A quick index to our reports on this event
[10-15-03]

Here are our own reports:

Erwin McManus calls for welcoming congregations, urges Christians to be guided more by "wisdom" than by "reason."

"Gracious separation" gets serious attention as an option for conservatives.

Earlier reports on the proposal for "gracious separation".

Some want to "stay and fight" (or at least work) for orthodoxy and purity in the PC(USA).

Korean pastor says he'll stay - because racism and injustice are the issues, not sex.

People comment about our reports of the Coalition Gathering -- with thanks, suggestions, and more.

We've listed a number of reports from other sources and perspectives.

ALSO:

While proposals for "gracious separation" drew the attention and support of many participants in the Presbyterian Coalition Gathering in Portland, there were still important voices raised in support of the Coalition's long-held position that conservatives ought to stay in the Presbyterian Church, working in various ways to return the church not so long ago called "apostate" to traditional beliefs and morality.

We've received a number of kind comments for our reporting from the Coalition Gathering, along with a few suggestions to fill in some of our reports.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The strategic dilemma:
Bob Howard says "leave," and Jin Kim says "stay"

Leslie Scanlon reports in Outlook on these two differing views of what conservatives should do now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grieving over the "failed experiment" of the PC(USA)

Anita Bell, co-moderator of the Coalition, spoke in the opening plenary session about her grief over the loss of the Presbyterian church she thought she was going to serve when she was ordained 20 years ago. She lamented the weariness of those still fighting for " the truth of our union with Christ" in a church which has largely abandoned that truth, as she sees it.

She spoke also of the painful divisions among Presbyterian evangelicals, as they struggle to decide whether to leave (in a "gracious separation") or to "stay and fight." The divisions and tensions have grown to the point where "too often, we talk behind one another's backs, sometimes in disparaging ways that shame our family connection."

All of this is reported by Craig M. Kibler in The Layman Online.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A comment from Doug King

As your WebWeaver, attending this important evangelical gathering for the first time, I was indeed surprised at the evident tensions among the various groups with their differing strategies. Bob Howard complained at the end of his Tuesday afternoon workshop that the conference leadership refused to give him time enough to explain his proposal for gracious separation, and would not let him speak in the morning session to rebut the views of Terry Schlossberg. Some of my conservative friends, however, assured me that such forthright statements of differences and discontents are normal at these gatherings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cases of discipline

Peggy Hedden, spoke on Tuesday morning about the wins and losses on the judicial front, saying that if discipline is one of the three marks of the church, today "it is a very faint mark."

She listed a few "bright spots," such as the decision by the Presbytery of Cincinnati that the Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken has renounced the jurisdiction of the church, and is no longer to be counted among its ministers.

She listed a few other cases as "wins," and a good many which were, she said, failures of the church to exercise its proper disciplinary role.  That included some of the cases initiated by Mr. Paul Rolf Jensen.

Craig M. Kibler reports in The Layman Online

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Schlossberg on keeping up the struggle

Parker Williamson reports on Terry Schlossberg's call for a continued struggle to reform the church, rather than to leave it.

You can check out our own take on that, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The proposal for "gracious separation"

Bob Howard presented the details of his call for "gracious separation" in the plenary Forum of ideas on Tuesday morning, and again in a workshop that afternoon.

Craig M. Kibler offers a detailed report of Howard's morning presentation, plus the full text of his proposal, which we will soon post on this website as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you seen other helpful reports from the Coalition Gathering?  Please let us know, with a link that will take us to them, and we'll add them here.

A number of speakers through the day advocated for "gracious separation," while others offered their vision for a new kind of church under the title "New Wineskins."

Korean pastor says he'll stay - because racism is the issue, not sex   [10-7-03]

Presbyterian Coalition conference will discuss a plan for "Gracious Separation"

Coalition corrects Layman report

[9-24-03]

The Layman Online reported on Sept. 15 that "Presbyterians who attend the Presbyterian Coalition's Gathering VIII will discuss a plan -- titled "Gracious Separation" -- that would call for ending the Presbyterian Church (USA) as it now exists and allow congregations to vote to affiliate with one of two new denominations.

The report notes that the author of the "Gracious Separation" paper is Robert L. Howard, a member of the Coalition board and immediate past chairman of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. The paper as now posted on the Confessing Churches website does not name an author.

The Presbyterian Coalition quickly responded with this correction:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Presbyterian Coalition and Gracious Separation

September 19, 2003

And the rest of the story... gracious separation is to be only a minor topic of discussion at Gathering VIII. The Executive Committee of the Presbyterian Coalition wants to make sure that readers of The Layman Online are not left with the mistaken impression that "gracious separation" is the exclusive focus of Gathering VIII to be held in Portland, Oregon, October 6-8.

On Monday, September 15, 2003, The Layman Online posted an article titled ''Gracious Separation,'' other reports will be discussed at Gathering VIII.'' While the title of the article does indicate that other reports are to be discussed at Gathering VIII, the article gives exhaustive attention to "gracious separation," and one brief sentence to those other reports. We want to emphasize that reports will also be presented on New Wineskins for a New Century, Mission Futures, Compliance Through Discipline, Networking for Reform, and Reform from Within.

At its broadest constituency, the Presbyterian Coalition agrees that the biblical, historic and constitutional standards for church officers are rightly described in paragraph G-6.0106b of the Book of Order of the PCUSA. Beyond that consensus there are many ideas about the future of the denomination and the means of achieving those various goals. The presentations at Gathering VIII will reflect some of the emerging and ongoing conversations across the church on issues before the church. We want to be clear: The Presbyterian Coalition, Inc. does not advance nor advocate any of these specific strategies, though each has support among particular constituencies within the Coalition as a movement of God's people in the PCUSA. These presentations are provided as information and as impetus for further discussion. They will each be amplified in workshops and break out groups for further consideration and conversation.

We would encourage readers to go to the Coalition website http://www.presbycoalition.org and see for themselves the program to be presented at Gathering VIII -- and plan to be there to participate in all of the discussions. To see the schedule of events at Gathering VIII go to http://www.presbycoalition.org/g8schedule.htm

Got comments?
We hope you'll share them here.
Just send a note!