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Holy Week resources and reflections

11th annual Presbyterian Coalition gathering begins; Theme is “The Place I Have Chosen”

[caption id="attachment_19745" align="alignright" width="225"]“Gathering participants confess sins in solemn assembly”“Gathering participants confess sins in solemn assembly.”[/caption]“Surely we have no Gospel to proclaim, no mission, and no evangelism if we turn away from the standards that define the life of the believer,” Terry Schlossberg told the opening session of the Presbyterian Coalition October 13 in Newport Beach, Calif.

Referring to those in the church who would vote for the removal of the fidelity-chastity ordination requirement in the upcoming vote among the presbyteries, Schlossberg added, “We will pray for and minister to the end that our erring brothers and sisters will be lead to repentance and reconciliation that is at the very center of the gospel.”

            Terry Schlossberg, an elder, is the former executive director of the Presbyterian Coalition and is currently serving as the coordinator of the Campaign to Defeat Amendment B.

More than 200 persons attended the session beginning the 11th Gathering of the Presbyterian Coalition, hosted by St. Andrew’s Church in Newport Beach. The gathering opened with a time of ‘solemn assembly’ that Presbyterian Coalition co-moderator Jerry Andrews pointed out was a recommendation by the 218th General Assembly. “I’m not sure they meant it seriously, but we will do it anyway,” said Andrews, a bit tongue in cheek.  The solemn assembly was a time of open repentance; beginning with the 51st Psalm read responsively, one side of the sanctuary to the other.

This year’s theme is from Nehemiah, “The Place I have Chosen.” “Those of us who have been to California three times this year for General Assembly, the Presbyterian Global Fellowship Conference, and now the Coalition Gathering are beginning to wonder if California is the place God has chosen,” joked co-Moderator Nancy Cross in her opening remarks. Over the course of three days participants will hear presentations, attend workshops and participate in small groups.

“You may have heard that we had a General Assembly that didn’t go very well this year,” said Cross. “In the midst of this disappointing and discouraging General Assembly some of us had a sense of God stirring us to see if something new may be happening,” she continued. Reiterating the theme verse from Nehemiah 1:9, If you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will bring them from there and bring them to the place

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