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| PRESS RELEASE from
the Auburn Affirmation group
AFFIRMATION MOVEMENT LAUNCHED!
[published here on 5-11-01]
May 1, 2001, Nationwide -- Presbyterians from around
the country join in issuing "Affirmation 2001." In the spirit
of the Auburn Affirmation (1924) today's movement urges Presbyterians to
unite under the historic principles of the Presbyterian Church. Quoting
the Presbyterian Church's constitution, Scripture and the original
Affirmation, the recently issued statement challenges the "bitter
and divisive intolerance that is alien to the good news of the gospel of
Jesus Christ and our Reformed faith," and calls upon Presbyterian
members, church officers and governing bodies --
 | To be faithful to our churches constitutional call
of openness to all church members who earnestly profess their faith
in Jesus Christ; |
| To reaffirm and protect freedom of conscience,
liberty of expression and the freedom to disagree within our broad
Reformed principles (G-1.0305); and |
| To resist - as a "scandal to the gospel"
(G-5.0103); any action taken by governing bodies that fails to
welcome all persons who profess their faith in Jesus Christ as full
and equal members of the Presbyterian Church (USA). |
The Rev. David Bos issued the call "to reclaim the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) for the principles and person of Jesus Christ, on which
our church was founded" from the pulpit of the Downtown United
Presbyterian Church, Rochester, New York, September 3, 2000. Since that
time Presbyterians from around the nation have jointly crafted
Affirmation 2001, released April 29th.
According to Robert McAfee Brown and Sydney Thomson Brown -- who were
among the many writers and contributors -- "This statement is most
timely for our church, in that once again it reaffirms the centrality of
both freedom and commitment for us as people of God and followers of
Jesus Christ."
Letty Russell adds, "This is an opportunity for all of us to
reconnect with our Reformed roots by making clear that full membership
in our church rests on our single essential confession: that Jesus
Christ is Lord and Savior."
Building on the historic standards of the church and responding to the
call of the Holy Spirit, co-organizers Rev. David Bos and the Rev. Bear
Ride report that Affirmation 2001 is a document of a movement of
moderate and progressive Presbyterians in response to the current crisis
in the church. "We are convinced that the crisis in the church
rests on one faction's inability to affirm Christ's presence in the
lives and ministries of all faithful Presbyterians," the document
declares. "Affirmation 2001 addresses the fundamentalism of our
generation that would absolutize certain 'essentials' and use them to
exclude those whom God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, has called into
the church," said Bos.
Leaders in the Affirmation Movement are calling on
Presbyterians to visit the website (www.auburnspirit.org)
and add their names to Affirmation 2001.
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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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