It will become increasingly difficult for the Fellowship to express its PC(USA) identity at these gatherings, and for the life of me, I can’t understand the need. Why not allow them to be mostly PC(USA)-free, since the Essential Tenets basically form the basis of the formal relationship?

I was present at the meeting, and Detterman’s recognition of Ellison struck me as a “the gay guy is here and we should recognize him lest we be accused of being anti-gay” moment. Granted, Ellison had apparently had a great deal of trouble with flights and only arrived very close to the end, but I couldn’t help wonder if the same recognition would have been afforded someone else (that is, someone not gay). Perhaps so, and perhaps not, and by asking, I am not calling Paul Detterman’s integrity into question, merely suggesting that if the “Fellowship Community” is going to try and maintain a vibrant PC(USA) connection, that such awkward moments are going to become par for the course.

I would just as soon be done with them, though I would want Ellison to feel welcome, and that would be the rub I guess.

I was grateful to be welcomed at the gathering. As one of the first commenters on this story correctly reports, I would have been there much sooner had it not been for significant travel difficulties on Tuesday. I was greeted warmly by a variety of participants, some of whom I have come to know well, and others whom I don’t know as well, but who showed me common Christian hospitality. I was blessed by meaningful worship, an informative and interesting seminar on church and culture, and an engaging presentation by Alan Hirsch. I know for certain that in spite of the travel problems, it was worth the trip to be with these sisters and brothers in Christ.

What I am less certain about is why my presence and my being welcomed merits special mention or is really newsworthy. And I am thoroughly at a loss as to how welcoming someone–even the gravest sinner!–could ever be “offensive.” When Carmen Fowler LaBerge, along with a Layman colleague, attended the national conference of the Covenant Network last fall, they were similarly recognized and (she told me at the time) warmly welcomed. It did not occur to me to consider Carmen’s sexual orientation or relationship status in whether to welcome her publicly (and I can’t imagine that was the main consideration in welcoming me). I further don’t recall anyone being offended by her presence.

In any case, my work with an organization with different perspectives than most of those in attendance seems to be the more likely consideration in my recognition, and perhaps gets to the question that Carmen’s comments might more substantively have asked: Can people really be church together, authentically and faithfully, when they disagree about truly important matters of the faith? Can we worship together? Talk theology together? Prepare and accomplish mission together? And when that’s all too hard, can we at least be hospitable with one another, showing forbearance, forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven us?

I believe we can, and I am grateful for others who share that belief. They are why I have hope for the PCUSA and for the Church of Jesus Christ.

Brian Ellison, executive director
Covenant Network of Presbyterians

“singled out for recognition Brian Ellison, the openly partnered gay minister who heads the pro-LGBT Covenant Network of Presbyterians.”

Brian,
there are no rules per se in AA, it is a fellowship of sinners trying to stay sober. one of the unwritten rules of the fellowship is anyone who has had a drink or drug within the past 24 hours is not supposed to share in AA meetings. It is not because that person is being discriminated against or singled out, it is mainly because the outpourings of anyone who is there knowingly not in a state of sobriety for that day may be profoundly damaging to the rest of the group, who are making a sincere effort to avoid sin.

i did not read most of what you said below but i gather you attended a meeting of souls who for the most part are not active homosexuals. in a situation like this it would have been wise to simply remain silent when recognized. you alluded somewhat in your comments to the fact that you realize you’re in a grave state of Biblical sin, so i find it difficult to believe you are not intentionally trying to provoke souls who clearly believe in the Bible as written, take it quite seriously, in fact believe that abiding by God’s rules is a matter of life or death. why you feel compelled to come here and share is beyond comprehension, if your motivation is truly the long term life of these souls…although i do understand your underlying frustration with being singled out in the meeting, like singling out a drunk person in an AA meeting, clearly not appropriate.

my suggestion is leave these poor souls in peace. they have enough to deal with right now, trying to maintain their own sobriety so to speak, without being provoked. it reminds me of what’s going on with the property disputes, civilized play appears to be of little or no interest to this organization.

speaking objectively, as an outside observer, your comments, any of them, are of no value to this room of souls who are struggling right now to maintain their own state of grace.

Carmen, I think this is a bit overblown. Yeah, I did think the welcome was a bit odd. But, I think many people there – including most HPCers – had no idea who Brian Ellison is.

In fact, I was kind of glad he was there (albeit, not for very long). There seems to be the impression by some paranoid individuals that all we do when we gather is to bash homosexuals and that all ECO and the Fellowship are about is sexuality (see John Shore’s “Anti-gay Christians convening today. What are they hiding?” http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnshore/2014/08/spineless-new-anti-gay-presbyterian-denomination-begins-its-big-convention-today/ )

It would be a positive corrective if Ellison reported that sexuality was scarcely mentioned in the event, outside of one single seminar. ECO is looking forward, not backward.

