| |
This
page offers "headlines" and links to stories relating to the
Presbyterian Church, from December 2000 through March 2001. |
The
latest reports on voting in the
presbyteries on Amendment O, which would ban the blessing on holy
unions, are on a page all their own. |
For our most recent
posts on the PC(USA) >>
For archived posts on the Presbyterian Church
(USA):
|
If
you're looking for a calm, reasonable presentation of the
meaning of the defeat of Amendment O, you might borrow from a
presentation by the Rev. James D. Brown, former Executive Director of
the General Assembly Council, to his congregation in Harrisburg,
PA [3-21-01] |
What's
happening with Amendment
A?? [3-16-01] |
Other
groups comment on the defeat of Amendment O
[3-19-01]
Presbyterian-related organizations have responded in different ways to
last week's deciding (but not final!!) votes on Amendment O. We
provide links to some of them comments, and summarize some major points. |
Voices
of Sophia gathers at the border [3-19-01]
The annual Voices of Sophia Gathering held in Tucson,
Arizona from March 1-4, was a great success, drawing record attendance
especially from young people. Focusing on the theme, "Wisdom on the
Border," participants explored the challenge of transforming our
land from one of frontiers and borders that lead to oppression to one in
which justice prevails. |
We
have a new page listing all available information on overtures
to the 213th General Assembly. The official GA website has begun listing
overtures, but so far just nine (along with some
concurring overtures) are on the list, with links to the text of each
one. Texts of detailed rationales and advisory opinions will be
added later. [3-16-01]
And keep an eye on our page
for the General Assembly in ... well, in general. |
Doug
Nave sees many hopeful elements in the
defeat of Amendment O [3-15-01]
Witherspoon member Doug Nave sent this note soon after
the deciding votes were reported that meant the rejection of Amendment
O. After analyzing the
patterns of voting, he considers some of the implications
of the debate thus far, and urges continued efforts for the remaining
presbytery votes.
His conclusion: "It really is time to remember
the fundamental reasons why we're a church, to stop debating sex and
start doing service." |
Thoughts
on blessing: As the voting on Amendment O,
which would ban the blessing of holy unions, draws toward an end, Dr.
Sarah Melcher, a Presbyterian pastor now teaching Hebrew Scriptures at
Xavier University in Cincinnati, offers deeply biblical reflections on
"blessing." She concludes: "Nothing in the
biblical text encourages us, as sinners before God, to limit our
blessings to only those who fulfill our human notion of righteousness.
Without Christ, none of us are righteous before God." [3-13-01] |
The
Reformed understanding of the freedom
of conscience has been discussed as presbyteries have debated
Amendment O, but is a matter of far broader import. For one thing,
numerous overtures to the 213th General Assembly deal with
G-6.0106b on the basis of conscience. Dr. Sarah Melcher looks at
Calvin's Institutes to help us consider this issue. [3-13-01] |
Second Presbyterian Coalition/Covenant
Network Bible study touches on divorce, women's ordination and biblical
authority [3-12-01]
According to a first
report from Outlook's Leslie Scanlon, five representatives of
groups opposing ordination of gays and lesbians, and five from groups
urging ordination, met on March 9 and 10 to continue the discussion
initiated during the 2000 General Assembly.
We also have a report from Presbyterian
News Service. [3-13-01]
|
Three Christians hailed for combining
deep spirituality and action for justice
Prof. Albert C. Winn, in a lecture at Louisville
Presbyterian Theological Seminary, explored the lives of three
extraordinary Christian writers who in his mind exemplify the ideal
balance between "deep spirituality" on the one hand and
"radical social concern" on the other: Quaker
abolitionist John Woolman,
Trappist monk Thomas Merton,
and Elizabeth O'Connor,
leader in an ecumenical congregation and activist. [3-8-01] |
GAC
member Cathy Cummings Chisholm
comments on the recent meeting, seeing greater unity than in recent
years.
[3-6-01] |
We
now have one page linking to all our reports on the General
Assembly Council meeting in Louisville, Feb. 19-24, 2001. |
Web
site created on Auburn Affirmation
The recently established Silicon Valley chapter of the Witherspoon
Society has been busy, among other things discussing the Auburn
Affirmation of 1923 as a possible framework for dealing responsibly with
present tensions in the Presbyterian Church. [3-6-01] |
Stated
Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick shared with GAC his expectation of what will
be the "top 10 issues" at the
coming General Assembly.
[3-2-01] |
Barbara
Kellam-Scott, a Presbyterian elder and moderator of Semper Reformanda,
is a professional writer. Out of that experience she does a careful
analysis of the Jan/Feb 2001 issue of The
Presbyterian Layman. Asserting that information
matters, she urges that we take seriously the
"misinformation" that is so influential in our church.
