10 years ago — January 2, 2006
Out in Presbyterian-land, the calendars for January and February are full of presbytery meetings at which overtures will be discussed and voted on … .
It doesn’t seem particularly settled. Some early-arriving overtures have the General Assembly revisiting a controversial decision from 2004 involving divestment and Israel. Others want the assembly to take stands on gay marriage and on ordaining homosexuals.
Debates in controversial matters seem inevitable in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in the months to come.
But some are hoping that the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity … may have nurtured a climate within the denomination in which the differences can be talked about with less rancor, with more civility and open-mindedness. Some are using this time to do exactly what the task force has called for — to form discussion groups that cut across theological lines of division, and to see if such face-to-face conversations can change the climate in which discussions on controversial matters are held.
From the news article, “T.F. meeting Jan. 11-13, to gauge report response, consider sexuality report,” by Leslie Scanlon
