Commissioners report on their GA experiences
The Layman, September 6, 2012
Across the country, commissioners to this summer’s 220th General Assembly are reporting their experiences to the presbyteries that sent them to the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s biennial meeting.
The 2012 assembly was held June 30-July 7 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Below are excerpts from some of the commissioner reports that have been made public:
From the Presbytery of Beaver Butler:
- Teaching Elder Commissioner Tony Catullo: “So many rainbows and not one pot of gold. This General Assembly was one huge rainbow in search of a pot of gold which was nowhere to be found. Indeed that pot of gold [seemed] nothing more than a chimera, a myth, it just didn’t exist. The myth that so many were so terribly intent on pursuing was that there really is a way to hold the denomination together, to somehow get past our differences and get on with the work of the church. A wonderful idea, but then there were all those rainbows; strange that so many people would be wearing knit rainbow scarves when the temperature in the Steel City was threatening to break into triple digits but wear them, and wear them proudly, they did. The tone was set right from the outset. The most blatantly egregious example of the rainbow was at the opening worship. The Liturgical dancers exercised their prerogative by wearing rainbow stoles but the rainbow scarf draped over the cross and the rainbow throw on the communion table were absolutely abominable. If there is any one time and place for us to transcend our political and theological conflicts surely it is in worship; but throughout this assembly worship was used, and used hamfistedly, to advance an agenda. All throughout the assembly those of us who hold to an additional view of the Bible’s word about our sexuality were told we were barring others from Christ, we were Pharisaical in our treatment of others, and devoid of Christian compassion. The nadir was when the Executive Presbyter of New York Presbytery, a self-avowed and proudly practicing gay man preached to us on Friday morning. Perhaps it was simply coincidence we were to address the issue of same-sex marriage that very afternoon, but if you believe that there’s a bridge in New York for sale. To be fair there was one evangelical preacher, but that is the exception that proves the rule. … perhaps the most insidious thing coming to light during the plenaries was the spurious and specious notion that any one interpretation of Scripture was as good as any other; Scripture, it seems, is captive to our subjectivity. Along with Scripture the confessions were reduced to the status of guidelines, and broad guidelines at that.”
From the Presbytery of the James:
- Teaching Elder Commissioner James C. Goodloe IV: “ … I invite you to consider the implications of what I observed: First (1), in the opening worship service, dancing girls wore rainbow stoles and swirled rainbow ribbons. Some singers in the massed choir wore rainbow stoles. The communion table was covered with a rainbow cloth, and a cross was draped in rainbow cloths. This crass promotion of a political agenda was a horrible and offensive abuse of what should have been worship of God. Second (2), a candidate for vice-moderator had violated the constitution of the church by performing a wedding service for two women. The candidate for moderator who had nominated her declined to withdraw his nomination. The Assembly elected them both. This disregard for the church’s constitution on the part of its two highest officers and on the part of the Assembly as a whole suggests that we have reached the end of constitutional government in the church. … the stated clerk advised, the moderator ruled, and the Assembly concurred that our creeds, catechisms, and confessions of faith have nothing to do with governing the life of the church … the Book of Order (only Part II of the Constitution) does not have to agree with, or conform to, The Book of Confessions on anything! This decision is now a matter of record. It was a sad day in the life of the church. Thus we have reached the end of all propriety, constitutionality, common sense, and consistency. We are no longer a duly constituted church. Instead, we are governed by feelings and power.”
From Miami Valley Presbytery
· Ruling Elder Commissioner Joy Craiglow: “It was Friday afternoon, and we had just spent three solid hours listening to arguments for and against a recommendation to amend the Book of Order’s definition of marriage. There was no way we’d come to consensus over this issue, and everybody knew it. Thousands of participants’ nerves were frayed, and the tension in the room was so thick it would have taken a chainsaw to hack through it. [GA Moderator Neal Presa] recognized a yellow-paddled commissioner who called the question. It was finally time to vote. My prayers reached fever pitch as I waited for my ‘clicker’ to light up and tell me it was time to render my decision. And then the most extraordinary thing happened: the plug was pulled on the washtub of tension that I had spent the past six months filling. I personally experienced the ‘peace that passes understanding’ – the shalom that simply doesn’t make sense – as I meditated on three words that came to me: God is good. …I realized that no matter what the outcome of our vote ended up being, God would still be good. No matter what happens to the PCUSA, the EPC, the UMC, the SBC, or any of the other members of the denominational alphabet soup, God is still good. That day, in the words of Corrie Ten Boom, God gave me the strength and courage to trust an unknown future to a known God.’ And, of everything that I returned with from Pittsburgh, that’s what I hold most dearly.”
From the Presbytery of Middle Tennessee:
· Ruling Elder Commissioner Sallie Guy: “I was grateful to have been a small part of the whole Presbyterian body, all with a desire to ascertain God’s will. There would be opposite views, but the emphasis was on our ‘oneness’ … Four hours of debate ensued in connection with the report from the Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues, which disapproved the overture to redefine marriage as ‘between two people’ rather than ‘a man and a woman.’ This would have allowed pastors to marry same sex partners. Instead it recommended a serious study for two years by congregations and presbyteries on Christian Marriage. Another lengthy and emotional debate occurred over the recommendation by the Middle East Committee to divest ownership by the church of shares in Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, and Motorola since their products were being used against Palestinians. The most cogent argument against such action was that the U.S. and Israeli governments were responsible, not the companies who had no control over how their products were used. Divestment was disapproved, with a hope that positive investment in Palestine occur, but a boycott of Israeli products made in the west bank was approved.”