[3-3-01]
|
More
reports on the GAC meeting last week in Louisville: [3-2-01]
 | Presbyterian News Service
provided a summary of the final
actions of the Council. |
 | Responding to protests from the
Right, the GAC affirmed the lordship
of Christ, and asserted the freedom of Presbyterians to express
their views at GAC-sponsored event. |
 | Parker Williamson of The Layman
immediately distributed a statement
protesting the action, and asserting that "Presbyterians
are no longer obliged to follow"
the leadership of GAC. |
 | GAC adopts $136 million
budget for '02, and accepted John Detterick's plan to shift
funds into mission program areas
considered "high-impact" |
 | GAC received a report on the success of the Jubilee
2000 campaign, applauding the role played by Presbyterians. A
video about the debt-relief campaign will go to Assembly. |
 | The Layman reports on GAC's receiving
of reports calling for studies
of reparations to people of color, and of the
"disenfranchisement of people of color in the United States'
electoral system." |
|
The
Rev. Robert Rogers comments on the
extreme reactions to Dirk Ficca's talk
at last summer's Peacemaking Conference, and decries the demands for
"false certitude." We are, he says, in danger of replacing the
living truth of Christ with a sinful attempt to claim possession of all
the answers. [2-26-01] |
The
Witherspoon Society has responded
positively (if not speedily) to the "Call
to the Church" issued by 113 middle governing body executives. [2-13-01] |
Barbara
Kellam-Scott, the Moderator of Semper Reformanda, has sent an open
letter to Mr. John Detterick, Executive Director of the General
Assembly Council, as the GAC meeting continues in Louisville. {2-24-01] |
Responding
to a statement by Korean Presbyterians in support of Amendment O, More
Light, Shower of Stoles, and That All May Freely Serve call
for dialogue with National Korean Presbyterian Council. [2-24-01] |
Eleven
congregations in Hudson River Presbytery have sent letters
of dissent to their presbytery, affirming their intention to be
truly inclusive even if that means violating G-6.0106b, the "purity
and chastity" amendment. [2-15-01] |
Eight
Presbyterians will be gathering this weekend in Baltimore to consider updating
the Auburn Affirmation,
which responded to the doctrinal debates of the 1920s by rejecting any
narrow definition of the theological principles that undergird the
denomination and ended over a decade of dominance by fundamentalists.
[2-8-01] |
The
Presbytery of Santa Fe has passed two overtures, one
calling for freedom of conscience
in dealing with G-6.0106b, the other for the granting
of waivers to congregations that "cannot
apply the requirements of G-6.0106b justly and equitably."
The Layman offers a different view,
that conscience must not be left
free. |
The
Presbyterian Partnership of Conscience reports a growing movement
calling for a second Affirmation in
the tradition of the original Auburn Affirmation. |
Heartland
Presbytery has approved an overture
to the 213th General Assembly to replace G-6.0106(b) with an affirmation
of the responsibility of sessions and presbyteries in matters of
ordination. [1-31-01] |
The
Presbyterian Health, Education, and Welfare Association (PHEWA), at its
national gathering in Nashville, focused on a broad range of social
issues, and especially child poverty. The group also
considered items of "business,"
and was critical of the current pressure for "priorities" in
PCUSA budgeting. [1-31-01] |
Marcia
Towers, a mission volunteer in El
Salvador, has sent an update report on relief efforts there, two
weeks after the earthquake, as the focus shifts to rebuilding.
She notes too how differently different
churches try to make sense of what has happened. [1-30-01] |
Presbyterian
Church joins partners in rushing aid to quake-devastated
India. [1-30-01] |
The
Presbytery of the Twin Cities area at its meeting on January 13,
endorsed Sandra Hawley, an elder from
Bloomington, Minn, and former member of GAC, as a nominee for moderator
of the 213th General Assembly. (2001). |
MRTI
committee urges PC(USA) to dump stock in oil company exploiting
war-ravaged Sudan
Members explore teeming settlement on Arizona-Mexico border through
visit to BorderLinks' Casa de Misericordia |
Advisory
Committee on Social Witness Policy
completes work on major policy paper on domestic violence, drops
recommendation for a domestic Violence Office
Other ACSWP papers making their way to General Assembly include
resolutions on small
arms control, Year of Mobilization
against Racism, Year of Dialogue
Among Civilizations, caregiving
for older adults, and U.N. special session on "The
Future of the Child in the 21st Century" |
Former
General Assembly stated clerk William P.
