I would use three words to describe the 218th General Assembly:
Surprise
This assembly was not seduced, manipulated, or controlled by affinity groups. It had a heart and a mind of its own. And much of that came from the intelligence and the faithfulness of the Advisory Delegates and younger commissioners. I am convinced that generational differences are the key elements at work in our church these days — and in my work as a general presbyter the values, styles, moods, and dreams of Gen Xers and Millennials are rapidly changing the landscape of how we do ministry. The younger commissioners at this assembly looked at controversial issues differently, and that is why the ordination debates ended up where they did. Decisions were very carefully and cautiously made around other hot button issues — the Iraq war, abortion, the Palestine/Israel conundrum. But when it came to the AI around scrupling and the overture to delete G.6.0106b, the clear sense seemed to be that it is time to agree to disagree and move on. (Or as my 30-year-old elder son says, “When the world is blowing up and people are starving and the environment is in peril, why can’t the church get over this obsession with sex?”)
And so I was surprised by the clarity of the majority of commissioners on these ordination issues — not clarity about what is right or wrong, but clarity around a consensus that this is a “non-essential of the faith” and that we need to open up the system so that individuals and governing bodies can discern and choose who is called by the Spirit into various forms of ministry. Neither the new AI nor the overture to delete G6.0106b forces or mandates the ordination of gay and lesbian disciples. But in making a “both/and” kind of decision, this assembly re-enforced the message they came to deliver: as church we are called to be one in Jesus Christ, focused on embodying God’s truth and grace in the world, no longer squandering our precious passion and promise on internal fighting.
Change
Just as the current presidential election has put a megaphone to calls for change, so this assembly spotlighted new rhythms and faces: the first male moderatorial candidate without a tie, both the moderator and vice moderator representing ethnic diversity, blogs and My Space and Facebook becoming central to communication and identity, the first almost paperless assembly, the first opening worship in two separate locations (integrated almost seamlessly through the wonders of technology). All of this taxed the imagination and skill of some of us over 55. But, by and large it worked.
Perhaps the most significant change in this assembly was the election of a new stated clerk, Gradye Parsons. As Cliff Kirkpatrick was celebrated and affirmed and blessed on his way, I had a sense that the role of the stated clerk and the balance of responsibilities are shifting. Perhaps never again will we have such a huge ecumenical and interfaith profile as a denomination — a real loss for some of us. But as we move toward a renewed integration of evangelism with justice, as we bring conservatives and liberals together in a missional identity, as we flatten out our polity with partnership patterns between presbyteries and national offices, as we move toward more discernment and dialogue, and away from derogatory debate and litigation, I believe that the office of the stated clerk will play a stronger interpretive and integrative role.
And so the change feels huge — a different generation in charge, a relational rather than a regulatory culture, a missional rather than a maintenance mode, a both/and instead of an either/or ethic. But, in order for this shift to be effective in resurrecting a diminished church, we also need even more change, transforming our General Assembly meetings from dry and exhausting business marathons into spiritual revivals and theological discernment opportunities. There is much work to be done.
Hope
Many of my more conservative brothers and sisters, whom I love and respect, left San Jose angry, frustrated, and disappointed — sure that we Presbyterians have lost our biblical and theological souls. And I hurt because they hurt. But I am convinced that the main power player at this assembly was the Holy Spirit, laying waste to the best-laid strategies of most of the affinity groups. The heart of our faith is the absolute conviction that God calls us to die to the old, so that we can rise to the new. And the dying and rising is not in our control — but in God’s. The joy, the faith, the imagination, the honesty, the dreams, the tech savvy, the hunger for the joy and justice of Jesus — all of these are apparent among our younger Presbyterians — and they are envisioning a brand new church. This fills me with hope. I look forward to encouraging them and learning from them and, yes, teaching them the best of the past so that together we can create the best of the future.
Two images from the Assembly underline my clear sense that God is at work in our dying and in our rising. After Bruce Reyes-Chow was elected and installed, a prayer was offered for his new ministry, a prayer shared by his 10-year-old, multi-cultural daughter and his Filipino pastor mother — two strong female voices announcing through the language of grace that God is changing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
And then one day, in the midst of the difficult debates around ordination issue, I was walking toward the Convention Center when I encountered a stunning tableau. Some outsider anti-gay protesters who regularly descend upon most national church conventions were shouting their ugly slogans on one side of the convention plaza. And standing near them were young Presbyterian gay activists — sweetly singing “Jesus Loves You” and offering their “enemies” home baked chocolate chip cookies! And I was reminded once again that the utterly dependable and gracious love of God is alive and well — resurrecting the PC(USA).
May it be so. Amen
Susan R. Andrews is general presbyter of the Presbytery of Hudson River, New York. She was moderator of the 215th General Assembly. She is not related to Jerry Andrews, whose article is the other part of this Outlook Forum.
