remain Episcopal is that they will wage the legal fight to keep all of it.

All of this comes in the midst of news in California that the California State Supreme Court will be hearing a church property case to set the precedent for the state.  The test case will be one from the Diocese of Los Angeles for St. James church in Newport Beach, Orange County that voted to leave.  In the first round in Superior Court the church won the right to retain its property.  This was overturned by the appellate court which ruled in favor of the denomination using “implied trust.”  Initial briefs have been filed with the Supreme Court but a court date has not been set.  It will probably be in the spring.  Several additional cases already decided by lower courts and future cases will hinge on this decision.  I know that PC(USA) Presbyteries and Synods are watching it closely.  A news story on it is reprinted on Anglicans United.  and on the Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall Harmon’s Weblog TitusOneNine he has a good description of the cases and the legal background.  The law firm Payne and Fears that represents the churches has posted the initial brief on their web site.  The brief argues their case including several Presbyterian cases.  Finally, these issues are discussed more generally and with a national scope in an interview that the Orthodox Anglican web site Virtue Online did with canon lawyer Rt. Rev. William Wantland.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a very closely watched case and it will define the landscape in California for churches in hierarchical denominations that want to leave with their property.

Passings: T. F. Torrance and Gene Sibery

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Today brings news of two devoted Presbyterian leaders passing to the Church Triumphant.

Last Sunday, December 2, the Very Reverend Thomas Torrance, went to be with the Lord.  He was an internationally renowned theologian at the University of Edinburgh, and served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1976.  In the US, he may be best know as the father of the Very Reverend Iain Torrance, the current president of Princeton Theological Seminary and also a past Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland serving in 2003.  There are a few news stories available and a press release from the Church of Scotland.

Elder Gene Sibery passed away last Thursday, November 29.  He served as the Vice-Moderator of the 209th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1997 and then served six years as chair of the PC(USA) Board of Pensions.  I was a commissioner to that GA and I found Gene to be approachable and friendly.  His leadership added to collegiality of that Assembly.  For more, see the PC(USA) Press Release.

Looking Ahead: More News about the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA)

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Within the last few hours the Presbyterian Church (USA) web site has posted a news article with the first endorsed candidate for Moderator of the 218th General Assembly.  The candidate is the Rev. Bill Teng from National Capital Presbytery.

Rev. Teng is the pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, VA, and served as the presbytery Moderator in 2004.  Teng was born in Hong Kong and has lived in the United States since he was 18.  He says “I look at myself as a product of Presbyterian mission,” and he is a fourth-generation Presbyterian pastor.  This echoes his vision for the church where he is quoted as saying that the PC(USA) needs to “go back to the basics.”  Later in the article there is a quote where he elaborates on this saying “there needs to be someone who could stand up and remind our church
what its primary calling is, and that is to go back to the basics, to
put our emphasis on mission and evangelism.”

In other business, there are three more overtures now posted on the 218th business web site for a total of 16.  Two of these are social witness actions.  Overture 014 directs the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy to develop a new, comprehensive, AIDS and HIV policy.  The other, 015, endorses a movement know as “Publish what you Pay” which would have corporations in the “extractive industries” (oil, gas, minerals) in developing countries publish a full accounting of their finances so that corrupt practices would be visible on their balance sheets.  The third overture, 016, asks the GA to receive the report of the Form of Government Task Force and then declare a two year (or more) period for the church to study it rather than dealing with it quickly in the single GA.  It is important to remember that the GA can make changes to the rewrite of the Form of Government, but once sent out for presbytery approval, presbyteries can only vote the changes up or down, they can not modify the document.

At this point I expect a bit of a quiet period in announced GA business during the Advent Season, but things will heat up again as we enter Ordinary Time after Christmas since many presbyteries vote on their GA commissioners in January.  And yes, my son will be a candidate for YAD at one of those meetings.

PUP Report and Ordination Standards: Nothing has changed?

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In the wake of the adoption of the report from the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity (PUP) by the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) we heard a lot about how “the standards have not changed.”  For example: coverage of a press conference, a pastoral letter from the Moderator and Stated Clerk, and the Stated Clerk’s new  Advisory Opinion issued following the General Assembly all state that as a fact.