Thompson will be given the Lazarus Project's Lazarus Award Feb. 24 |
Albany
PJC rules in favor of gay elder and congregation
[1-23-01]
The Permanent Judicial Commission of Albany Presbytery
has upheld the ruling of its executive committee, and thus has allowed
an elder of West End Presbyterian Church in Albany, Scott M. Edwards, to
continue serving on Session even though he is gay.
The ruling was on narrow grounds that the complaint
sought "relief," which is not within the power of the PJC to
grant. Thus broader issues of ordination, and the possibilities of
appeals and other actions, remain open.
Click
here for a more complete report by Jim Tiefenthal for That All May
Freely Serve |
How
do we interpret scripture? The PC(USA) web site has
published a paper by Harry W. Eberts Jr., a retired Presbyterian pastor,
who offers a quick survey of the evolving guidelines our forebears have
set forth for the interpreting of scripture. It might offer some help in
our current debates. |
The
Rev. Francis Pritchard spoke recently to the Presbytery of San Diego, raising
prophetic questions: Has this debate on
Amendment O saved one soul? Or made
our witness stronger in our society or around the world? |
A
Presbyterian student reports on the
quake in El Salvador -- as one who is there |
PJC
hears case against an allegedly gay Albany NY
elder |
The
Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, on Saturday, January 13, 2001, passed
two overtures dealing with G-6.0106(b), for consideration by the
213th General Assembly. |
Witherspooner
Karla Koll reports from Guatemala on the earthquake
in Central America |
Presbyterian
News Service has published a lengthy analysis of the significant roles
played by Presbyterians -- as a church and as individuals -- in
working for passage of the Jubilee debt relief measure. [1-15-01] |
San
Gabriel Presbytery endorses Jack
Rogers as Moderator of the 213th General Assembly.
Click here
for a more complete report from Presbyterian News Service. |
Three
Presbyterians join relief mission to
Baghdad.
Flight of 28 humanitarians defies U.S./U.N. economic sanctions. |
A
Lilly Endowment-funded nationwide study of local church excellence has
identified the 300 "outstanding
Protestant churches" in the United States, including 36
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations.
Your WebWeaver can't resist a
thought or two. |
Outlook
urges rejection of Amendment O as "bad polity"
[1-5-01]
In the January 15 issue of Presbyterian Outlook, editor Robert
Bullock has joined with William Stacy Johnson to
recommend the Amendment O should be rejected by the presbyteries --
partly as an "act of unity" on an issue about which
Presbyterians are still not of one mind, and also because the amendment
is "unnecessary."
Click here for more,
and for a link to the full editorial on the Outlook web site.
Responding
to the Outlook statement, Barbara
Kellam Scott adds that Amendment O also restricts pastoral freedom,
as well as the freedom of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender people. |
Presbyterian
group opposes gun controls
[1-5-01]
An e-mail note came to your WebWeaver recently,
informing him of the existence of a Presbyterian group he had somehow
never heard of before. You may want to read the note, or visit their web
site.
Presbyterians
for Gun Ownership
PGO was founded in 1996 in response to the PC(USA)'s
lobbying practices from the Washington Office in support of stricter gun
control laws, banning guns, registering and licensing of guns. As a
result of our efforts (all PC(USA) members) "over 750 letters and
calls, mostly opposed to the GA position, were received - this is more
than we received on any single issue before the church." That is a
quote by the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA). So I hope you will link to our
web page, which is a legitimate and fundamentalist renewal organization
dedicated to educating Presbyterians about the false data and other
misinformation being lobbied to Congress on our so-called behalf about
gun violence and gun control.
http://members.home.net/223bthp/PGO
Thank you,
Jack Painter
Co-founder, PGO |
Nominations
are being sought for Restorative Justice
Award, with a deadline of March 15, 2000. The
award honors Presbyterian individuals or groups who are making
outstanding contributions to direct-service ministries or to advocacy
efforts to change the criminal justice system in the U.S. |
The
Presbyterian Forum offers an analysis of what's wrong with the PC(USA),
and what they hope to change.
The Presbyterian Review,
an on-line expression of the conservative Presbyterian Forum, is
presenting an end-of-the-year review which is focusing on the
Presbyterian Church as "the institution, not local
congregations." Some themes are suggested here which may indicate
issues that we will be hearing more about in the coming months.
Click here for a little more analysis.
Click here to go directly to the Presbyterian Review web site. |
113
Executive and General Presbyters have issued a
Call to the Church to seek a "third way" that does not
create "winners and losers," but works to realize the peace,
unity and purity of the church.
The
Witherspoon Society has responded
positively (if not speedily) to the "Call
to the Church." [2-13-01]
Covenant
Network has stated its support for the Call to the Church,
affirming that the dialogue it seeks can best happen in presbyteries.
