|
| |
|
Cloud of Witnesses |
| "Cloud of Witnesses" seeks more signers
of pledge to "[Uphold] our ordination vows as we seek an inclusive church."
Grassroots Movement Grows into a "Cloud of Witnesses"
from Paul Peterson, Minister of Outreach and Education for
That All May Freely Serve - Michigan
[5-13-04]
 |
|
Scroll of signatures displayed at
General Assembly, 2003 |
The affirmation "Upholding Our Ordination Vows as We Seek an Inclusive
Church" was put forward in late March 2003 by a small group of people
active in That All May Freely Serve - Michigan. The initial goal of the
TAMFS-Michigan group was to identify and gather the names of supporters in
the Detroit area. Word of the project quickly spread to other presbyteries.
Signers to the affirmation began to trickle in from across the nation.
As the April 8, 2003 disciplinary trial of Rev. Steve Van
Kuiken of Mt. Auburn Church in Cincinnati approached, the trickle turned
into a flood. On the day of the trial, a thirty foot banner listing the
names of the first 350 signers was unveiled at the press conference as Rev.
Van Kuiken spoke to reporters. Steve Van Kuiken was surrounded by a cloud of
witnesses. Since the trial in Cincinnati, hundreds and hundreds more names
have been added to the list of signers.
At the 2003 General Assembly in Denver, as commissioners
entered Sunday worship they saw the visible witness of 750 signers on a
fifty foot banner. Currently, there are more than 1000 signers.
The project has been endorsed by several organizations and
well-known activists and moved from the TAMFS-Michigan web site to a
national web site called
"Cloud of Witnesses."
The long-range goal of supporters is very simple.
Organizers believe the list of names builds community, seeks justice, and
provides courage. The "Cloud of Witnesses" project
will demonstrate:
 | that a large number of members, ordained elders,
deacons, and ministers are committed to reforming the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) -- community; |
| that continued discrimination against gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender persons in our church and society is
unacceptable -- justice; |
| and that supporters of an inclusive church are not
afraid of the threats and accusations put forward by people like Paul Rolf
Jensen and publications like the Presbyterian Layman -- courage.
|
Please consider adding your name to this important witness
to show commissioners at the 2004 General Assembly that there is a multitude
of people who take a public stand for a truly inclusive church.
Community, Justice, Courage
Click here to
go to the Cloud of Witnesses website |
| "Cloud of Witnesses" passes 500
signatures [5-19-03]
The Cloud of Witnesses project to gather signers for
"Upholding Our Ordination Vows as
We Seek an Inclusive Church" has crossed the 500 mark. As of May 17,
there are 518 signers from a 138 different churches.
At General Assembly in Denver, which begins Saturday, May
24, the Cloud of Witnesses banner, with the names of the signers, will be
displayed at several events. It will also be stretched out along the hallway
outside the committee that is dealing with the overture to remove G-6.0106b
from the Book of Order.
To help in expanding the size of the banner, at this point
40 to 50 feet long, please think one more time of minister, elders, deacons,
and members of Presbyterian churches that you know and invite them to sign
on. A personal email or phone call or conversation in church may give them
the encouragement needed to make a public witness about God's desire for an
inclusive church.
www.cloud-of-witnesses.org
from Paul Peterson
Minister of Outreach and Education
That All May Freely Serve - Michigan
www.tamfs-michigan.org
|
| |
|
Visit
our lively
new website! |
|
GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries,
confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.
We provided resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest have been:
|
Amendment 10-A,
which removes the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers.
Approved! |
|
Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. Disapproved, because as an amendment
to the Book of Confessions it needed a 2/3 vote, and did not
receive that. |
|
Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
|
| |
|
If you like what
you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and
growing!
Please consider making a special
contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve
this service.
Click here to send a
gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.
Or send your check, made
out to "Presbyterian Voices for Justice" and marked "web site," to
our PVJ Treasurer:
Darcy Hawk
4007 Gibsonia Road
Gibsonia, PA 15044-8312 |
| |
|
Some blogs worth visiting |
|
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. |
| |
|
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. |
| |
|
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
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
| |
|
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. |
| |
|
Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
| |
|
