Gratitude, if and when it does arrive,
seems very seldom centered on the meal itself.
Yes, the sacred bird with all its panoply
is blessed in solemn, if embarrassed grace.
Celebrate, Celebrate, Celebrate said the words of the theme song for the 24th General Assembly of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) held in Accra, Ghana, July 30-August 13, 2004. It focused on the Scripture assuring life in fullness (John 10:10). The words and the tune reverberated throughout the campuses of University of Ghana, Legon and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
Reformation Day (which this year – perhaps too appropriately – fell on Halloween) provides a needful occasion on which to reflect on the role of Scripture and preaching in the Presbyterian Church. The matter is made urgent by the recent election that sacrificed (at a cost of 600 million dollars on the presidential race alone) substantive debate about the serious issues before this republic on the altar of entertainment, spin, and downright dirty lies.
Does there come a time for everyone
when looking forward yields
to looking back; when fond memory
takes over from anticipation
and what has been holds pride of place
It’s clearly possible that we Americans need to distinguish between what has been given us by the hand of Almighty God, and what we have wrested by exploitation from others who were in this land before we were, as well as from those who were brought to the ‘New World’ against their wills and purchased by us, and as our property made enduring contributions to our national wealth. Thanksgiving is a peculiar American holiday.
At this time of year it is worth thinking about our attitude toward God in prayer. So many negative things happen in our own lives, the church, and in the world that are dangerous and disheartening. we often start our prayers by listing our fears about potential disaster. As a denomination we run the risk of constantly focusing on our disagreements, our declining membership, and our lack of power in the world.
It was my privilege during August this year to visit both Guatemala and El Salvador. I was in Guatemala in the company of my son Herb, who is a journalist/editor for the Diocese of Michigan. We then joined a group of Episcopal communicators for a week in El Salvador.
It is a prayer heard in almost every synagogue and church
throughout the world:
"May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord
cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you peace."
The PC(USA) lost two outstanding leaders almost exactly a week apart with the deaths of C. Kenneth Hall on October 15 and Shirley Guthrie on October 23 (see obituaries in the November 8 and today’s issues of OUTLOOK). Both exercised extraordinary spiritual gifts in lives wholly committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
I planted, wrote Paul to the Corinthians, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (I Corinthians 3:6)
This image of the church is a flourishing plant, a living organism with deep roots, firm foundations, and tender branches. I am concerned about the tender branches, especially as they matriculate each year in church conference centers.
Ron Salfin in his film review of “The Village” (Sept.6) observes quite rightly that it is a parable, the moral of which is for the viewer to decide. Having viewed this provocative film and entered into the parable to allow its truth to speak to me, I am bold to share my own journey to and from “The Village.”
Editor’s Note: This article continues consideration of the need for renewal in preaching and the use of lectionaries aired in earlier Outlook issues this year: January 5, “Righteous Judgment” by James C. Goodloe IV; March 22, “Righteous Judgment and Biblical Preaching” by Arlo D. Duba; June 21, “Lectio Continua and the Lectionary” by Hughes Oliphant Old; and “Duba Overstates Benign Influence of Lectionary” by James C. Goodloe IV.)
A faithful Presbyterian missionary, fresh from the mission field, asked this question in a new member class in a neighboring congregation. She was disturbed at the silence of the mainline church in the face of 9/11, the war on terrorism, and the invasion of Iraq.
The first duty of responsible citizenship is prayer – even before we wind our way into the voting booth. Timothy’s mentor gave him this advice: “I urge you that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that [the Christian community] may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” [I Tim. 1 – 2]
Hundreds of thousands of non-Presbyterian Christians, Palestinians, Israelis – and stockbrokers – now know how to “spell Presbyterian.” Not long before, when the 216th General Assembly convened in Richmond, Virginia, that was not the case. The first report I received about the Assembly’s actions regarding Israel: ending construction on the security wall, studying the possibility of divestment, and the funding of Avodat Yisrael (the messianic Jewish congregation in Philadelphia) was from a church member who picked up a distorted, scurrilous story on the Internet.
