This page lists reports and commentary from the first
part of July, 2004. Click here for special coverage looking
toward the 216th General Assembly,
June 26 - July 3, 2004
On July 17 we received a note from someone who requested
anonymity as he/she invited us, as representing the progressive side of
the Presbyterian Church, to join in "a genuine dialogue."
We clearly prefer not to post messages whose authors do
not identify themselves in some way, but after some reflection the
Witherspoon executive committee decided that in this case there was some
justification for anonymity, and that the invitation to dialogue was one
which we should accept and pursue.
So here's the
note, with the author's promise "not to engage in personal attacks,
name-calling, etc. while shielded by anonymity."
Faith-based witness planned for Republican National
Convention
Interfaith Voices is planning events
before and during the Republican National Convention in New York City,
August 31 through September 2. Beginning August 14, they will sponsor
interfaith worship services, seminars, entertainment and workshops to
educate, support and inspire each other and the thousands of people of faith
who will be going to New York City from across the country to participate in
public witness during the RNC.
They state: "Interfaith Voices is an umbrella organization
in the New York area for people of all faiths to give public witness to our
shared principles and values. We promote the faith-based principles of human
rights; justice and freedom from discrimination; access to healthcare,
housing, education, and employment; peace at home and abroad; and
international cooperation."
The American Psychological Association, meeting in
Honolulu, has adopted a policy supporting gay marriage, and urging that gay
unions be granted all the legal rights of straight couples. The new policy
reflects growing research-based evidence the children raised by same-sex
couples are as mentally healthy as those raised by straight parents.
The APA, based in Washington, has more than 150,000
members, including researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and
students.
We believe it's important for a group like the Witherspoon
Society, as it is for all people of faith, to pay attention, serious
attention, not only to what we see in the media but to the deeper issues of
peace and justice that underlie our choices.
So on this page we will present some views of the campaign
as it unfolds -- hopefully reflecting Witherspoon's commitments to peace and
justice, without being merely partisan.
We want to offer a variety of opinions and reflections,
both from you, our friends and visitors, and from other sources.
Our first installment includes a note from a frequent
visitor, pointing to the significance of former Pres. Bill Clinton's
speech at the Democratic convention, in which he spoke of following our
call, with the refrain, "Send
me."
Rabbi Michael
Lerner sends a critical note from the convention.
He expresses concern about the stifling of dissent, and
especially about the lack of "a coherent vision that can speak to people
in a way that makes them believe that something can really be different."
Wendell Berry
-- author, farmer, environmentalist, philosopher -- provides "some notes
for the Kerry campaign, if wanted." He looks at the deeper questions
of values being neglected so far in this campaign. We must look at
those questions of principle, he says.
So please read, think, and contribute your own views.
Just send a note!
The Synod of Southern California and
Hawaii received what Synod staff member Don Smith calls "a quite vicious
phone message denouncing PCUSA on the basis of a Dennis Praeger radio
editorial last week.
The Washington Office has provided a helpful look at
increasingly restrictive policies from Washington, some of the factors in
domestic politics that are influencing them (in spite of resistance from
younger Cuban immigrants and from the House of Representatives), and recent
General Assembly policy statements calling for an end to the embargo and
travel restrictions, and moves toward re-establishing diplomatic relations.
Witherspoon's summary of General Assembly actions mentioned
-- just briefly -- two
actions dealing with Israel, Israel's building of the wall, and the
possibility of disinvesting from corporations that support the Israeli
government.
Numerous articles and letters have appeared in the past
week or two, charging that the actions taken by the 216th General
Assembly were anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.
The Rev. Bruce Gillette, who chaired the Assembly's
Committee on Peacemaking, which dealt with this proposed actions, sent
a response to the Philadelphia Inquirer,
which had also published accusations of anti-Semitism.
The Rev. Erin Swenson, co-moderator of More Light
Presbyterians, preached recently on the awesome power of God's acceptance.
She explored Romans 8:31-39 through the depths of her own experience,
including parenting a severely disabled child, and finding her own
selfhood by transitioning from male to female gender. You'll find
power and beauty in her proclamation.
