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Covenant Network on ordination policy |
We have just received the following statement, adopted by the Board of
Covenant Network at its recent meeting. You may be interested to compare
it with a recent statement adopted by
the Witherspoon Society.
Time for Change
A Statement from the Board of the Covenant
Network
September 29, 2003
[posted here 10-2-03]
The Covenant Network, in solidarity with other organizations and many
individual Presbyterians, is working for the full inclusion of gay and
lesbian Presbyterians in the life and leadership of the Presbyterian Church
(USA). To this end, G-6.0106b, which has introduced injustice into the
church's Constitution and division and hostility into its life, must be
repealed. The good of the church and the truth of the Gospel are at stake.
The church faces major decisions in the next several
years. In 2006, the 217th General Assembly will receive the
report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the
Church, drafts of which will be released in the year before. The Task Force
has been asked to propose ways for the church to move into the future in the
face of deep differences about sexuality, ordination and other issues. We
eagerly anticipate the Task Force's findings and hope that they will pave
the way toward the just, generous, holy and peaceful church for which we and
so many others have been working.
Neither the Task Force nor any other group can hope to
change the church unless Presbyterians on all sides of the issues are ready
for change. The church must prepare to receive the report and to make major
decisions about its policies and its life together. Study, prayer, dialogue
and especially listening, to the Holy Spirit and to each other, are
essential parts of this preparation.
Therefore, we will pour our energies and our
organization's resources into preparing for change. We hope that this
process contributes to a successful amendment to delete G-6.0106b in 2006 at
the 217th General Assembly and in the presbyteries in the year
following. We recognize that the timing of change in the Church belongs to
God; we commit ourselves to work with others in discerning the movement of
the Spirit.
To assist the church to prepare for change, the Covenant
Network in 2003 and 2004 will
· Support overtures to make clear that the arbitrary,
contradictory, and obsolete "Authoritative Interpretations" that pre-date
G-6.0106b are no longer binding
· Continue to offer legal counsel and defense to officers
and sessions attacked under G-6.0106b
· Contribute to church-wide dialogue by offering major
theological conferences on the Church We Are Called to Be and Become in
2003, on sexual ethics in 2004, on Christian discipleship in 2005, and on
the meaning of ordination in 2006
· Prepare and distribute new resources for informing
discussion in presbyteries, including new videos, books of stories and
testimony, and enhanced electronic resources
· Strengthen networks for dialogue, support, and change in
presbyteries across the country
Got comments??
You're invited to share them here.
Just send a
note!
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Visit
our lively
new website! |
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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:
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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! |
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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. |
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Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
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If you like what
you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and
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Gibsonia, PA 15044-8312 |
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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
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. |
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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?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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