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Presbyterians Together offers a mixed
bag of resources in support of Amendment O
Rollin Kirk, pastor of North Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, Minnesota,
offered comments on the material on Amendment O that is being sent out
by Presbyterians Together, a coalition formed for the purpose of passing
the amendment.
His note was dated December 7, 2000, and is published here on 12-14-00
If you've seen this material and have comments to offer, please
send a note!
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"Presbyterians Together," a joint project of The
Presbyterian Coalition and Presbyterian Renewal Network,
recently sent a thick packet of stuff to the church that they
say they "think will be helpful to you as you debate and
vote on Amendment 'O' in your presbytery."
[Click here to
see the material on their web site.]
I rather like the page, "Be
Anxious for Nothing . . . Pray." The "Prayer for our
presbytery" is good. So are the suggestions for praying
with several psalms during the weeks leading up to the
presbytery meeting. One might wish they had expanded the prayer
to include petitions such as "Keep us from pride that
excludes others from the shelter of your love; and from mean
prejudice and mass evils that scar the tissues of our common
life," from The Worshipbook (1970). Or "Be with
members of our General Assembly/synod/presbytery. Help them to
welcome new things you are doing in the world, and to respect
old things you keep and use. Save them from empty slogans or
senseless controversy. In their deciding, determine what is good
for us and for all people," from the Book of Common
Worship (1993).
More troubling is Alan Wisdom's
essay, "Let Marriage Be Held in Honor." Quoting some
Episcopalians to the effect "that strict monogamy was not
so important to them," he implies that this is the goal of
opponents of "O." It gets worse: "It is
undeniable that every argument used to justify 'gay marriage'
could also be used on behalf of polygamy or incest between
adults. There are even a few quarters of the left in which
pedophilia already has its defenders. . . . Is this the road
down which we wish to travel?"
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Visit
our lively
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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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
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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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