Torturing prisoners -
a few bad apples,
or a skill we've taught?
Remember how
congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle deplored the torture of
prisoners at Abu Ghraib as un-American? Last Thursday, however, the House
quietly passed a renewed appropriation that keeps open the U.S.s most
infamous torture-teaching institution, known as the School of the Americas (SOA),
where the illegal physical and psychological abuse of prisoners of the kind
the world condemned at Abu Ghraib and worse has been routinely taught for
years.
The 9/11 commissioners generally get lost in a sea of
details in their report, and often forget the bigger picture----like the
terrorists' motivation for the 9/11 attacks. But a careful reading will show
that it's much more than our freedoms and democracy that terrorists despise.
Ray McGovern says it's the Middle East policy, stupid. McGovern was a career
analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency for 27 years, and is on the
steering group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.
The paper gently notes that "America's policy choices have
consequences. Right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy
regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American actions in Iraq are
dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world."
No, not the teens' clothing store. The gap between rich
and poor is clearly growing in America, says Bill Moyers in a recent
Sojourners article. And more: more and more "middle class" people are
entering the ranks of the poor. Meanwhile, the long-standing American
commitment to the welfare of the whole people, the "commonweal," is being
replaced by private control of once-public functions. Why is this happening?
Because, argues Moyers, big money has gained control of the political
process.
FaithfulAmerica.org announced on Saturday, July
24, that "late last night, shortly before they adjourned until September,
the US House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously passed
resolutions designating Darfur a genocide and calling on the US government
to stop the killing, including through a possible intervention."
But since life is never simple, you may want to look at this report, too:
The world is waking to the human disaster in Sudan. But, argues writer
and world authority on the country, Alex de Waal, the crisis is far more
complex than some claim - and cannot be resolved by a quick fix.
Divisive
legislation threatens independence of courts
Motivated by the failed Federal Marriage
Amendment and growing discontent over the war in Iraq, House Republicans
passed the Marriage Protection Act. By a vote of 233 to 194, the measure
blocks federal courts -- including the US Supreme Court -- from being
allowed to hear challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act.
If you want to do something about CAFTA,
click here for some helpful
information for any who want to urge their members of Congress to
support the PCUSA view. The material comes from the Campaign for Labor
Rights, prepared with information from CISPES and the Nicaragua Network.
7/21/04
Just got back from a little walk -- overwhelmed by the rainbow that arced
across the whole sky,
the most perfect display of God's gracious promise I've ever seen.
So forgive me if I bore you, but I just have to share this
for a while.
Glory be to God, our Creator beyond all our imagining.
Washington Office calls attention to another threat to
equal rights: the Marriage
Protection Act (yep, really!) coming before Congress this week
They also provide a helpful selection of
actions by the 2004
General Assembly, relating to the Federal Marriage Amendment, equal
rights issues, and more.
And finally, Elenora Giddings Ivory, director of the Washington Office,
responds to the question:
"How do you deal with the constant attacks against the Washington Office
and you personally?"
The Presbyterian Washington Office has joined a number of
other religious groups in urging completion of a welfare-reauthorization
plan being considered by the Senate Finance Committee. The groups have
joined in sending a letter to U.S. senators about the federal government's
principal cash-assistance program for low-income families, Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
The coalition, the Interreligious Working Group on
Domestic Human Needs, says in the letter, "We are extremely disappointed
that Congress has not yet passed a long-term reauthorization to strengthen
the program so families can move out of poverty."
Jesus and Jihad
Are you dealing
with folks who are turned on by the "Left Behind" series of evangelical
end-time thrillers?
Nicholas Kristoff, one of the New York Times' most
thoughtful columnists, took note recently of the latest volume in the hugely
popular series. This installment, with the title "Glorious Appearing," tells
the story of Jesus' return to Earth "to wipe all non-Christians from the
planet. It's disconcerting to find ethnic cleansing celebrated as the height
of piety."
