Presbyterian Voices for Justice 

A union of The Witherspoon Society and Voices of Sophia

Welcome to news and networking for progressive Presbyterians 

Home page Marriage Equality Global & Social concerns    
News of the PC(USA) Immigrant rights Israel & Palestine
U S Politics, 2010-11 Inclusive ordination Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
Occupy Wall Street The Economic Crisis Other churches, other faiths
    About us         Join us! Health Care Reform Archive
Just for fun Confronting torture Notes from your WebWeaver

What's Where

Our reports about the 219th General Assembly, July 2010

ABOUT US

The Winter 2011 issue of
Network News
is posted here
- in Adobe PDF format.

Click here for earlier issues
Adobe PDF  Click here to download (free!) Adobe Reader software to view this and all PDF files.

News of Presbyterian Voices for Justice
How to join us

CONNECTIONS

Coming events calendar 

Do you want to announce an event?
Please send a note!
Food for the spirit
Book notes

Go to  Amazon.com

LINKS

NEWS of the Presbyterian Church

Got news??
Send us a note!
Social and global concerns
The U.S. political scene, 2010-11
The Middle East conflict
Uprising in Egypt
The economic crisis
Health care reform
Working for inclusive ordination
Peacemaking & international concerns
The Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
Israel, Palestine, and Gaza
U. S. Politics
Election 2008
Economic justice
Fair Food Campaign
Labor rights
Women's Concerns
Sexual justice
Marriage Equality
Caring for the environment
Immigrant rights
Racial concerns
Church & State
The death penalty
The media
OTHER CHURCHES, OTHER FAITHS
Do you want regular e-mail updates when stories are added to our web site?
Just send a note!
The WebWeaver's Space
ARCHIVES
JUST FOR FUN
Want books?
Search Now:

 

More on the "essential tenets"

Pastor Blair Moffett responds to the "survey" on "essential tenets of the Reformed faith."

[2-28-02]


In January, 2002, some officers of the Witherspoon Society received a letter from the editor of ReFORM magazine, soliciting suggestions for what should be declared as "essential tenets" of the Reformed faith. On Janiuary 23, 2002, we posted a response to the letter, explaining our reasons for not offering a reply to the letter.

We have just received a copy of another response to that solicitation, from the Rev. Blair Moffett, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, Connecticut. He offers an understanding of our ordination questions, and of the whole notion of "essentials," that we find helpful.

 

January 16, 2002

The Rev. Mary H. Naegeli
ReFORM Editor
1965 Colfax St
Concord, CA 94520

Dear Ms. Naegeli:

Thank you for your invitation to respond to the question of "essential tenets." I agree that this is a discussion of great importance for the church, and not just at times of dispute.

You say in your letter that "no governing body has yet identified these essentials." I disagree. Every time a governing body makes a judgment about membership or about ordination, it articulates in that instance what it finds essential to the faith.

The nub of the question is precisely how a particular faith conviction acquires the label "essential." Our ordination questions provide a very deliberate ambiguity: "Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church.?" Copying that text just now I noticed for the first time that the word "confessions" is not capitalized. I take that to suggest that the confession of the Reformed faith is not even bound to a particular document such as The Book of Confessions that is part of The Constitution. In other words, the essential tenets are "in there, somewhere"!

This ambiguity has caused some folks no end of frustration. Why can't we have a list of the really important things? Your upcoming issue offers some palliation in the form of the "top ten" favorites of those polled. But I argue that this is not what the Constitution means by "essential." The great genius of our form of government is expressed in several ways:

First, the "essentials" are not propositional truths but the results of a process of discernment derived from the relationships and responsibilities described in our covenant with God and with one another.

Second, the "essentials" are not absolutes, defined once and for all. Rather, they are specific judgments rendered in particular cases by governing bodies. Oddly, this means that the "essentials" may be different, even contradictory, from case to case. This, too, is highly frustrating for those who value consistency and tidiness. But it has the advantage of placing humble discernment of the leading of the Spirit ahead of arbitrary forms.

I will look forward with curiosity to discover what my fellow Presbyterians value. As you prepare this issue, I would encourage you to think editorially about how our tradition resists being put into lists. Maybe you could engage someone to address the question of why, after 270 years since the Adopting Act, the Presbyterian Church still has no quick-reference list of the essential doctrines.

Your brother in Christ,

R. Blair Moffett

Do you have thoughts to add to this discussion?  Please send a note, and we'll share them here!

 

Visit our lively
new website!

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:

bullet 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!

bullet 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.

bullet Amendment 10-1, which  adopts the new Form of Government that was approved by the Assembly.   Approved.
 

If you like what you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and growing!

Please consider making a special contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve this service.

Click here to send a gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.

Or send your check, made out to "Presbyterian Voices for Justice" and marked "web site," to our PVJ Treasurer:

Darcy Hawk
4007 Gibsonia Road
Gibsonia, PA  15044-8312

 

Some blogs worth visiting

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Got more blogs to recommend?

Please send a note, and we'll see what we can do!

 

To top

© 2011 by Presbyterian Voices for Justice.  All material on this site is the responsibility of the WebWeaver unless other sources are acknowledged.  Unless otherwise noted, material on this site may be copied for personal use and sharing in small groups.  For permission to reproduce material for wider publication, please contact the WebWeaver, Doug King.  Any material reached by links on this site is outside the control and responsibility of the WebWeaver and Presbyterian Voices for Justice.  Questions or comments?  Please send a note!