60 years ago — May 4, 1959 Following the address given by the retiring moderator, Philip F. Howerton, the 99th Presbyterian, U.S. General Assembly elected Ernest Trice Thompson, church history professor at Union Seminary in Virginia and co-editor of the Outlook, as the new moderator. … In a brief induction service, Dr. Howerton presented Dr. Thompson the gavel and a Celtic cross - one of three presented in 1949 by Harrison Ray Anderson of Chicago to the U.S., U.P and USA Assembly moderators with the expressed hope that the three crosses might some day be made into one. Two of them were welded together in Pittsburgh last year when the U.P and USA Assemblies united. …. [Thompson] said he comes from a family of ministers. His grandfather and his father were ministers and his son is a minister. … He called the assembly to a spirit of devotion and commitment, seeking the mind of Christ for the difficult assignments before it. From “Assembly names seminary professor moderator” by … [Read more...]

50 years ago — March 31, 1969 The issue of separation of church and state once again emerged when state proposals attempted to financially assist parochial schools. “The public school systems are those which are open to all children, regardless of class, race or religious affiliation; paid for by all citizens regardless of class, race or religious affiliation; and supervised, controlled, and criticized by all citizens regardless of class, race or religious affiliation. … [They] constitute in a pluralistic society, to borrow Jefferson’s felicitous term, one of our ‘elementary republics’ in which American children begin their adventure in free government. It is in the public school systems that we come to know one another out of our various traditions, respect one another as persons, and begin to work out some of our problems together in producing, hopefully, a responsible citizenry.” Religious liberty not only includes protection against one person having to support another person’s … [Read more...]

40 years ago — March 19, 1979 The Third General Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM III) met in Puebla, Mexico, January 28 to February 13. Though the document is not as bold as the Medellin document drafted in Medellin, Columbia, in 1968, it still takes a stand for the poor. The bishops seemed to be aligned into three groups. There is a conservative group that seeks to avoid conflict between the church and the dictatorial governments and systems. There is a group of progressives that encourages a church that aligns with the people and seeks to be a liberating community of faith and hope. And then there is a third group, a dominating group, “which accepts and rejects in part both of the other two sector’s positions.” The document does stress that the church needs to understand the Latin American people in their historical context, which has been one of abject poverty. This poverty is the result of “economic, social and political situations and structures” and demands “a … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

20 years ago — February 1, 1999 “‘What does the Lord require of you?’ Micah stated that a relationship with God depends on performing acts of justice, mercy and humility.” Micah 6:8 was the focus of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s address to a group of more than 1,300 college students gathered at Celebrate III, an ecumenical conference in North Carolina. Tutu suggested a reversal of the words “to make walking humbly with God the first prerequisite for an authentic religious existence. ‘The true Christian life is impossible unless at its heart beats an engaged spirituality,’ he said. … The archbishop told the students that they, like God, must be among those who are hurting, who have been diminished and dehumanized. ‘For what we do to rehabilitate them, to serve them, we are doing as to our Lord himself,’ he said.” Tutu cited Jesus’ command to love that would bring meaning to Micah 6:8: ‘Love God and love neighbor.’ These are two sides of one coin… one ‘on its own is not legal tender. It … [Read more...]

10 years ago — January 19, 2009 “Some convergences of timing … reflect little more than a coincidence. That an African-American would be inaugurated as the president of the United States just 23 days before the 200th birthday of the president who proclaimed emancipation for African-Americans is just such a coincidence.” The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies chose “A New Birth of Freedom” as its theme. “Those words came from the Gettysburg address, wherein Abraham Lincoln expressed hope that the sacrifices of those who died to preserve the union shall lead to ‘a new birth of freedom’ for America.” Just as Lincoln selected rivals to be part of his cabinet so too has the president-elect. The hope is that out of the varying points of view will derive direction for our nation. In the church we too need to hear the variety of viewpoints. It is our Lord who brought us together into this family. The hope for the new year is that we can hear and appreciate the variety of … [Read more...]