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I anticipated a relatively peaceful Assembly this year after
all the contentiousness of recent gatherings because of the human
sexuality issues that seemed never ever to go away. After last
year's passage of, depending on your point of view, the either
celebrated or notorious "Fidelity and Chastity" amendment, I
expected fairly smooth sailing. People were worn out from all
the wrangling and were searching for ways to put the battles
behind us. Yes, the differences still exist, but, for this year
at least, my feeling was that this would be the "Rodney King
Assembly" - in his words, "Can't we all just get along?" As the
psalmist says, "How very good and pleasant it is when
kindred...family - brothers and sisters in the Lord...live
together in unity!" Amen!!!
Others felt the same way. In approaching the Assembly, the
General Assembly agencies proposed that the church begin a six-year emphasis on the so-called "Great Ends of the Church." There
are six of them (that's why six years), and they are found in the
first chapter of our Book of Order(1):
Nothing the matter with those as a source of unity (more
about them later). For further emphasis on the unity theme, a
special pre-assembly conference was held on the day prior to the
assembly opening. The focus was on the issues that unite us
rather on those that divide. It was called COMMON GROUND.
Actual business got underway on Saturday afternoon with a
traditional time of orientation for the 570 Commissioners. Since
90% of them have never ever been to a General Assembly, they need
instruction concerning committee work, voting procedures,
parliamentary concerns, and so on and so on and so on. The first
"work" of the Assembly is the election of a Moderator on Saturday
evening - there were three candidates this year, each nominated
by his or her Presbytery. After a period of nominating speeches,
then questions from the floor, Elder Patricia Brown of Cincinnati
was elected. A good choice, as it turned out - Pat ran the
meetings with grace and good humor all week long, and will
represent us well as the GA Moderator in the coming year.
The highlight of Sunday at the Assembly is always worship.
It always lasts at least two hours, and this year ran two hours
and twenty-five minutes. All the Presbyterian churches in
Syracuse and surrounding areas moved their worship to the
assembly site (as will be the case next year when the Assembly
meets in Charlotte - and, yes, I anticipate we will go), so 11-12,000 people gathered in an arena that was not designed to
accommodate that number. I ended up standing the whole time.
The preacher was outgoing Moderator John Buchanan who used
the Ephesians text we read a moment ago. Citing Paul, he asked,
"Is there a more passionate plea than this?...`I therefore, a
prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the
calling to which you are called, with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace.'"
"Paul's thought has lately taken wing," he said. "Now he
believes that in Jesus Christ, God has started a new creation, a
new humanity. In Christ, God - with a plan before the ages -
intends to heal divisions, break down walls of hostility, unite
all things. Paul soars as he sits in that miserable jail cell."
Buchanan told us the church is supposed to show the world
what God's new creation looks like. "It is, I propose, a lot
more difficult to maintain the unity than to walk away, to
destroy it." He asked, "Does it matter? Does unity of the
church matter as much as my conscience, my convictions, my
opinions which I increasingly believe are God's opinions as well?
Yes, it matters. It matters because Paul was right - whether we
like it or not - the church shows the world what God's new
creation looks like. And if what we show the world is a
fractured, broken, fragmented mess, that, I believe, is a major
failure, a very serious sin."(2)
And I say AMEN!
Assembly worship is always a mountaintop experience, but the
work goes on in valley of committee meetings. There were 17
committees this year, each with responsibility for some facet of
life in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Committee work at the
Assembly is always a challenge. Considering the inexperience of
most commissioners, it is "Rule by Rookies," aggravated by the
fact that these rookies were generally chosen by their
Presbyteries, because, among other things, they have strong
opinions and are not afraid to talk. To put forty or so of them
in a room and expect to get anything accomplished is a major act
of faith. But they do it, and guided by the Holy Spirit, they
generally do it well...and all within 72 hours.
Committee work takes up the first half of a General Assembly
week; plenary gatherings resume on Wednesday afternoon. Each of
the sessions begin with prayer and, often, a greeting from some
important ecumenical visitor. Wednesday's greeting came from the
Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa, Maake
Masango. He held up to us the necessity for overcoming divisions
(a most appropriate word for us) and used the struggle for racial
reconciliation in his own country following apartheid to
illustrate.
Masango asked in his richly-accented Southern African
English, Do you know the story of creation? It started on a
Monday morning. God put the ingredients for humanity into a pan
and placed them in the oven for cooking at 450 degrees. After
what should have been an appropriate amount of time, the pan was
removed, God looked...and was HORRIFIED! God said, "Look at
this...it's only HALF-BAKED. It's not done. It's PINK! Just
like CLIFF KIRKPATRICK [our fair-skinned Stated Clerk]. This
will never do."
So God began the process all over again the next day -
ingredients, pan, oven at 450 once more. This time, God resolved
to let the process go a bit longer, but, as things sometime
happen, God became involved with other pursuits, admiring the
plants and flowers, caring for the animals. Suddenly, God
remembered the oven, dashed back, opened the door, and exclaimed
(if you can imagine God doing this), "OH, MY GOD! It is OVER-COOKED! Just like ISAIAH JONES [our dark-chocolate African-American song leader]. Whatever shall I do?" And the decision
was made to let them BOTH comprise humanity.