Now a new high-profile case is coming before a presbytery as a result of the passage of the PUP Report.  The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area has called a special presbytery meeting for Saturday December 1 to consider the request of Mr. Paul Capetz to have his ordination as a minister of word and sacrament reinstated.  Mr. Capetz requested, and was granted release from the exercise of ordained office back in May 2000 and the presbytery’s Stated Clerk has confirmed that at the time no charges were pending.  Back in 2000 Mr. Capetz could not affirm the newly adopted Amendment B which inserted G-6.0106b into the Book of Order.  Now with the passage of the PUP report Mr. Capetz writes in his request for reinstatement:

In the meantime, however, a possibility then unforeseen by me has been opened up by the decision of the 217th General Assembly (2006) to approve the recommendations of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church as an “authoritative interpretation” of section G-6.0108 of the Book of Order.

He continues on later in his request:

Since the church has now seen fit to find a way beyond the impasse occasioned by the incorporation of G-6.0106b into the Book of Order, I have prayerfully discerned that it is appropriate for me at this time to request of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area my reinstatement as a minister member.

Clearly something has changed.  Mr. Capetz explicitly says so.  The word from the top of the PC(USA) says that the standards have not changed.  So has the process changed?  Has the understanding of the standards changed?  Really the question is, if there are “standards” but they are no longer considered standard, what are they?  Why were they put, and continue to remain, in the Book of Order.  Unfortunately, I don’t think we are being honest with anyone when we say that the standards have not changed.  In the strict sense that the Book of Order has not been changed, that is true.  But in reality, to me, when the application and understanding of the standards has changed the standards have effectively changed.

Lest you think this is semantics, or that the PC(USA) is alone, just look at the current top controversy in the PCA with the Federal Vision theology.  Louisiana Presbytery is facing a church trial on charges that they failed to properly apply that denomination’s “standards” in the theological examination of a minister member.

I would like to commend the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area for the process that they will be undertaking at their special meeting.  Numerous documents are available on their special meeting web site and the docket clearly shows the discernment process they will be going through.  The landscape has changed and they are undertaking the process as the authoritative interpretation directs.

I will be interested to hear about the experience of the discernment process and the outcome.  For advance coverage of the meeting there is an article on the Layman Online as well as a post by Toby Brown on Classical Presbyterian.  At the moment that is all the other coverage I can find.

Looking Ahead: 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA)

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For a GA Junkie, two years is a long time to wait.  While the webcast of the Church of Scotland GA goes a long way to helping me get my fix of polity and politics, there is nothing like your own General Assembly to really satisfy the cravings.  So, with a little over seven month to go until the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) kicks off in San José, California, what can we look forward to?

The first item is that the web site is up and running and beginning to be populated.  Now, it takes some real detective work to find the web site because I did not see any links on the major front pages for it.  In fact, in looking for it I found that the Office of the General Assembly General Assembly page still lists the 216th in 2004 as the last one there is information for and the 217th in 2006 in Birmingham is still “upcoming.”  The best way to find the 218th page that I have found is to look for the coverage of the Stated Clerk search.

Speaking of which, that is the major news that I have seen to date.  I don’t think anything has changed there since my “ Want to be a Stated Clerk?” post.  Nominations/Applications are due December 23.  I have not caught wind of any “announced candidates” yet.

A major item, probably the one that will mark this GA, is the report of the Form of Government Task Force (FOG) and the proposed re-write of the Book of Order.  Here there is plenty of action and that web page is loaded.  So loaded that I am still trying to find time to digest it all and figure out what the proposed changes really mean.  This makes me wonder if the commissioners will have time to reflect upon it or will depend on the interpretations from various groups and individuals.  The presentation by FOG will probably be very important in the commissioners decision.  Again, I have not heard much buzz about whether people like or dislike the rewrite and I’ll probably be spending some down time in December digesting it myself.

An always closely watched item are the overtures to GA.  At the present time there are 13 overtures posted.