Struggling with declaring God’s word in scripture and loving the “sinner” is necessary to find God’s will
and way forward.

PC(USA) apologists like Mr. Ellison fail to grasp that beyond a certain tipping point, diversity of belief renders a denomination’s message to the world so garbled and contradictory as to be incoherent. The PC(USA) shot past that tipping point a long time ago. I wholeheartedly support the full inclusion of women and gays in ordained office and marriage equality in the Christian church. But I also wholeheartedly support the long overdue realignments going on in mainline denominations which will make everyone across the spectrum more effective in mission when they are unfettered by bickering with each other.

In addition to warmly welcoming Mr. Ellison, conference leaders should have invited him to the podium to defend claims by progressives and his Covenant Network that gay marriage will always remain a matter of individual church and pastor discretion. Progressives offered the same glib assurances in the early days of women’s ordination in the PC(USA) but liberalism has always had an ugly underbelly of coercion and it was just a matter of time before women’s ordination evolved from discretion to coercion. The silence of the Covenant Network on this question has been deafening and Mr. Ellison refuses to post that question by readers of the Covenant Network website, even by someone like me who supports marriage equality. Progressives talk ad nauseam about desiring a healthy conversation on the issues but that conversation doesn’t extend to a question for which progressives have no good answer.

So the ECO is going to follow in the path of the Lutheren Church of the reformation era?

Too “nice” to truely break away and end up as a slightly different, just “a little less apostate” group?

That is really disappointing

It is tough to leave pleasing the world and move to seeing scripture as the guiding principle.

The time has come to make a clean break with the sons of darkness!

The PCUSA have no Essential Tenets.

What would you expect with a loaded pcusa people playing church, just enough not to be accused of treason, yet, treason it is placating to those wanting to stay with little rome(pcusa).. Bunch of gutless wussies, no back bone, but at least we know what the so called ECO believes or do they believe the Holy Bible is the Word of God???

Having been there, I did not even notice this greeting or really care.
It’s unfortunate that this is the one reflection from the conference that I can find here.

For the material presented by Alan Hirsch and Singleton’s breakout group about the three modes of church is far more important to the mission of the church.

What I found disappointing in the conference was that the platform material was something that has been said for the past 15 years but the presbyterian church has failed to hear this wake up call, but more disturbing: the elevator conversations I was stuck in were all about denominational grief/pain/anger.

If we continue to stare inward (no matter what acronym we subscribe to) we are gonna to fail to see the movement of Jesus Christ out in the world.

Who are you to speak for ECO, by giving Carmen a verbal slap in the face?

Um … not sure what you’re trying to say here, as your argument has no point. Could you be more plain in what you’re trying to say?

If you REALLY want to know what ECO believes try this link:

http://eco-pres.org/theology/essential-tenets/

Um … ECO is totally broken away. I’m not sure where you see that is not the case.

Well – There it is – That’s it then! – Three month ago my wife and I withdrew our membership in our PS(USA) church. We have been searching for a new Presbyterian church affiliated with the ECO since that seems to be where many of the former PC(USA) congregations have fled.
Now this!
We are out of the Presbyterian denomination completely and forever. It is obvious that Presbyterianism has been fully compromised and will slowly rot from within regardless of the denomination name. We are not concerned. God is guiding us. There are an abundance of evangelical scripture driven churches out there where we will find our true savior and redeemer Jesus Christ.

We were strongly considering joining ECO upon being dismissed from PCUSA.. I agree with “guest” in his reference to sobriety at an AA meeting. I also agree with Jim Caraher’s statement that PC(USA) apologists like Mr. Ellison fail to grasp that beyond a certain tipping point, diversity of belief renders a denomination’s message to the world so garbled and contradictory as to be incoherent. My real question is: Is ECO going to stand on The Rock or shifting sand? We need to know before making any commitment.

Are you insane?

Robert:
Explore the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Well reasoned doctrine and mature Reformed Theology.

Do you have anything other than sarcasm & misquotes of Scripture?

You do love to hear yourself ‘talk’ … trouble is, no one’s listening as you lost their interest about 4 meaningless posts earlier.

Not to mention, you really don’t know how to reply to a post … get a clue please.

Stay away from the eco.

Many in the OPC have been disciples by Richard Gaffin and some say Westminster Seminary likes the New Perspective on Paul.

Like I said, the eco is another mild name of the pcusa, nothing is changing.

The pcusa is Apostate, and Romans 1 condemns homosexuality, animal sex, transgenred, lesbianism, and to say they should be ordained is of the evil one.