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A Pastoral Letter to the Church |
Moderator and Stated Clerk send pastoral letter to the
church
January 31, 2003
[posted here 2-3-03]
To the congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We write to you with thankful and grateful hearts for the countless ways
in which you as Presbyterians are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in
word and deed in this country and around the world. You are feeding the
hungry and clothing the naked. You are welcoming strangers and visiting
the imprisoned. You are doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly
with our God. You are carrying forth the mission of Jesus Christ, and for
that we give thanks.
Yet, we write to you in the midst of painful days in the church. As
Moderator, I decided not to call a special meeting of the 214th General
Assembly. It was determined after a verification process that a petition
submitted asking for a special assembly did not have the minimum number of
signatures required by the Book of Order. An overture by the Presbytery of
Redstone now insures that the basic concerns in the petition will be
before the 215th General Assembly in Denver. We call on all Presbyterians
to deepen our commitment to compliance with the church's Constitution and
forbearance with one another.The strong witness of your congregations challenges us
to lift up the much wider and much deeper concerns of Christian faith and
discipleship before the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The world is waiting
to hear the voice of the church speaking in a time of great risk. Peoples
of all faiths around the world are waiting to see whether there will be
war or peace. As Presbyterians, we confess that:
The church, in its own life, is called to practice the forgiveness of
enemies and to commend to the nations as practical politics the search for
cooperation and peace. This search requires that the nations pursue fresh
and responsible relations across every line of conflict, even at risk to
national security, to reduce areas of strife and to broaden international
understanding (Confession of 67, 9.45).
It is clear that the church's calling is to be peacemakers--a critical
priority for us in these days. We invite you to join a growing chorus of
voices across the country, calling for the United States to exercise
restraint, to refrain from taking pre-emptive military action against
Iraq, and to seek peaceful resolutions to the current crisis. At the same
time, we remember in our prayers the military personnel who may be in
harm's way, as well as their families and the military chaplains who
minister in the armed services.
The peace we are called to serve includes extending hospitality. In the
present climate in our country where those who are different from us are
viewed with suspicion, let us be bold in our acts of compassion--welcoming
the strangers in our midst, embracing new immigrant groups, and sharing
the good news of the gospel.
As the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, "For Christ is our
peace…he has …broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility
between us" (Eph. 2:14). It is time to break down dividing walls between
nations, as well as in our personal relationships, our families, our
workplaces, our congregations, our communities, and within the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Friends in Christ, we are unceasing in our prayers for you, for our
country, for the world, and for this church that we love so deeply. May we
lay aside all that divides us, so that, together, we may demonstrate to
the world the grace, mercy, and love of God, shown to us through our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In Christ's peace/salaam,
The Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel
Moderator of the 214th General Assembly
The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
For those who are seeking additional pastoral and
educational resources on the current situation with Iraq, please visit
the PC(USA) Web site at
www.pcusa.org/iraq
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
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Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
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send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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