Now, here we are, eons later, the half-baked and the over-cooked, both from the same source. Masango described some of the
pain of getting past the horrors of racial divisions as the Truth
& Reconciliation Commission held hearings into past atrocities,
and the half-baked and the over-cooked ARE making progress
(which, he suggested, should encourage Presbyterian proponents
and opponents of the Fidelity & Chastity Amendment to get over
our divisions which pale in comparison to those faced in his
nation).
Speaking of that infamous amendment, the Assembly Committee
on the Book of Order stunned us all by proposing a rewrite...even
before the first one has had a chance to take effect. In an
effort to offer more moderate language, the committee suggested
the following:
The language of the revision is, in my view, much less
strident and much more grace-filled than the amendment it is
proposed to replace. The assembly agreed - after impassioned
debate, by the three-to-two margin (greater than last year's
which passed the original amendment), the new language will be
sent to Presbyteries for ratification. Moderation.
In the only other "stunner," the Assembly, despite the
recommendation of its Social Justice and Witness Committee,
decided to say a word about so-called "partial birth abortions."
An overture had come from Huntingdon Presbytery taking a strong
stand opposing all such procedures as immoral; the Assembly
Committee recommended that it be disapproved because in some few
cases the procedure is really necessary. But three commissioners
on the committee refused to let the issue die - they offered a
minority report saying such a dreadful choice is "not morally
acceptable."
No doubt, the majority, had it insisted, could have won --
and forced the body to remain silent on this agonizing choice:
but spurred by the minority, they worked for a solid hour to add
a word, change a word, delete a word, amendment, amendment,
amendment...instead of "not morally acceptable," they settled on
"of grave moral concern." By a vote of 409 to 98 they adopted
the amended minority report, which refused to leave us silent in
face of such dreadful choices, and offers our church's help to
families faced with this dilemma, no matter how many or how few
they be. Moderation.
Some 700 items of business came to the assembly. Most were
routine, non-controversial. The Board of Pensions gave our
retired workers a 6% raise. The year 2000 was named the Year of
the Child, during which children's issues will receive special
Presbyterian emphasis. The Assembly viewed a video introducing
the new national media campaign and voted to explore television
advertisement for both national and local markets, all in an
effort to stanch our annual net loss of some 35,000 members. A
mission budget of $116.5-million for 1998 (a $600,000 decrease
from '97). Ecumenical involvements were reaffirmed - after all,
even old John Calvin once said he would "cross even ten seas" in
the cause of Christian unity.(3) In an historic vote, a closer
relationship with the Lutheran Church was established (which, as
a graduate of a Lutheran seminary, did my heart good). The
Assembly decided to establish a new office in Louisville to
handle business affairs. The name as originally proposed was the
National Office of Finance and Technology (NOFAT). With warm-hearted wisdom, the name was changed to the Technology and
Finance Office (TAFO) when a commissioner pointed out that the
job would be hard enough without everyone laughing at the place.
Oh yes, the Great Ends of the Church referred to earlier
were indeed chosen for special denominational emphasis in
reaffirmation of our unity. However, instead of a six-year
emphasis, it is pared down to two years (three Great Ends per
year). No doubt, the argument that swayed at least some votes
was from a Youth Advisory Delegate who came to the microphone and
said, "Six years? In six years, I'll be 23! I can't IMAGINE
what that's like!" I wanted to yell to her, "Some of us can't
REMEMBER what that's like, dear." A friend of mine and I were
watching the debate together and he mentioned that a commissioner
acquaintance, reflecting on the good food in the group meals
(which I found hard to believe), said that if it keeps up, HIS
will be one of the great ends of the church.
The 209th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
History now. For the most part, it was a "Rodney King - Can't we
all just get along" Assembly. And I am glad. As one of the
morning worship leaders reminded us, the church is to be like a
nest...a bird's nest, where there is nurture and love and care,
not a hornet's nest, where people are always getting stung. "How
very good and pleasant it is when kindred...family - brothers and
sisters in the Lord...live together in unity!"
John Buchanan was right - the VISIBLE unity of the church is
important for our witness. People on the outside see us - not
just the big old Presbyterian Church, but you and me as well - as
exemplars of the Kingdom of God. If we are fractured by
theological differences, political differences, stylistic
differences, or even personality differences, we seriously damage
the witness of the church. The Apostle Paul's message is GET
OVER IT! "There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as you were
called to the ONE hope of your calling, ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE
baptism, ONE God and Father of all, who is above all and through
all and in all..." That is our COMMON GROUND, and as Paul
continued, "we must GROW UP in every way into him who is the
head, into Christ..."
Let us pray.
O God, we are grateful to be a part of your church, and in
particular, this branch of the faithful called Presbyterian.
Help us to overcome divisions and heal breaches so that the world
will see our unity and understand our witness. We pray in the
name of Jesus. Amen!
1. G-1.0200 2. Bill Lancaster, "Sunday Morning Opening Worship Service," General Assembly News Service, 6/16/97 3. Quoted by Clifton Kirkpatrick & William Hopper, What Unites Presbyterians: Common
Ground for Troubled Times, (Louisville: Geneva Press, 1997), p. 8
Those who are called to office in the church are to
lead a life in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the
authority of Scripture and instructed by the historic
confessional standards of the church. Among these
standards is the requirement to demonstrate fidelity
and integrity in marriage or singleness, and in all
relationships of life. Candidates for ordained office
shall acknowledge their own sinfulness, their need for
repentance, and their reliance on the grace and mercy
of God to fulfill the duties of their office.
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