Will non-Christian groups be invited to put
down roots at PCUSA conference center?
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Layman, March 27, 2009
LOUISVILLE — A conference center of the Presbyterian Church (USA) may soon become what’s thought to be the first facility in the United States to host a multi-faith, residential “community of communities” with a focus on peace-building across religious lines.
As soon as this year, Stony Point Retreat and Conference Center in Stony Point, New York could become home to two “intentional” religious communities, one Jewish and one Muslim. Each would occupy a building owned by the center and would observe spiritual practices, such as ritual meals and daily prayers, in proximity to an on-site Christian community that’s working at making its own rituals more consistent and robust.
The plan marks a key component of a new vision for Stony Point, one that co-director and former General Assembly moderator Rick Ufford-Chase outlined Thursday at a meeting of the General Assembly Council’s Evangelism Committee. In addition to continuing to host conferences and retreats for groups from various faiths, the 180-bed conference center would also serve as a home base for a broad network of Christians who hunger for deeper commitments and spiritual authenticity.
“Picture a religious order – an ecumenical religious order – that is fully committed to spiritual practice and non-violence and justice work in the world,” Ufford-Chase said. Participants across the United States would take vows and make covenants with one another to specify how they intend to deepen spiritual practice, work for non-violence and live “more sustainably in a global community.”
The new vision for Stony Point coincides with the specter of structural change at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Evangelism Committee on Thursday voted to ask the GAC to establish a study group to explore whether the PCUSA should authorize Ghost Ranch to incorporate anew as an entity separate from but still in covenant with the denomination. Such an arrangement would resemble the one the PCUSA has with Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina.
Ufford-Chase recognizes that welcoming non-Christian groups to put down roots on the property could generate negative reactions within the denomination.
“There may be pushback in some instances about that kind of a mission,” he told the committee. “I want to bring all of you along. It’s your work. And I expect that we’ll be doing it in partnership with this committee.”
The center’s plans, especially for a multi-faith community of intentional communities, met with an enthusiastic response from committee members.
“I just want to stand up and applaud,” said committee member Jacqueline Lyman. “This is peace-making in action. This is exactly what Pentecost is all about.”
As for evangelism, Ufford-Chase says it remains a component of the big-picture vision for Stony Point, even though encouraging guests from other faiths to consider following Jesus isn’t part of the protocol. Instead, he sees Christian hospitality – extended in a new way to residential communities of Muslims and Jews – as a witness that others may notice and in turn want to learn more about the Jesus who inspired it.
“Part of the work of the community [at Stony Point] will be to model what it means to follow Jesus into a world of need,” Ufford-Chase said in an interview. “We expect that that will be invitational. There are many people out there who will be attracted to that vision.”