The Assembly this year will go down in the annals of the Kirk, as the first time a woman occupied the Moderatorial Chair. Though press coverage concentrated on Dr. Elliot's gender, equally significant was the fact that for the first time for more than four hundred years, an elder was called to this high office. For some time now there has been ever increasing media pressure on the Church to elect a woman Moderator.
The idea goes something like this.
A small congregation, in need of a new pastor, looks at new seminary graduates -- a pastor seeking a first call would be just fine with them.
A student, eager to dive into ministry, is delighted with the idea too.
The congregation needs a pastor; the pastor needs a job.
A match is made.
Everybody's happy.
Except here's the problem: a lot of the time, it doesn't work like that at all.
People familiar with the system say there are multiple, serious problems with the path that students take during and after seminary -- problems that are often frustrating for students and churches alike.
Some students don't move into the inquirer and candidacy process quickly enough, or don't pass their ordination examinations, so when they graduate they're not ready to take a call to a church.
More than a few people go to seminary, but don't want to go into parish ministry, or don't want to serve the kinds of churches that have the most vacancies -- small congregations in rural areas or little towns.
Loren Mead presented the challenge well: “In all the denominations, by whatever names we call it, we badly need a better functioning system by which local churches, clergy, and laity are strengthened and encouraged into their ministries. The old system of oversight approaches collapse”(Mead 1991. 55).
In March, a letter came from the Editor and CEO of The Layman, Parker Williamson, requesting that The Presbyterian Outlook “publish corrections and apologies for erroneous statements made in two of our editorials, titled “Ministry of Fear” (January 26, 2004) by John Sniffen, former Associate Editor of the Outlook, and the editorial, “Addressing the Issues” (March 22, 2004) by Interim Editor O. Benjamin Sparks.
Due to the mid-August to early September publishing hiatus at the Outlook, the Uniform Lesson Helps for Sunday, September 5 were not printed. We are posting it on our web site for immediate use.
September 5 Bible Study (Uniform Lesson)
UNIT I “Created for a Purpose"
"From the Dust of the Ground"
Background Scripture and Lesson Focus: Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-24
Without doubt, the most heated plenary debate at the 216th General Assembly was the debate about whether to discard the Authoritative Interpretations on homosexuality. The tactic of the majority report, to abandon the A.I., was keenly designed to attract votes from the theological center. Instead of saying that this would make gay ordination a local option (although this was the claim of a Witherspoon Fellowship newsletter), the majority report sought more “moderate” grounds: that the language of A.I. was “antiquated” and “offensive,” thus it should be eliminated.
Our moderator, Rick Ufford-Chase, is urging the church to take risks, to "get in the boat with Jesus." One of the risks he encouraged sent chills down the spines of some seminary presidents. He called for sacrifice. He believes pastors are paid too much, and that we need to learn, alongside Hebrew and Greek, a living language such as Spanish or Korean.
One of the "holy moments" on the floor of the 216th General Assembly came when the minority report on Authoritative Interpretation became the majority vote by only four votes. There was a spontaneous moment of silence, prompted by the sadness of those who had prayed and worked for the majority report which would have invalidated the 1970s authoritative Assembly statements. There was also the humble recognition by everyone present who saw how deeply divided our church remains on the issue of ordination.
There is an invitation on The Outlook Web page inviting guest viewpoints on the war in Iraq, in response to the reports of torture and abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. One of you remarked that I had not declared where I stand.
This editorial is a declaration, taking its cue from the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, where he sits at the right hand of God, and shall come to judge the living and the dead. For (1 Corinthians) Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Every year I try to explain "Orwellian" to my students. I end up with something like "a systematic perversion of language to hide what is real and replace it with an illusion — an illusion that is often the exact opposite of the reality. Its long-term effects are, first, a sense of unreality, then, cynicism, and finally, apathy and despair." I might do better just to hand them The Presbyterian Outlook's annual Higher Education Issue.
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