Parsons fields ACSWP questions
The Layman, January 22, 2010
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Opening with an acknowledgement that the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is only 163 days away, Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons found no shortage of inquiring minds during his Jan. 22 meeting with the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.
Gradye Parsons
Parsons spoke on a variety of issues, including the economy, politics and the denomination’s proposed new Form of Government. Responses to ACSWP questions/comments included:
The economy
Parsons: One of the things Presbyterians are struggling with is that our niche has been middle America, small business owners and people working in middle management. As those sectors have disappeared we have to open ourselves to a much broader spectrum of people. What are we supposed to be the church “of?”
Strategic planning
Parsons: It’s hard to do forecasting. But with whatever knowledge you have on hand, you plan. Then you need to have enough flexibility built in to respond when things come up.
Evangelism
Parsons: Somewhere Presbyterians began to believe that if we’re just winsome, people will come to church with us. But you win some and you lose a lot that way. Did you know that Presbyterians used to own tents and folding chairs and organs that we would set up outside of factories in Pennsylvania? Or that the Lumbertons hired the Presbyterians to share the Gospel with the lumber workers in Wisconsin? We used to have a crazy marketing scheme. We need that spirit again. We need to be more faithful to the One we’re sharing.
Social Witness in missions, nFOG and Washington
Parsons: One of the things the church can do is to network more effectively. We need to look at doing things like our friends in the UCC (United Church of Christ) who use electronic tie-in via petitions when they take action in Washington. (Parsons mentioned having a statement ready to send to Washington regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 21 ruling on campaign finance)
The financial crisis
Parsons: One of the things the President said was “We’re going to save the middle class.” But before it gets saved, it needs to confess a little. You can’t damn Wall Street on the one hand and ask them for an endowment on the other. It wasn’t just predatory lending, it was predatory buying. We need an economy that’s just where people can get jobs. But there is no longer a ladder to climb. Young people can’t get on the ladder and if you have a job, you’re in it – there’s very little upward mobility.
Is President Obama open to the perspectives of faith-based communities?
Parsons: Yes, across the board, the White House and Capitol Hill have opened themselves up to more input from faith-based organizations.
General comments
The ACSWP self-study is a “re-up” – it’s an opportunity to make the case before the Assembly about the importance and value of your work. There is an important social witness in the world. “All God’s asking us to do is to change the world.”
Referring to a cartoon he saw in this morning’s paper, Parsons concluded, “The way every pearl gets started is an irritant. But screaming at the oysters doesn’t work.” … Of course, you have to be the right kind of irritant, he said.