He concludes: "People have the right to believe in a
racist God, or a God who throws millions of nonevangelicals into hell. I
don't think we should ban books that say that. But we should be embarrassed
when our best-selling books gleefully celebrate religious intolerance and
violence against infidels. That's not what America stands for, and I doubt
that it's what God stands for."
Many good
things happened at the 216th General Assembly, but some very important
things did not happen, in part because people preferred not to make choices.
The Rev. Jake Young reflected on this in a sermon at his church in
Springfield, IL -- holding up the story of the good Samaritan as a mirror
for considering our reluctance to choose.
Wearing red -- another comment
Some time ago a visitor suggested that people
wear something red every Friday as a gesture
of solidarity with the victims (on all sides) of the US war in Iraq.
Another enthusiastic wearer of red sees that gesture as a
means to communicate, and even to
open up conversation.Check
out her comment.
A Yankee Presbyterian in Scotland stands by his
condemnation of the war on Iraq
The Rev. Dr. John Mann preached at
the funeral of a young Glasgow man who was recently killed in the
fighting in Iraq. He took the occasion, at the behest of the man's parents,
to denounce the war. That simple act has earned him lots of attention, and
here's a follow-up article published in Scotland on Sunday,
which is the Sunday edition of The Scotsman. Mann comments that
"there are a couple of exaggerations, but for the most part I thought the
article ... was an accurate reflection of the interview."
Needless to say, not everyone agrees with his stand, but
many do.
Announcing the 2004 Covenant Network National Conference
Made in the Image of God: Thinking Theologically About Sex
November 4 - 6, 2004
Fourth Presbyterian Church
Chicago
How do we make careful,
biblically informed decisions about ethical living?
What standards should guide the church and its ordained leadership?
How
can we learn to talk about things we'd rather not talk about?
How can we listen faithfully for God's lively Word?
A plea for
people of faith to act to end the killing in Darfur, Sudan
In Darfur, Sudan, 1,000 people are dying every day, and
that number is rising. Over one million black Africans have been bombed
and burnt out of their villages, and their crops and water supplies
destroyed by Arab "Janjaweed" militias. The Government-backed Janjaweed
surround the refugee camps and block life-giving food and medicine from
getting through. Anyone leaving is raped or killed.
The US Government estimates that 370,000 human beings
are already dead or certain to die of starvation in these extermination
camps. Up to 1 million could die within the next few months.
As people of faith and members of the human family, we
cannot let this horror continue. Our government's response so far has been
slow and weak. Only an immediate international humanitarian intervention
to protect the people of Darfur and ensure aid gets to them will stop the
slaughter.
FaithfulAmerica.org is urging people to contact their
representatives and senators in Washington, telling them to vote for the
bi-partisan House and Senate Resolutions demanding the US take these
actions to stop the genocide in Darfur.
We're also providing
links to other sources of
information -- from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Washington
Office, and a writer in the Boston Globe.
Seminarians in
New York plan a service of worship before the Republican convention, to urge
an end to "the misuse of religious language in political and public
settings," to affirm that "governance is moral action," and that the role of
religion in society is to "respond non-violently to protect to the well
being of all people."
The dean of American
economics, John Kenneth Galbraith, updates President Dwight D. Eisenhower's
warning against the military-industrial complex -- and provides a more
considered version of Michael Moore's core argument. Today's threat is not
from capitalists, but from unencumbered corporate managers and their
willingness to sanctify war. Clearly, this criticism goes to the heart of
the Bush Administration, but Kerry shows little indication that he will do
anything to make corporations once again serve the common good instead of
elite greed. This essay excerpted from Galbraith's book The Economics of
Innocent Fraud: Truth for Our Time, appears on the Guardian website.
A commissioner to the Assembly asks about actions on report
of the Health Issues Committee and about statements made in the Church
Orders Committee. TeSelle responds to his questions.
The National Council of Churches USA has released 10
principles for evaluating candidates that it hopes all Christians - from
liberals to conservatives - will study and apply in this election year.
