Three recent developments have been of particular importance for efforts to uphold the rule of law and end the scandal of U.S.-sponsored torture and abuse in detention facilities abroad.
The first is the epoch-making Supreme Court decision, handed down at the end of June, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The Court ruled that the president is not authorized to create special military tribunals to conduct the trials of Guantanamo detainees. These tribunals failed to meet minimum standards of fairness as required under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or in a federal district court. Creating tribunals with inadequate legal safeguards oversteps the bounds of executive authority.
Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the decisions of this last General Assembly meeting, the meaning of the amended PUP report is finally becoming clear. The Office of the General Assembly (OGA) has published a document called "Constitutional Musings #11 on Examining Officers." Item six of this paper states, "An individual may declare a scruple concerning the appropriateness of a mandatory provision. But a governing body cannot excuse a mandatory provision, for it lacks the power to set aside a provision of the Constitution. However, a candidate may still be ordained or installed so long as she/he is still willing to comply with the mandatory provisions."
Editor's Note: This article was written for "Seasons" the newsletter of the Presbyterian Church at Tenafly (N.J.) that the Rev. Lindner serves as a parish associate. The church of 400 lies a few miles outside of New York City. Four persons related to the congregation were killed when the World Trade Center Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001.
Five years ago during those terrible days that followed the attack on the World Trade Center, the Children's Ministry Team asked me to meet with a group of our children to discuss with them the events of that day and their feelings. It was September 30, 2001, the second Sunday following 9/11 when I gathered a group of our Sunday School children together.
After we spoke for a few minutes I took out a pad and pen. When talking with groups of children I often make notes of the discussion. I do this partly to record and remember all that children have shared with me. Another reason is to avoid eye contact with children. I find that groups of children will more authentically engage with one another when they do not have adult eye contact for referral about "right" and "wrong" responses.
c. 2006 Religion News Service
There is no better place to forget that the United States is at war than in church. Three years after the invasion of Iraq, stories of bloody bombings and mounting casualties still top each day's news, but remain conspicuously absent from the discourse of most neighborhood churches.
For many of these congregations, the war in Iraq hits home only when they bury a soldier whom they last knew as a pimply member of the youth group with big dreams for the future. Until then, they may close their eyes and pray for peace, asking God to protect those in harm's way. Few, however, will ask with eyes wide open how people of faith are called to respond to this particular war. As a member of the clergy for more than 20 years now, I have some idea why this is so.
Presbyterians appreciate the effective way in which Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has represented us, providing help in the wake of weather-related devastation from surges in both the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Along with humans internationally we have responded by giving goods and services to relieve the desperate. But those situations illustrate that we have been more oriented toward alleviating suffering after it happens than toward preventing it in the first place.
The PDA abbreviation might also be used to refer to another service, Presbyterian Disaster Avoidance, which in many cases is more important than assistance after tragedy strikes.
In memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a child, I was impressed by the way in which each of the "thou shalt nots" of the Ten Commandments is given a positive interpretation as well as a listing of what is forbidden. Question 68 asserts, "The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life and the life of others." The content of that Catechism is much indebted to the doctrine of John Calvin. Regarding the purpose of the sixth commandment, he commented: "The Lord has bound humans together by a certain unity; hence each person ought to concern himself with the safety of all. ... He who has merely refrained from shedding blood has not avoided the crime of murder."
Some of us were cautiously optimistic when we went to Birmingham to plead the cause for the Historical Foundation at Montreat. Overtures from twenty-one presbyteries, representing Presbyterians in ten states, had protested the closing of this valued institution, which had served the church since 1927, by the Committee of the General Assembly. Eleven advocates were attending the assembly to speak on behalf of these presbyteries, including myself, an advocate for Coastal Carolina Presbytery.
The Friends of the Historical Foundation had been working for more than two years to find a way to preserve the Historical Foundation. In less than three months the Friends raised nearly a million dollars in conditional pledges, a portion to be used for initial operating costs and the remainder for a self-sustaining endowment. An equal amount of endowment funds for the Historical Foundation was held by the Presbyterian Foundation. The Friends had also secured the promise of volunteers to staff the Historical Foundation. The value of their time was estimated at $200,000 annually. We were hopeful that the Salem overture, which provided two additional years for raising endowment funds, would be adopted, thereby assuring the continuing operation of the Historical Foundation.
