30 years ago — March 13, 1989
“Healing, hope and community are recurring themes in the conversation of members of the Committee on a Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith, which completed its five-year task in January and will report to the 201st General Assembly in June.” The committee sought input from individuals across the denomination through a variety of meetings and gatherings and sifted through 16,000 letters of comments about the various drafts of the new statement of faith. These letters and hearings helped the committee to discern the issues facing Presbyterians in the present and how the church’s faith can address them. The words of the Brief Statement also speak to the two streams of Presbyterian heritage that are seeking to heal the separation of more than a century. Through conversations, debates and worship, the committee sought common ground on the theological themes of the statement that are woven together to address the church and the world.
From “The search for common ground: Reactions from the Committee on a Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith” by Alexi Smith