They could provide very helpful points for reflection and conversation in
churches and elsewhere.
You can download a one page list of the ten principles,
with a short study guide on the back of the page.
Note: This one does not come from the
White House.
Recovering a hijacked faith
Jim Wallis, convener of Call to Renewal and executive
director of Sojourners, has
published an opinion piece in the Boston Globe, saying that it's
time for Christians to mount a "rescue operation" to take back their faith
from the radical Right.
He begins:
Many of us feel that our faith has been stolen, and it's
time to take it back. A misrepresentation of Christianity has taken place.
Many people around the world now think Christian faith stands for
political commitments that are almost the opposite of its true meaning.
How did the faith of Jesus come to be known as pro-rich, pro-war, and
pro-American? What has happened? How do we get back to a historic,
biblical, and genuinely evangelical faith rescued from its contemporary
distortions?
That rescue operation is crucial today in the face of a social crisis that
cries out for prophetic religion. ... When we take back our faith, we will
discover that faith challenges the powers that be to do justice for the
poor instead of preaching a "prosperity gospel" and supporting politicians
who further enrich the wealthy.
Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed: On
(Not) Getting By in America, examines the wider reality of the
so-called "groupthink" that was blamed by the Senate Intelligence Committee
for all the distorted and just plain wrong "intelligence" that supposedly
led the President and his friends to lead us into invading Iraq. The
pressure to conform is always present, but has grown much stronger, she
says, since 9/11, "when groupthink became the official substitute for
patriotism, and we began to run out of surfaces for affixing American flags.
Bill Maher lost his job for pointing out that, whatever else they were, the
9/11 terrorists weren't cowards, prompting Ari Fleischer to warn (though he
has since backed down) that Americans "need to watch what they say."
A thought: It might be interesting to explore
the dynamics of groupthink in religion -- and the vital function of prophets
ancient and modern in combating it.
Pastor of fast-growing Confessing Church congregation resigns
The Presbyterian Layman reports that Dr. Robert "Robby" McBride,
the pastor of what may be the fastest-growing congregation in the
Presbyterian Church (USA), and a member of the Confessing Church movement,
has resigned from the pulpit of Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church in Lexington,
S.C. He submitted a letter of resignation to the Session, acknowledging that
he has violated his ordination vows and his "own Christian conscience."
Interestingly, the South Carolina Legislature promptly
approved a resolution honoring his 22 years as the pastor of Saxe Gotha.
We have received
a note from Deborah Milam
Berkley, a member of First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue (WA),
criticizing some of the comments made by Gene TeSelle in this
Witherspoon report on General Assembly.
7/14/04
Senate turns back Administration pressure
to discriminate against same-sex partners
With millions of others around the country,
we rejoice that the U.S. Senate, if not taking a step forward, has at least
refused to take a step backward in the struggle for justice and equality for
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Equal Partners in Faith has issued a good
statement on this action. You
can read it here, and find links to other sites -- and to e-mail
addresses for your senators, just in case you want to say Thank You!
The Interfaith Alliance has
issued a strong warning to churches and other religious organizations that
an initiative by the Bush-Cheney campaign could possibly lure them into
jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, violating privacy laws, diminishing
the positive role of religion, and dividing congregations along political
lines.
"What went wrong," according to this report, includes
the Administration's selective use of intelligence information, and
reliance on such "questionable sources" as Ahmed Chalabi; the
Administration's insistence that the plans developed by the State
Department for the reconstruction of Iraq be ignored by the military
commander in charge of reconstruction; and the failure of Congress to
exercise its responsibility for oversight, and its willingness to give the
President overly broad powers.
Not-too-serious thoughts about a serious concern: The Patriot Act
A
Tennessean assures his conservative Representative that he's trying to
live by the Patriot Act - so he tells her what he's been reading.
Catching up -- GA stories we didn't get to at the time!
Jack Hartwein-Sanchez is one of many GA regulars -
attending each Assembly to support the concerns of GLBT Presbyterians, to
take great photos (which he generously shares with your WebWeaver!), and
to share in the whole experience of the gathering.
