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GAC chair tells Covenant Network about
new checks on conferences
by Doug King
11-8-00
 update,
11-15-00
General Assembly Council chair Peter
Pizor has announced he will delay his plan to appoint a
conference-planning-review task force
More
background on Pizor's decision: Congregational
Ministries Division objected to control over conference speakers.
In an apparent effort to calm concerns about GAC
Executive Director John Detterick's statement to the recent meeting of
the Presbyterian Coalition, the chair of the General Assembly Council,
Peter Pizor, stopped in at the Covenant Network gathering in Pittsburgh
on Friday, Nov. 3.
In a brief statement from the lectern, Pizor began by
justifying the recent GAC effort to "prioritize" the church's
programs in terms of how well they serve the two major goals of
discipleship and evangelism. This is necessary, he explained, because
the growth in needs in the world around us are not matched by growth in
the church's resources.
He hastened to add that the new ranking of programs
will probably not mean any reduction in staff. Rather, the new
priorities will give more focus to their work. He said nothing about
whether some programs might or might not be reduced or eliminated.
Pizor then addressed one of the issues most discussed
in conversations during the conference: the controversy growing out of
the talk given at last summer's Peacemaking Conference, and John
Detterick's recent statement to the Coalition. Affirming that the letter
issued by the GAC Executive Committee had proclaimed "our proud
faith" in the Lordship of Christ, he said he will soon appoint a
task force "on how we conduct our conferences -- not to examine a
particular conference, but to learn how to do it better."
He went on to insist that "this is not a witch
hunt," and assured the gathering that "we must maintain a safe
space" for debate, and for conversations that will include many
voices. He said nothing about how such a safe space might be protected
from the growing pressure for conformity to someone's notions of
orthodoxy.
Pizor closed by noting that the PC(USA) must continue
its support of the National Council of Churches during these
"difficult times." Their budget, he asserted, is "out of
control," but the new General Secretary of the NCC is making
progress on that front. We must continue to support them, he said,
because "we believe we are not the whole church."
Pizor's statement was greeted with a rather notable
silence by the audience.
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Visit
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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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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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