Of these, three overtures (001, 003, and 013) that deal with the status of churches:  Two form union churches and one transfers a congregation into a Korean non-geographic presbytery.  The union churches seem to be good news/bad news as I read them.  For 001, this appears to be a joint church-plant in Wyoming by the PC(USA) and the ELCA.  The other, 013, in central New York could be interpreted as a PC(USA) and UMC church joining forces to continue ministry in the face of declining membership.  Finally, 003, the transfer of a church to a Korean presbytery, and there are continuing rumors of a push for a Korean synod, even though at one point language presbyteries were to be phased out. 

Overture 004 appears to be a bit of housekeeping to clarify a point in the Rules of Discipline about pronouncing censure.  This may have resulted from some questions that arose in a PJC case I was peripherally involved in and that I had offered to overture from my presbytery.

And overture 002 asks to reinstate the annual mission season offering.

There are the usual overtures about speaking out on national and world situations: 006 on Peace and Justice in Palestine and Israel, 012 on Calling for Tolerance and Peaceful relations between Christian and Muslim Communities, and 008 on the Church Addressing Intergenerational Injustice in America.

Finally, the balance of the overtures address the PC(USA) internal issues, principally ordination standards.  With the success of last year’s Authoritative Interpretation (AI) in the PUP Report that provided a polity statement without Presbytery approval, many of these contain new authoritative interpretations.  One interesting approach is overture 010 from Beaver-Butler that would broaden the definitions of presbyteries and permit presbyteries based on theology. (The web page notes that they are awaiting a clarification about something from the presbytery.)  There is overture 005 which would completely rescind the action of the 217th GA regarding the PUP report. And then there is 011 which would strike G-6.0106b and issue an Authoritative Interpretation canceling all previous Interpretations and Guidance on ordination standards.  And in more moderate actions 009 proposes an AI that would apply to G-6.0108 indicating that Freedom of Conscience does not apply to the ordination standards of G-6.0106b.

An in an interesting move, the Presbytery of East Tennessee submits overture 007 that would have the Moderator announce each vote with the words:

As sisters and brothers in Christ, sharing our
common faith in, and allegiance to, Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
let us proceed to vote on the question before us.


As commissioner voting is just beginning it is a little bit early to start tracking Moderator candidates.  The one that I know of is the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow who, in modern style, announced in his blog on Friday that he would be asking his presbytery, San Francisco, to endorse him as a candidate for Moderator if they elected him as one of their commissioners.  I’m sure we’ll be hearing about more moderator candidates soon.  But in a similar vain, my son will be going before our session this month to ask to be endorsed as a candidate for Youth Advisory Delegate (YAD) from our presbytery.

Finally, I need to mention that the Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA) has their web site up and running at this time as well.

What matters to whom? Different Perspectives on the Controversies in the PCUSA

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I have found it interesting that over the last couple of months the same sentiment has been expressed by different leaders in different settings related to the current controversies in the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Specifically, these were both racial ethnic leaders, one Hispanic and one African-American, talking about what was important to them and their constituents.  Guess what, it is not the PUP Report and ordination standards.  It is issues of justice, empowerment, and church growth. The issues of ordination standards and homosexuality are “Anglo” issues.  It is not a priority in their congregations and constituencies.  There are other things that are more worthy of their valuable time.

Let me extend this a little bit.  Yes, I’m going to stick with ordination standards related issues here, specifically the departure of churches from the PCUSA to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.  Where does this fit in the grand scheme of things?

I’ll return to the 2006 denomination statistics published in the June issues of Perspectives.  In particular, I would note that in 2006 there were 56 congregations dissolved and only 6 dismissed.  I would also note that there were almost 28,000 members lost by certificate of transfer and about 102,000 just left.  Here in So. Cal. our presbytery has several churches hanging on by their fingernails and only one with any rumblings about leaving.  And a neighboring presbytery projects that at the current loss rate it will cease to exist in 20 years or less.

What this tells me is that the New Wineskins Association is not the only problem.  At the present time the chart from the Layman On-Line indicates 46 churches leaving.  We dissolved more churches last year than are trying to leave this year.  And while it is obvious that a church that gets dissolved will have few members and many of those leaving are larger and thriving, you still can not ignore the fact that about four times as many people just left the denomination than transferred out last year.

So what matters?  We can’t blame the New Wineskins movement alone for depleting our numbers.  We all need to carry the burden of reaching out the world around us with the Good News of Jesus Christ.