Editor's Note: This is the second of a three-part series. An enlarged version of this and the other two articles may be found in the booklet, Bearing the Marks of the Church, published by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Theology and Worship. Also available online at the Re-forming Ministry website: https://www.pcusa.org/re-formingministry/papers/wiley_charles.pdf.
I have great hope for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I believe we are at a critical juncture in this denomination's history. At this time we need nothing more than we need honesty. Better public relations will not carry us forward to a better place; speaking the truth in love just might.
In that spirit, I offer four theses about the one holy catholic and apostolic church, one thesis for each attribute of the church.
Whatever the verdict on Israel's second invasion of Lebanon, it should be clear to most Americans that our relationship to the Arab and Muslim worlds is being defined in Tel Aviv as much as Washington, DC. Seymour Hersh, in The New Yorker's August 21 issue, maintains that our Administration not only knew of Israel's plans well in advance, but wanted Israel to test our "bunker-blasters" and other munitions so we could better decide whether to use them on the bigger target: Iran's nuclear complexes.
This would be to argue that the current Israeli and US Administrations are joined not only in the philosophy of unilateral militarism, but in specific war strategies. Certainly the prompt US re-supply of Israel with high-tech munitions and our blocking a cease-fire until Israel was ready to accept one would further indicate our supportive role--and a far more overt one than that of Iran and Syria to Hezbollah. What will it mean for US Christians to be linked to a power that no longer pretends to be "an honest broker" for peace? How will we continue relationships with the Christian remnant communities that will face increased pressure from both Muslims and Jews in a region where extremism is likely to intensify?
International mission by our denomination is ever renewing. Our national offices have encouraged creative new ways to connect people, congregations, and presbyteries more directly in responding to Christ's call to mission. I am encouraged that congregations show a growing interest in being involved.
Creativity comes from various sources and dynamics.
Working with synods, presbyteries, and congregations has been fruitful, although most of these have been preoccupied with a spectrum of concerns. They typically are not primarily focused on international mission. The creative ferment has also come from interacting with organizations and networks in the denomination dedicated to specific types of mission. Some of these organizations have been more vocal and concerned about the decline in the denomination's mission workforce and funding for international mission than have the governing bodies. Now, with the GAC shifting to devote more of its time and attention to meeting the needs of congregations and middle governing bodies, there are concerns that there might be a void into which others need to step to help the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) maintain a large and vital role in Christ's mission around the world. A number organizations and networks have announced initiatives this summer that appear to relate to that perceived need, even while the new GAC leadership and structure are busy working on how to rise to the same occasion.
c. 2006 Religion News Service
As Mideast violence spiraled and power grabs dominated American politics, I told 100 teenage leaders of National Episcopal Happening they would need a "tough faith for a tough world."
By "tough faith," I didn't mean bullying religiosity or moral perfectionism. I meant a durable faith, with enough depth to handle a complex and challenging world, without turning mean, nostalgic or escapist.
Everything is changing. Economic competition is global. Capital and jobs flow easily across borders. U.S. teenagers will compete directly with Asians and Europeans. They won't be able to coast or to assume any continuities of privilege. The race will go to those who are prepared, not to those skilled mainly in television, video games and soccer.
We all agree on two things: we did have the 217th General Assembly, and the Report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church was adopted as amended.
Having been a member of the Task Force, I'm not surprised by the wide range of reactions to the Report and its Recommendations, since some version of most concerns was and is held by one or another of us on the Task Force. Of deepest concern to me are the doomsday prophecies that some have advanced in contesting the adoption of the authoritative interpretation of G-6.0108. Such prophecies can become self-fulfilling.
As always, participants in or witnesses to the same event have widely different perceptions of its meaning, ranging from negative to positive, based mostly upon the fears or hopes of what might happen in the future.
The ancient metaphor is operative: is the glass half-full or half-empty?
Churches often have names that link them to their past, their founders, their history. Some of those names may mean little to the casual viewer of sign boards hung on the side of buildings. Signs bear such names as Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal or perhaps more modestly, Disciples.
Here, I am speaking of religious denominations that may have arisen out of an experience no longer our own. Some arose out of the conversion of one person, such as John Wesley, who had a life-changing experience and made the world "his parish." My own Presbyterian communion has a form of government that empowers lay people and has no bishops. A church I regularly attend has bishops, but also empowers laity. And so it goes.