From the Presbytery of New Hope:
- Ruling Elder Commissioner Susan Mazzara: “Some decisions made by the assembly I find painful and difficult to support. But there is also much that happened there that I a
m grateful for: our new church hymnal; our willingness to speak out on behalf of children, the disabled, victims of sexual assault, those who have been ravaged by the mortgage crisis, immigrants, and the environment; our prayers with and for the Arab nations who are working for democracy; our invitation to ecumenical partners and their willingness to join in our deliberations, especially our Jewish, Muslim and Hindu brothers and sisters; our dedication to our tradition of connectionalism; our openness to new confessional statements; and our support for experimental churches that are finding new ways to worship and serve together.”
- Ruling Elder Commissioner Bill R. Leggett: “What I was not expecting to find was the large amount of interest on the part of parties outside the PCUSA. There were groups of people promoting their points of view on numerous subjects that were to be acted on by the commissioners to the General Assembly. Some groups were involved in promoting their views on divestment of Presbyterian funds from certain companies which they claimed were involved in promoting destruction of Palestinian interests in Israeli occupied territories. Some of these and others favored investment in Palestinian (both Christian and Arab) small business enterprises. Other groups maintained that divestment would damage the relationship between the PCUSA and Israeli/Jewish interests. Almost any overture to be addressed by the General Assembly had proponents and opponents actively engaged in seeking the commissioners’ consideration of their views.
From Salem Presbytery:
- Teaching Elder Commissioner Ben Trawick: “The assembly acted with a great deal of caution [on the marriage issue.] … It approved only a study to be sent out to presbyteries and sessions. Thus, the assembly neither changed nor reemphasized the current understanding of marriage. It sent the message: We will study and wait. … It is my fear that, apart from the context of a discussion and amendment vote as proposed by the committee, many sessions and presbyteries will choose not to discuss the marriage issue with the sense that it is too controversial, or ‘we already know what we think.’ They will opt to let the study fall by the wayside. My urging is, we must do this study. The assembly’s choice to take no action offers the benefit of a season to catch our breath but also assures that the next assembly will again face this topic. We remain, as a denomination, uncertain and divided on this issue. Meanwhile, the overwhelming vote of the [Young Adult Advisory Delegates] and [Theological Student Advisory Delegates] shows that they are in a very different place. Their message through conversation and advisory vote was ‘This thirty year fight in the PCUSA is not our fight. It is time for the church to quit infighting, move forward, and focus on mission.’ My personal opinion is that we are ‘on the clock’ with the next generation and that we ignore that voice at our peril.”
From the Presbytery of Western North Carolina:
- Teaching Elder Commissioner Bill Campbell: “The assembly was held in Pittsburgh’s central business district, a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, which comingle to become the Ohio River. So did two rivers of tradition and thought merge to create the forces that drove this national assembly. Currents of conservative and progressive theology flowed into committees and plenary sessions to create a mighty, and sometimes disjointed flow, often spinning off eddies and whirlpools of special interest that moved in incongruous directions …I noticed as the two great rivers of progressive and traditional theology fomented into a whirling mix over a brief few days. The post-assembly challenge is for us to keep the river in its banks that it might become a unified flow for the life of the church. Aware that this would be our task, the committee on which I served, Church Orders and Ministry, secured General Assembly endorsement in its call for us all to acknowledge ‘that faithful Presbyterians earnestly seeking to follow Jesus Christ hold different views about what the Scriptures teach concerning the morality of committed, same-gender relationships … the Presbyterian Church (USA) does not have one interpretation of Scripture in this matter.’ Conclusion: We will attempt to keep the riverbanks intact with our polity even if we are not well blended in our theology. One problem: History bears witness that this approach does not work. We are repeating the mistake of the ‘Fundamentalist/Modernist Controversy’ in the last 1920s. We cannot find true unity unless we delve deeper into relationships with each other and into a more faithful study of God’s Word. Too long have we debated issues of sexuality rather than come to deep understanding of God’s heart and mind on these matters. God calls us, not to debate, but to ministry. We are the church.”
- Teaching Elder Commissioner Riley Covin: “The challenge before the General Assembly and the PCUSA is whether or not we can reinvent ourselves, without losing our soul. We have experienced several decades of declining and aging membership. Our inability to agree on doctrinal and social issues has caused many congregations to seek dismissal and some persons to question whether we have a future as a denomination. …A recommendation to divest Church Pension Fund and Foundation portfolios of stock in three companies whose products were considered to support oppression of Palestinians by Israel failed by a vote of 333-331 with two abstentions. A two year period of study and discernment regarding the meaning of Christian marriage was approved after a motion to change the definition of marriage failed. Such issues were lengthily debated, but by and large the 220th Assembly proved that Presbyterians can agree to disagree without being disagreeable. Can we ‘reinvent’ ourselves? That remains to be seen. But a people who claim to be ‘always reforming’ ought to be able to, with Christ’s help. I believe we can ‘do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’”