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Witherspoon membership letter |
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The Witherspoon Society
Presbyterians Working for Peace,
Justice,
& the Integrity of Creation
www.witherspoonsociety.org
[posted here 12-27-01]
The Rev. Trina Zelle, Membership Coordinator
Manhattan Presbyterian Church
1201 N. Piedras
El Paso, TX 79930
Phone (915) 855-8167
E-Mail: zellerev@earthlink.net
Dear Members and Friends,
I hope that you won't take more than a minute to decide to renew your
membership in the Witherspoon Society. It's your ongoing commitment that
maintains the Society's progressive witness so necessary to the
integrity of our denomination. But if you need some help deciding,
here's just a sampling of the good things that have happened because of
this unique company of progressive Presbyterians.
In 2001 the Witherspoon Society:
 | Supported the progressive cause at General by
offering pre-Assembly orientation
to Commissioners and monitoring all of GA committees and GA plenary
sessions. |
| Hosted our annual GA luncheon. Speakers included James
Hudnut-Beumler, Dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School who
explained his "regulatory agency" model of contemporary
American denominational life. He sees that "our denominational
meetings and processes have become, too often, exercises in
attempting to compel and control where we no longer trust our
abilities to convince." (Read more about it in the Summer 2001 NetworkNews.); |
| Issued a "Call
to Civility" from Ghost Ranch in August. In part the call
says "...We appeal to the church to exhibit the fruits of the
Spirit -- love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness,
generosity faithfulness and self-control -- which find their
roots in Jesus Christ." Currently Witherspoon, the Presbyterian
Peace Fellowship Executive Committee, several congregations and over
150 individuals have endorsed this call. See the full text on the
Witherspoon website (www.witherspoonsociety.org). |
| With the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship co-sponsored
a Ghost Ranch seminar on
economic globalization and militarism. |
| Expanded our contact base at seminaries to support
and nurture progressive seminary students. At this year's GA we
sponsored two seminary interns to work with us, one of whom
continues to do recruitment activity on our behalf. |
In 2002 the Society is looking forward to:
| Sponsoring a
series of regional conferences marking the 35th anniversary of
the Confession of 1967 to explore the continuing importance of that
document to our life and witness. With so much emphasis on the Book
of Confessions it is critical that Presbyterians understand them
both in context and content; |
| Expanding the number of local and regional chapters
of the Society; |
| Strengthening the scope and number of seminary
chapters of the Society; |
| Witnessing at General Assembly, as we do each year,
with Commissioner Orientation, committee oversight and support,
testifying at committee hearings and collaborating with other
progressive groups; seeing a lot of you at our annual luncheon and
listening to thought-provoking remarks from our featured speakers. |
| Planning for the 30th Anniversary celebration of
the Witherspoon Society in 2003; |
| And of course, there's always the GA Witherspoon
Dance! |
And Continuing To Do What the Witherspoon Society Always Does:
| Publishes quarterly the Network News with
its updates and analysis of our Church's issues and debates; |
| Maintains our Witherspoon web site (www.witherspoonsociety.org)
which keeps you even more current; and |
| Continues the work of progressive witness to bring
healing and justice to our church. |
As usual, we're doing a lot. That's because we're driven by a love for
the PCUSA and a passion for justice. Thanks to your involvement and
support, we'll continue to get a lot done.
In the spirit of God's Shalom,
Trina Zelle
Membership Coordinator
To renew your membership - or to become a new member! - just use the
convenient on-line membership form, OR
mail in the return envelope in the center of your latest issue of Network
News, with your check for the appropriate amount.
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GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly are now being sent to the presbyteries for their
action, to confirm or reject them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book
of Order.
We're providing resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest are:
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Amendment 10-A,
which would remove the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers. |
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Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. |
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Amendment
10-1, which would adopt the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. |
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If you like what
you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and
growing!
Please consider making a special
contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve
this service.
Click here to send a
gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.
Or send your check, made
out to "Presbyterian Voices for Justice" and marked "web site," to
our PVJ Treasurer:
Darcy Hawk
4007 Gibsonia Road
Gibsonia, PA 15044-8312 |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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