Was it inevitable?
Media attention to the General Assembly's action on "The Trinity: God's Love Overflowing" focused almost exclusively on the paper's discussion of language used to speak of the Triune God. This tight focus was further restricted to one or two examples extracted from a selection of biblical and traditional images for God.
An editorial cartoon suggested that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was replacing "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" with language as silly as "rock, paper, scissors."
A nationally syndicated columnist seemed to think "Larry, Curly, and Moe" was a cute way to characterize her claim that the church considered "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" to be "patriarchal leftovers."
With just six years of combined parish ministry experience, two young clergywomen ventured from the East Tennessee valley to the mountains of Montreat for the Hope for the Church Conference. Although many twenty and thirty-something's are labeled with a strong aversion to anything institutional, such a label fails to fit either of us. Through our ordination vows, we have promised our lives to God's work through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Buoyed by our experience sharing pews with some of the most seasoned leaders, we offer a glimpse of our hope for the denomination.
First, our hope resides in Scripture. Scripture gifts us with a narrative history of salvation revealing that God has always fulfilled God's promises. Abraham and Sarah, venturing into the unknown to follow God, were granted a child, as promised, and became a blessing to the nations. The Israelites grieved their exile, yet were ultimately delivered from aimless wandering by a faithful God. And after the crucifixion, when it seemed as if darkness had overtaken the world, God once more broke in to make all things new with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
© John L. Williams. Used by permission.
Where there is no vision, the people perish, (Proverbs 29:18a KJV)
"On life-support," opined a minister when asked about the state of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). "In need of hospice care," said another. These opinions envision the Church on its deathbed awaiting palliative drugs and last rites. I would argue that such a vision is neither faithful to God's promises nor consistent with the PC(USA)'s present realities.
This article is my alternative to prophecies of the PC(USA)'s imminent death. Following a summary of my perspective, it identifies God-given resources available to the PC(USA). It then focuses on major challenges confronting the PC(USA) and concludes with my personal vision statement.
There was no escape. On the Sunday morning following the adjournment of the 217th General Assembly, the Word of the Lord brought some comforting and challenging words into our life together. Thanks be to God.
In the lectionary readings for that Twelfth Sunday of not-so-Ordinary Time the psalmist sang, "How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!" even as some Presbyterians in the pew were experiencing an unpleasant disconnection and all Presbyterians were newly aware of how very hard it is to live together in unity.
The Gospel reading from the evangelist Mark told the story about Jesus and the disciples in the boat on a stormy sea, winds blowing, waves beating and swamping the boat. We heard Jesus calming the waters and chastising the disciples for their lack of faith.
I'll save you the trouble -- we ought to split the church.
There, I've said it so you don't have to even though you wanted to say it, but you just couldn't bring yourself to do it. Never mind, no need to thank me.
Before you naysayers get all worked up, just sit back and think what this means for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Finally, you and your side can go and do what you know the church ought to have done all along. That is, if only those pesky ________ (fill in the name of your least favorite advocacy group) were not around any more. Now, with them gone, you and yours will have free rein!
Of course, there are a few loose ends. We'll have to settle who'll get what: Foundation funds, seminaries, pension assets, and so forth, but that shouldn't be too big a deal. Surely, we can come up with some kind of equitable formula, based on the number of people who go with what part of the split. Giving up some assets in order to get what we think God wants is a small price to pay, after all!
It's been almost 11 years since Paul Swedlund died; but it seems like only a few hours ago.
Maybe that's because his last words to me make more sense now than then.
Before he fell off a Colorado mountain on 17 August 1994, his 48 years were tempered by surviving the Vietnam War as a riverboat captain, abandoning financial gain as a marketable executive for Mobil when called by Jesus to pastoral ministry, enduring friendship with another Paul and me, and switching from the UCC to PC(USA) at my urging.
Actually, he grew up in our franchise and only left because he didn't feel required to learn Hebrew for urban ministry; and he returned after Kansas City's Northminster Church took my advice and called him, presbytery's gatekeepers aka COM forgave the ecclesiastical detour, and he spent about a decade living happily ever after as a reborn Presbyterian until our Lord's last call.
