Task force members sum up their work in a few words
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, February 25, 2004
After reading stacks of papers, going to meetings from early in the morning to late at night, hearing hours of presentations, conducting worship services and making plans for the future, the members of the Theological Task Force boiled it all down to a few words.
It was Friday night, the last session of the Dec. 18-20 meeting in Dallas, and Sarah Grace Sanderson-Doughty popped the assignment.
“Share one word or a phrase about how you are feeling at this meeting,” she said.
What happened next is that, one by one, the task force members, obviously weary, struggled to come up with the appropriate word or phrase. Singly or combined, they didn’t provide much more insight to a panel that has been meeting for nearly three years without reaching any resounding conclusions on the charge it was given.
But they did give you a glimpse of what they’re thinking – and it seems like they’re on the same (mostly unwritten) page, whatever that’ll say.
Sanderson-Doughty, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lowville, N.Y., called on Martha Sadongei to lead it off. (After providing the requested sound-bite, each member of the task force called on another member until they all had a chance to have a say.)
Sadongei, a member of the Kiowa an Tohono O’odham Indian tribes, is the only Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor serving an urban Indian congregation. She normally keeps her remarks at the meeting brief. This time she managed a four-word phrase: “One ending, one beginning.” She didn’t clarify what that meant.
Mary Ellen Lawson, the stated clerk of the Redstone Presbytery in Pennsylvania who has been a member of a host of denominational bodies, added, “Invigorated but with some trepidation.”
Stacy Johnson, an associate professor of systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, kept his feelings to one word – “Optimistic” – but added, “We have a lot more work to do.”
Barbara Everitt Bryant, an elder and member of First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the director of the U.S. Bureau of Census under former President George H. Bush, provided a terse: “Making progress.”
John Wilkinson, pastor of Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, N.Y., perked some ears with his two-worder: “Creatively daunted.”
John “Mike” Loudon, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, Fla., which is part of the Confessing Church Movement, had a pondering expression as he revealed his inmost thought: “Pondering.” Then he suggested the whole group turn pondering into action. “Roll up your sleeves, boys and girls, let’s get going.”
Milton J. “Joe” Coalter, the librarian at Louisville Theological Seminary (soon to join Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va.) has done a ton of writing and presentations for the task force. So no one was surprised when he said, “Tired.” But he had enough fumes left to add: “I am concerned for our future meetings … the level of weariness that can affect meetings.”
Jong Hyeong Lee, pastor and head of staff of Hanmee Presbyterian Church in Itasca, Ill., declared himself “hopeful” and harkened the group to hear its rallying cry, “Reformed and reforming.”
Gary Demarest of Pasadena, Calif., who frequently retires after 50 years in the ministry (but just as frequently accepts interim assignments), demonstrated his tireless mettle: “Encouraged,” he said, adding, “We’re pretty close to having laid a lot of groundwork that’s going to enable us to really get into it.”
Jose Luis Torres-Milan, who is pastor of Tercera Iglesia Presbiteriana (Third Presbyterian Church) in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, declared that he was, like Demarest, “encouraged,” and also “hopeful.”
Jenny Stoner, an elder at East Craftsbury Presbyterian Church in Craftsbury, Vt., and co-chair (with Demarest) of the task force, was “hopeful and nourished by the fellowship.”
Frances Taylor Gench, professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond (her husband, Roger J. Gench, is pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.), said she was “enormously grateful for the presentations.”
Victoria “Vicky” Curtiss, co-pastor (with her husband, Kent Organ) of Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames, Iowa, was “hopeful and grateful” and said, “I have a sense that we are really finding our rhythm.”
Jack Haberer, pastor of Clear Lake Presbyterian Church in Houston, said he was “enthused in a bewildered sort of way. I feel a lot of energy from the group, but I don’t know how in the world we will make sense out of it.”
Lonnie J. Oliver, the pastor of the New Life Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and the only African-American on the task force, had a “healthy anxiety.” But that wasn’t his first thing, he said. “I was thinking about saying, ‘I feel like I’m pregnant.'”
Mark Achtemeier, an associate professor of systematic theology and ethics at the University of Duquesne Theological Seminary, declared himself to be “enormously encouraged.” He added, “I have seen an emergence of a group mind. We’re starting to get an idea of where this group is going.”
Joan Merritt of Bellevue, Wash., an elder, chimed in with “hopeful” and said she is “looking forward to our next meeting. I feel blessed. What seemed like a heavy weight when I was first appointed now is an enormous privilege.”
Reoccurring themes? Encouraged. Hopeful. Tired. But not pregnant.