Covenant Network gathers, considers
"Christ Transforming Culture"
Hears inspiring statements from PC(USA) leaders
Rogers and Kirkpatrick
a special report from Gene TeSelle
[11-5-01]
Check out the full text of Moderator
Jack Roger's comments.
The Fall 2001 conference of the Covenant Network of
Presbyterians was held in Pasadena, November 1-3.
The locale was the Pasadena Presbyterian Church;
worship was enriched by a fine organist and choir, joined on occasion by
drums, brass quintet, and flute. One service was in the Taizé tradition, led by guitars and flute.
Panel looks at "Christ transforming
culture"
The theme, "Christ Transforming Culture," was chosen because
this year is the fiftieth anniversary of Richard Niebuhr's Christ
and Culture, a modern classic that has never been out of print.
Perhaps it was also chosen because the Presbyterian Right never tires of
saying that progressive Christians are in bondage to "the
culture," so careful examination of both terms, and their many
modes of relationship, seemed to be called for. The theme was addressed
by most speakers and preachers, a star-studded cast that included Letty
Russell, Jean Kim, Mauricio Chacon, Peter Gomes, Oscar McCloud, and
Barbara Anderson.
The fullest discussion of the theme came in a dialogue
entitled "Christ and Culture: Then and Now."
Jack Stotts, a student of Niebuhr, gave an unusually
clear and motivating presentation of the book, highlighting two
proposals in its conclusion: the need to seek out "strategies of
faithfulness," which in actual practice involve features of all
five types of relationship between Christ and culture; and the role of a
"generous confessionalism."
Cynthia Campbell noted the many ways "now"
is different from "then," enabling us to ask new questions
about the book and its assumptions. Today we are aware of many cultures
and many faiths. When we come to the table of inter-religious and
inter-cultural dialogue, it is clear that we do not own the table; we
are neighbors, not landlords; we come to participate, not to control.
But this does not mean, she went on, that we should withdraw into the
sectarian posture of "resident aliens," limiting our concerns
to our own community or our own selves. This is a time for dialogue
among faith traditions; when they approach common problems they still do
not leave their faith at the door.
When the two speakers were pressed for specifics, they
agreed that the civil rights movement was perhaps the chief example of
"Christ Transforming Culture." Other examples they gave were
the response to the Vietnam War and the rethinking of issues of sexual
orientation in recent decades.
Kirkpatrick and Rogers offer dramatic statements
Perhaps the most dramatic moments in the conference came during a
session for "greetings and observations" by Stated Clerk
Clifton Kirkpatrick and Moderator Jack Rogers.
Kirkpatrick recalled that he was at the World Council
of Churches on September 11, hearing a worldwide reaction. Then he was
scheduled to meet with the Presbytery of New York City the next week.
We recall with gratitude that Kirkpatrick kept paying
attention to the issues raised by September 11, signing a religious
leaders' statement that was organized by Jim Wallis of the Sojourners
Community and later issuing his own statement urging that the economic
bailout consider the needs not only of corporations and cities but of
displaced workers and the poor. In this respect Kirkpatrick is carrying
on the tradition of a Eugene Carson Blake in past decades.
In answer to questions about the threat of schism in the
church, Kirkpatrick said that there is a deep sense of alienation on the
part of some. This is not a large segment of the church, he said, but he
concluded that there are some who may leave.
Moderator Jack Rogers
recalled that on September 11 he was in Louisville, along with former
moderators Freda Gardner and Syngman Rhee, trying agree on the fifteen
members of the theological task force that is to meet for four years to
deal with dissension in the church. He was called on by the media for
comments, wrote a prayer, consulted with the Office of Theology and
Worship as it drew up resources, and participated in a thronged chapel
service at 100 Witherspoon Street.
Addressing the current state of the church, Rogers
recalled the Fundamentalism Project organized by Martin Marty more than
ten years ago and Marty's recent description of fundamentalism: it grows
on soil that is already conservative, it thinks there has been a decline
from a better era in the past, it is militant, and it frames clear-cut
requirements that are selective when one considers the tradition as a
whole. In view of these marks, Rogers said, "We have a militant
fundamentalist group in the Presbyterian Church." This year, he
went on, the Lay Committee went farther than ever before in its
"destructive course." At the meeting of the Coalition, Bob
Howard made a half-hour PowerPoint presentation on how to "make
war" on opponents in the church.
Not all evangelicals or conservatives, Rogers said,
are militant fundamentalists. They recognize that we have the Book of
Confessions, making it unnecessary to formulate the "three
fundamentals" of the Confessing Church Movement. If we want a
shorter summary of the faith, he said, the Brief Statement adopted in
1990 does it far better.
When Rogers finished his address, Eugene Bay,
co-moderator of the Covenant Network along with Joanna Adams, said,
"You may have been called for such a time as this," and Jane
Spahr, lesbian evangelist and long-time advocate of full status for
LGBTs in the church, said, "In my lifetime I have wanted to hear
what you have said today."