This year he shared very personal reflections on the
Assembly with a circle of friends, through daily e-mails. Here he spreads
his circle wider, and has let us share with you his experience of the
Welcoming Presbyterians National Worship Service that was held on Sunday
afternoon, June 27.
We also have a brief report of the worship service from
MLP's own website.
On Saturday, June 26, over
200 people gathered to honor a host of individuals and groups for their
faithful witness in and to the Presbyterian Church. The main speaker
of the evening, the
Rev. Marvin M. Ellison, Ph.D. explored the many ways the gay experience can
shed light on the realities of our church -- and perhaps lead us to the kind
of "make-over" the gay guys offer to drab straights on the TV show "Queer
Eye for the Straight Guy."
Witherspooner testifies for ordination of lgbt Presbyterians
Many people lined up to speak to the Committee on Church
Orders and Ministry on Monday afternoon, June 28, as the committee began
consideration of a number of overtures dealing with the ban on ordination of
LGBT Presbyterians.
More
Light Presbyterians has the full text of three statements on its
website. They offer three very personal - and very profound - sets of
reasons for ending the Presbyterian Church's ban on ordination of LGBT
members. We offer one more point of view.
The Rev. John Harris, who has
been elected as a new member-at-large of the Witherspoon Society executive
committee, was one of many people to testify in the open hearing of the
Committee on Church Orders and Ministry on Monday afternoon.
7/10/04
Religious voices need to be raised against the Federal
Marriage Amendment
Clergy of all faiths are
being urged to sign on to a letter to senators, expressing opposition to the
Federal Marriage Amendment, which will likely come up for a vote in the US
Senate next week. Senators are being pressed hard by the religious
right, and other voices need to be heard.
This appeal comes from The Religious Action Center of
Reform Judaism, but is clearly open to all faiths.
Click here for
background, the text of the letter, and a sign-on page.
SoulForce also provides background papers, resources, sample letters,
and suggestions for action.
NEXT WEEK MAY SEE A VOTE TO CLOSE THE SOA
According to the School of the Americas Watch,
the best opportunity for a vote this session to close the SOA/WHINSEC may be
coming
AS EARLY AS JULY 12th, when
the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill is scheduled to be voted on by
the full House of Representatives.
Get more information and suggestions for action.
The Rev.
John Mann, an American Presbyterian pastor serving a church in Scotland,
recently had to preach at the funeral of a teenage Scots soldier killed by a
roadside bomb in Iraq. At the request of the soldier's family, he spoke a
prophetic word of denunciation of the war. His message to Prime Minister
Tony Blair and President George W. Bush, he said, would be just three words
that he hoped someday would be "inscribed on the tablets of [their] hearts -
and those three words are 'shame on you.' "
The Rev. Marvin M. Ellison explored this
fascinating, stimulating question in his talk at the Three Sisters' Dinner
on Saturday evening. Taking his cue from the "Fab Five" on the show "Queer
Eye for the Straight Guy," he suggested that model some important virtues as
"gracious hosts, good listeners, and attentive partners."
Inequality matters
Two respected
sources have recently argued that the growing inequality in American society
poses a serious threat to our democratic political system, and to the
well-being of our nation as a whole.
Bill Moyers, in an address at a June conference at New York University
on the theme "Inequality Matters," said "The middle class and working poor
are told that what's happening to them is the consequence of Adam Smith's
'Invisible Hand.' This is a lie. What's happening to them is the direct
consequence of corporate activism, intellectual propaganda, the rise of a
religious orthodoxy that in its hunger for government subsidies has made an
idol of power, and a string of political decisions favoring the powerful and
the privileged who bought the political system right out from under us."
Read the transcript
of his keynote address.
An article by Godfrey Hodgson, posted on
Opendemocracy.net, cites a report by respected American Political
Science Association scholars, who argue that social inequality is damaging
American democracy. Hodgson sees political implications in the United States
election year.