In 2017 we Protestants mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation that Martin Luther launched and that John Calvin did so much to advance. It is an auspicious time to reflect on the state of Protestantism as a whole as we near this historic milestone. What does it mean to be "protestant" today? Who or what are we protesting against? Is it part of our ecclesiastical DNA to always be protesting something?
Obviously it was our mother, the Roman Catholic Church, our Reformation forbears so vigorously protested against. And with good reason -- Luther alone came up with 95. One of the chief causes of enduring division was the doctrine of justification. Protestants generally patted themselves on the back for being "grace oriented" while caricaturing the Catholics as "works oriented". I grew up around Southern Baptists in the Deep South where Catholics were not even considered Christian. The Presbyterians I knew seemed to be a bit more gracious as we considered them "almost Christian."
It had been one week since the gavel was laid down at the General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala. My energy level had rebounded--it can be tough work as an "observer." But, I was finding it more difficult to bounce back emotionally and vocationally from GA. After hours of debates in committee, debates on the floor, asking whether or not the minority should become the majority report, trying to figure out LES (the electronic report system) and hearing countless people refer to the decline of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and threats of leaving, I was left wondering isn't there more to life than this? Is there a place to start over fresh? Is staying in this denomination worth it?
This is what we know:
God's people will continue to meet together, for worship, support and encouragement, inspiration, and mission. They will design this in ways that make sense to each of their culturally stratified situations.
This is what we have learned:
It is really hard to change existing churches! It is not only hard to accomplish but it may not be fair. Consider the pastoral implications of demanding that a generation, who has worshiped meaningfully and successfully with a particular style of music and liturgy, suddenly give all that up because kids don't like it. It isn't fair to anyone.
This, then, is what we can do:
New churches; new faith communities in existing churches; new worship services, new fellowships, new identities and new strategies!
Should we, as evangelicals, separate from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?
Many of us are now asking this question. We know there is no genuine theological solution to the homosexuality issue. We know that any continued unity would be contrived. So, why can't we just admit the presence of irreconcilable differences in our marriage to the PC(USA) and file for divorce? Such a decision, although unfortunate, seems increasingly desirable for many of us.
But should we pursue this as an option? After all, we know that a divorce would probably be messy. There will be no "gracious separation" as some of us may have hoped - far too much money and power is involved for that to happen. Do we want to have a nasty, public fight?
We may be thinking, "Sure, it will be nasty, but it will be worth it in the long run." But surely this can be our choice only if we are convinced that we are fulfilling the will of God. That's where the confusion creeps in.
Some are saying that schism is repulsive to God. Others are insisting that separation is necessary for us to remain faithful. These conflicting voices bewilder us. What we need is a theology of unity and disunity that would help us understand whether separation might be in the will of God or not. To spark thinking in this direction, let's first look at some of the most relevant Scriptures about unity and disunity, as well as two classic formulations from church history. Then let's draw out some of the implications for the present situation in the PC(USA).
John 17:20-26: I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.
I think this text is an important touchstone for all of us in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at this particular moment in our history. It is a time in which many of us are down on our knees praying for the peace, unity, and purity of our denomination -- a time when it is imperiled, when talk of schism is in the air. I find myself sticking very close to John 17 during these troubled days, for I need the reassurance it provides that the Lord Jesus is praying for us too -- and whenever I turn to it, I find it a powerful experience to overhear him speak our names before God in fervent prayer for our unity.
Many of you have heard me preach that I am "sinfully proud of being a Presbyterian." After each General Assembly I ask myself "Are you still?" And the answer is always yes--even after attending 27 straight.
I never agree with all the decisions made, but I still come away Presbyterian. I've always been proud of our historic heritage in forming the United States. I know the break-aways always try to claim this "as well" but they can't quite pull it off.
And all of you who have heard me know there is one thing I consider the most important of all -- mission, mission, mission.
These are times of high-velocity intense change in our denomination. John Detterick and the many now-departed members of our national staff have been a blessing to our church in this time of change. The General Assembly has just ended a challenging meeting. Linda Valentine, the new executive director of the General Assembly Council, along with the rest of the national staff and the GAC, have much to contend with.
All of us are eager for a new and transformational chapter in the life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The church is doing many things that matter. The thing that matters most to a great many of us is the design of transformational, missional, and innovative congregations who worship God while passionately engaging their communities to make disciples and to meet human need -- which is in some contrast to our present reality.
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