Answering a question from the floor about the reaction
to his change of position on gay/lesbian ordination, Rogers said that
since January of 1996, when he first suggested that he was rethinking
the matter, he has received no invitations from evangelical
congregations or conferences, and there has been "no
dialogue."
Coalition supporter disavows Confessing Church
movement
Michael Bruner rose to say that he was a supporter of
the Coalition and wanted those present to know that not all who are
involved with the Coalition agree with the Lay Committee or the
Confessing Church Movement. Rogers said that this was the first public
statement he had heard to that effect, although he had heard it often in
a private and confidential setting. Now that this cat is out of the bag,
the tone of discussion may be different. At least we may hope so.
Two viewpoints, two videos
Participants in the conference had the opportunity to view two
videotapes.
One was a 35-minute version of the presentation
made at the General Assembly by the overture advocates from 29
presbyteries. This presentation, which is probably what convinced many
commissioners to vote for what we now call Amendment A, is available
through theCovenant Network for educational use in presbytery dialogues.
It should be noted that the videotape is personally copyrighted by the
presenters and the 29 overture advocates. Drafts by various individuals
were critiqued and reformulated and rearranged by the group as a whole.
Several of those present urged that the video not be
used in isolation; there should be other statements and other kinds of
personal testimony. Jane Spahr commented on how grateful people in a
Midwestern presbytery were that "five lesbians" took the
trouble to come and tell their stories.
Tim Hart-Anderson reminded those present that
Amendment A "is not arguing about sex." It is the true middle
way, the more excellent way, because it breaks a pattern that has been
frustrating to all. The last twenty-five years, he said, have
demonstrated that we disagree; Amendment A shows how we can live
together with our differences and not be intimidated by fears of a
split. A good brochure has been prepared, briefly summarizing the points
made in the presentation, with the title "We Need Middle
Ground"; presbytery groups should get this and duplicate it.
Participants also saw
a video produced by Presbyterians for Renewal and the Presbyterian
Coalition, although it nowhere acknowledges its sponsors. At the
end, furthermore, it makes a misleading and probably unauthorized use of
the PC(USA) logo. The video is a slick production, making nostalgic use
of Renaissance art as if to suggest that opponents of Amendment B
represent the authentic Christian tradition (of course the Reformed
churches did not put much stock in Renaissance religious art). It makes
the improbable claim that God wants to "shelter his beloved church
from the moral dilemmas and human frailties which painfully divide our
culture" and that God "speaks to us in a single calming
voice."
Two YADs claim that they need to hear a strong voice
of moral guidance, saying little about the need to develop moral
responsibility. Thomas Gillespie makes reckless statements about the
culture's efforts to redefine sexual ethics, ignoring the standards that
would continue and even be reinforced by Amendment A. Harold Kurtz
asserts that only four denominations worldwide have approved gay/lesbian
ordination, while a Presbyterian News Service story last July told of
four in Europe and at least as many in the U.S. and Canada. Kenneth
Bailey asserts that the worldwide church would be horrified at the
passage of Amendment A; but at the 213th General Assembly 78% of the
Ecumenical Advisory Delegates and 57% of the Missionary Advisory
Delegates voted in favor of Amendment A.
Gillespie offers a long and confusing account of the
questions which the Task Force on Homosexuality asked the 1978 General
Assembly of the UPCUSA. What he completely neglects to say is that the
Task Force's own recommendations were rejected by the GA in favor of
what was basically the minority view on the Task Force. And he does not
mention that the 1978 GA intended to offer "guidance," not a
binding rule.
Roberta Hestenes claims that the denomination made
"intensive study" of the issue and that "every
congregation" was engaged in the debate. Actually the report-back
to the 1996 Assembly was spotty at best, and of the congregations
reporting only a small percentage had studied the issue.
When it comes to interpreting the Bible, Kenneth
Bailey paints himself into a corner with the "complementarity"
interpretation of the image of God as male and female; this would mean
that unmarried people cannot be fully in God's image. Scattered
statements from Paul are quoted, ignoring the full context of I Cor.
5-7.
And the video supports the controversial
"ex-gay" ministries, without noting the guidelines adopted by
the 211th General Assembly, which urge that all medical treatment,
psychological therapy, and pastoral counseling be "in conformity
with recognized professional standards."
A resource for your presbytery debate
In preparation for dialogue and debate in the
presbyteries, you should be sure to ask for the overture advocates'
videotape that is distributed by the Covenant Network, as well as
several written documents and the brochure that can be printed off their
web site. You may also want to order the addresses from the conference,
especially the one of Session D, Jack Rogers' address and response to
questions. These are $8 for individual tapes, plus $3.50 for shipping.
Contact Pacific Multimedia, www.pacmultimedia.com.