Viet Nam veteran responds
to Earl Tilford with an affirmation of Christ's peace in
the face of violence
Bob Smith,
a Viet Nam Green Beret veteran, responds to
Earl Tilford's criticism
of Rosemary Radford Ruether's Call to the Churches to bear witness
against the "American messianic nationalism" of our time. Dr.
Tilford draws on his own military experience to argue against Ruether, and
Smith, also speaking as a veteran, argues that Christ offers a better
alternative than military force.
Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Issues Analyst, has assembled an
overall review of the General Assembly, including Witherspoon and other
special events, the elections of the Moderator and the Stated Clerk, the
work of the Theological Task Forces (and the challenges it faces) and other
theological issues, issues of governance and church discipline, reproductive
rights, racial-ethnic issues, peace and justice, families, and of course the
ordination question.
At the close of the annual Witherspoon Society Awards
Luncheon at the 2004 General Assembly, Kent Winters-Hazelton convened the
organization's annual meeting, with some 50 members present.
The election of new officers was confirmed, and they
have taken office with the end of the Assembly.
The full list of
officers is part of our report.
We recently received a brief but sharp note from a
Presbyterian church member, expressing deep concern about reports in
the Washington Post that the Bush/Cheney campaign plans to use
churches and their address lists to mobilize their religious supporters.
Anne Barstow,
recently returned from a Presbyterian delegation to Colombia, reports on a
country that is "falling apart," in part because of US actions.
She is seeking Presbyterians fluent in Spanish who could
spend several months in Colombia accompanying (and thus offering some
protection for) Colombian Presbyterians who are being threatened.
The 2004 General Assembly passed (by 459 to 20) a
strong resolution calling for "ecumenical efforts toward peace in
Colombia and call[ing] for the United States to demilitarize its
anti-drug policies and support in Colombia." It also committed the
PC(USA) to "support and accompany the 'communities of peace and
resistance' who reject all military involvement by guerillas,
paramilitary and Colombian armed forces."
The Institute for
Policy Studies and Foreign Policy In Focus have prepared a careful review
of the costs of the US war in Iraq, including the human, security,
economic and social costs to the US, Iraq ... and the world. Not
cheery reading, but enlightening.
Reception and dinner celebrates 30 years of LGBT movement in the
PC(USA)
On Saturday evening, June 26, More Light
Presbyterians hosted a dinner honoring the 30 year history of the movement
for LGBT inclusion in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The event was co-hosted
with The Shower of Stoles Project and That All May Freely Serve. Surrounded
by the witness of the stoles, Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison, Bass Professor of
Christian Ethics at Bangor Theological Seminary, addressed a
standing-room-only crowd with an embodied, fun, and challenging talk
entitled "Queer Eye on the Presbyterian Church (USA): Marriage, Morals, and
other Makeovers."
One feature of the Welcoming Presbyterians' National More
Light Celebration Dinner at the General Assembly was brief presentations by
a few "Voices of the Movement" - people who have been deeply involved in the
LGBT movement over the past few years - sharing their dreams for the future.
One of the speakers was the Rev. David D. Cockcroft, Pastor Emeritus of the
Riverdale Presbyterian Church, Bronx, New York. We're grateful that
he has agreed to let us share his
comments here, as they offer a perspective seldom heard.
For the first time in its history, PARO (Presbyterians Affirming
Reproductive Options) held public events during the General Assembly, and
the Rev. Jude Michaels, a member of the PARO leadership team, called them "a
socko success."
An overture that would have
removed some of the barriers to the ordination of LGBT Presbyterians was
rejected by the Assembly late Friday afternoon, by a vote of 259 to 255.
The Witherspoon board has not had time to draft any
response to this action, but your WebWeaver, speaking personally, joins in
the lament over yet more unopened doors, yet more continued injustice.
Perhaps we can only understand this as yet another challenge to put aside
our fears, our egos, our reluctance -- and to join in the long and costly
action that lie ahead.
Measures condemn Iraq war, prisoner abuse
Assembly rejects U.S. policy of 'pre-emptive' military
action
The Assembly approved a number of fairly strong statements
this afternoon as it acted on the report of the Committee on Peacemaking.