More
Light Presbyterians have stated their support for the Call to the
Church, calling for a dialogue which "
The
Presbyterian Coalition -- or at least five individual members of
that conservative group -- has offered its response to the recent
"Call to the Church" from over a hundred executive
presbyters and others. Their answer, in brief,
appears to be "Nyet." The Bible stands as the sole source of
knowledge for them, and no further discussion seems to be a
possibility.
|
A
reader comments on A Moment to Decide on amazon.com
Reviewer questions the lack of response from moderates and progressives
to attacks from the right. |
Presbyterians
Together, a coalition formed for the purpose of passing
Amendment O, is distributing a packet of materials in support of their
case. Rollin Kirk, pastor of North Presbyterian Church, St. Paul,
Minnesota, offered comments on the material. |
The
Tampa Bay chapter of Witherspoon Society has sent a letter to
members of their presbytery, urging them to reject Amendment O partly
to send "a message to our children," that (among other things)
"we publicly support those who, in the covenant tradition of our
faith, wish to make a public commitment of fidelity to the person they
love." |
The
address by Dirk Ficca at the Peacemaking Conference, from which all the
uproar started, is now available here -- edited from its original oral
presentation for better reading. Click
here to read "Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a Diverse
World."
The
Rev. Donald Smith,
|
At
least five Presbyterians were among more than 1,700 protesters arrested
in Columbus, Georgia, on Nov. 19 for taking part in a campaign to force
the federal government to close the U.S. Army School
of the Americas (SOA) at nearby Fort Benning. |
Atlanta
presbytery calls for change in state flag
12-5-00
The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta has joined local Episcopal and ELCA
bodies in calling on the state legislature to change the state flag,
which includes the Confederate battle emblem, added to the flag in 1956
as a symbol of resistance to court-ordered integration.
The Rev. Kirby Lawrence Hill, pastor of Lithonia
Presbyterian Church, is quoted as saying that "One of the basic
stories that Christians and Jews share is the account of God's
deliverance of his people from slavery. Our state flag bears the symbol
of an effort to keep some of God's people enslaved."
Click
here for the full story from the Atlanta Constitution.
Thanks to John Rakestraw, whose onReligion.com
led the way to this story. |
Peaks
Presbytery executive Andy Sale joins
Colorado elder Nancy Maffett as candidate to lead 213th General Assembly |
Nineteen
former Moderators of the G.A. -- well over half of all living former
Moderators -- have recently issued a
Pastoral Letter to the Church, urging rejection of Amendment 00-O,
the "ministry gag order," as a serious infringement on the
rights and responsibilities of pastors and sessions to provide
appropriate worship and pastoral care for their congregations.
|
Talking
about the Trinity while being faithful to the insights of feminism and
of tradition
In conjunction with the recent series of discussions on the Trinity,
sponsored by the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship, the National
Association of Presbyterian Clergywomen and the Womens Ministries
Program Area held a conference on the nature of the Trinity at Plaza
Resolana en Santa Fe, September 21-24, 2000.
One of the speakers, Aurelia Fule, addressed the topic of "The
Trinity in Theology and Worship." She takes seriously both feminist
concerns about patriarchal language, and ecumenical relations with
churches that have trouble accepting changes in baptismal formulas and
other language about God.
We are proud to offer the full text of her paper here, with thanks to
Dr. Fule for her cooperation and willingness to share the fruits of her
work. |
The
Witherspoon Society is committing itself for the next three years to an
in-depth exploration of what it might mean to be a "whole
Gospel congregation." This understanding will reach beyond
the popular tendency to split "evangelism" from
"service," and to reduce our faith to an individualistic way
of "salvation." Board member Kent Winters-Hazelton writes
about plans for a consultation in May of 2001, moving toward larger
events later on. |
For
more news notes and links to longer stories, from July through early
December, 2000, click here. |
For
reports on the controversy over the Peacemaking Conference (Summer,
2000) and
statements by speaker Dirk Ficca, click
here. |
For reports and comments on the
212th General Assembly (2000)
click here |
The Washington Office -- the best-kept
secret in the PC(USA)?
How to make use of it! |
For our most recent
posts on the PC(USA) >>
For archived posts on the Presbyterian Church
(USA):
|
There's more news in these areas: |
Women's
Ministries
|
Sexual
Justice |
The
Religious Right
|
Covenant
Network
|
Ecumenical
Relations
|
|
|
| |
|
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:
 |
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. |
 |
Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. |
 |
Amendment
10-1, which would adopt the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. |
|
|
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 |
|
Some blogs worth visiting |
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
|
|