Guest commentary by Noha Khoury
We must know who we are before we can know where we want to go as a church and denomination. This was the overarching theme of a conversation with Heath Rada, the moderator of the 221st General Assembly.
On March 19, about 60 participants representing more than 10 presbyteries and synods attended the gathering hosted by Princeton Seminary to voice their concerns. About one quarter of these participants were Princeton Seminary students while others were pastors from local congregations and presbytery and synod execs from neighboring regions.
After a formal welcome from Craig Barnes, president of Princeton Seminary, an address from Rada and a brief time of worship led by Princeton students, the moderator wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter. As his “Call to the Church” states, Rada feels called to listen. That Saturday in Princeton’s auditorium held no exception. Rada invited each participant to share and raise something that was on his or her heart while he jotted down notes, interjecting as needed to speak of his own experience and providing related illustrations.
Most of our time together consisted of compiling this list of concerns, briefly breaking for a working lunch while the Rada and Larissa Kwong Abazia, vice moderator, identified five areas and themes echoed by the participants. Participants were then invited to join one of five groups focusing on these themes: intergenerational ministry; communication and branding; theological education; justice/ministry for refugees/the other; and denominational structure by way of middle governing bodies. There was a sense that many people felt torn, wanting to bring voice, thoughts and suggestions to more than one group. The ideas that came out from each group were recorded and will be used (along with those from the other listening sessions) to create recommendations for the 222nd General Assembly in Portland, Oregon, this summer.
My impression was that the day would be focused solely on theological education. Although that was not necessarily the case, it was helpful to see how each of these very different stand-alone themes fed into one another with overlap and interweaving suggestions. For instance, I joined the intergenerational ministries group wanting to talk about youth ministry and how to do that well in today’s culture. What came out in my group’s conversations was the need for resourcing and utilizing commissioned ruling elders and a need for standard training and education for this role. These conversations pointed back to the denominational structures in place from our middle governing bodies, communication and theological education! It was great to realize that one thing someone is passionate about can be part of something bigger. It was also helpful to realize that these things we’re passionate about become greater when we’re able to honestly identify where we are, what needs to be done and work together to get there. I have always known this in my own life, and I was grateful to be reminded that we are part of denomination that is reformed and reforming and to see this work in action from across the spectrum of those represented in Princeton’s auditorium.
I felt that both Rada and Kwong Abazia cultivated an atmosphere where honest dialogue could take place among strangers and colleagues in ministry. These conversations were not simply laments of a denomination that has been, but a denomination that is constantly becoming and striving to be a faithful witness to Jesus Christ in this ever-changing world. They took the time to listen to the concerns and empowered those able to present to work toward solutions.
The hope is that these recommendations will not be prolonged into a time of study and discernment after reaching the floor of GA. Rather, Rada recognizes that work must be done now. It may be messy, but ministry is messy. And God is in the midst of the mess.
NOHA KHOURY is an M.Div. student at Princeton Theological Seminary and will graduate in May. She is a candidate under care of Lehigh Presbytery in Pennsylvania.