Kirkpatrick re-elected as Stated Clerk on first ballot
Following an hour of questions and answers to the four
candidates for Stated Clerk, Clif Kirkpatrick has just been elected on the
first ballot with 66% of the vote. Bob Davis received 137 votes; L. Rus
Howard received 25; Alex Metherell received 19 votes, and Kirkpatrick
received 349.
In a long Thursday evening session filled with slightly
inconsistent decisions, the Assembly dealt with the report from the
Committee on National Issues.
Most of the debates were about marriage in its various
forms - or whether it may take various forms.
Hundreds rally to protest Virginia anti-gay law
The Witherspoon Society, along with More Light
Presbyterians and That All May Freely Serve,
issued a statement as the
Assembly convened, expressing concern and outrage at the law that has just
been passed and put into effect in the Commonwealth of Virginia, severely
limiting the civil and economic rights of same-sex couples.
Yesterday, June 30,
the Associated Press reported that "hundreds of people in cities across
the state rallied Wednesday to protest the passage of an anti-gay law that
critics say could interfere with legal contracts between same-sex couples."
Domestic partner benefits study requested; medical plan
review overtures referred to GAC
The
Committee on Pensions, Foundation and the Presbyterian Investment & Loan
Program (catchy, huh?) reported to the Assembly on Wednesday evening.
One action following from that report was a request to the Board of Pensions
to explore the feasibility of offering domestic partner benefits to
employees of the denomination, but it stopped short of saying such benefits
should be offered.
The action "is neutral, carrying neither approval nor disapproval," said
John McFayden, vice chairman of the. The committee was deeply divided on the
issue and found common ground in referring the feasibility study to the
Board of Pensions.
Finding GA documents made simple. Well, pretty simple.
PresbyTel is now offering
GA Tracker, through which you can link to all overtures,
recommendations, and final votes of the Assembly, organized by committee.
Here's how it works:
Click on the link above, and then click on the + sign in
the left column of the page that appears. You will see an index of the GA
committees. By clicking on a + sign before any of the entries (the numbers
are those of the committees) the next level opens. You can work your way
down the hierarchy of files to find the overture itself, the rationale, the
advice of the Advisory Committee on the Constitution, the committee action
and the Assembly action.
The Tracker will be updated as new information (committee
reports, Assembly actions) become available.
Thanks to Hans Cornelder and
PresbyWeb, and to Barry Creech and
PresbyTel for their work to provide this resource.
Lisa Larges opens Assembly session
A long-time leader in the struggle for lgbt ordination, Lisa
Larges open this afternoon's Assembly session. Calling the body to
moments of silence, she then called on the Holy Spirit to be present in the
Assembly, "until our hearts are ablaze with love for you, for each other,
and for our world." She prayed that the Spirit would "set before us
the faces of those who struggle for justice," leading us to become a church
that is "electric" as it opens its doors to lgbt people. "Set us
afire," she prayed, "that we may burn, burn, burn with your love and
justice."
Mr. Jensen (right) in conversation with Don Stroud.
Paul Rolf Jensen, who has made accusations against many
Presbyterian ministers for being gay, or for presiding at the ordination of lgbt Presbyterians, has come to Richmond to place charges against outgoing
Moderator Susan Andrews. He has also sought to speak in the meeting of
the Committee on Church Orders and Ministry as they listened to testimony
from dozens of people supporting or opposing the ordination of lgbt
Presbyterians.
Abortion rights defended
In one of the issues most intensely pressed
by conservatives, the report from the Assembly Committee on Health Issues
would have stated that "in the interest of protecting the life and health of
both the mother and the baby, late-term abortion should be considered only
if the physical life or mental health of the mother is at serious risk and
no alternative means of delivering the baby alive is available." A
minority report called instead for a pastoral letter to the churches, giving
help in dealing with problem pregnancies. The minority report was made
the majority report by a vote of 260 to 250, and then was passed.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
the most perfect display of God's gracious promise I've ever seen.
