The role that advocacy groups play in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seems to be in some flux – a response, in part, to the departure of evangelical congregations to other denominations and to shifting dynamics within the denomination.
The Presbyterian Coalition, a force in the evangelical wing of the church for years, announced Oct. 24 that it is streamlining its operation; discontinuing its paid staff; and refocusing its energies. There are a number of reasons for the change – among them a lack of controversial issues coming up for a direct vote in the church in the next year, and declining revenues.
An announcement from the Coalition stated that “we have seen a dramatic reduction of interest in working the polity or `fighting the battles’ within our system of government. Evangelicals are quietly withdrawing, either out of the denomination or into a renewed sense of call to their local ministries, and making conscious choices to redirect their energies away from national polity concerns.
“All these changes have resulted in a drastic downturn in financial contributions to our work,” the Coalition’s announcement stated.
Mary Holder Naegeli, a California minister who’s been the Coalition’s executive director, stressed in an interview that the Coalition isn’t going away, but will scale back for a year, then focus its energy in 2013 on preparing General Assembly commissioners.
The Coalition isn’t the only organization seeing changes. Several organizations on the progressive side – those working for full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in the life and ministries of the church – have new leadership. The Covenant Network of Presbyterians has adopted a new “Call to Covenant Community,” which speaks of the network’s commitment to working for further inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the church, including the opportunity to be married in the church, and in working for unity.
Instead of holding a national conference, as it has done for years, the Covenant Network is convening a series of 10 regional conferences this fall and in the spring of 2013, hoping in part to bump up attendance and to encourage networking among a broader range of people. Brian Ellison, the network’s new executive director, said a decision hasn’t been made yet whether that will be a one-time change or whether the network will alternate in the future between regional and national gatherings.
What do these shifts add up to?
“The landscape is changing for all of us,” said Paul Detterman, executive director of Presbyterians for Renewal. That group continues to focus much of its energy not on denominational politics, but on services for ministry – such as Wee Kirk conferences to build leadership for small congregations; its annual Christian Life conference; and publications and resources it provides.
From Jan. 30-Feb. 1, the Fellowship of Presbyterians and ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians will hold another national meeting in Orlando. Detterman – who works jointly for Presbyterians for Renewal and for the fellowship –said the fellowship “has helped us to redefine the role that the old-line renewal groups need to play if they’re going to continue to be a viable voice in the denomination.”
For the Coalition, “our support plummeted probably because we are so identified with the political processes of the church,” Naegeli said. Also the denomination’s new Form of Government has shifted more discussion from the national level to presbyteries. Both she and Ellison emphasized that the concerns Presbyterians express have regional variations – depending on the struggles they see in their own presbyteries.
Naegeli said she remains optimistic, if not for the PC(USA), then for the role evangelicals can play in Christianity.
“I have a lot of hope,” she said. “God seems to move quite mightily in diaspora . . . I believe a dynamic is in motion that will ultimately be good for the kingdom of God.”
