an offering by Rebecca Blackwell
A good Episcopalian friend of mine has invited me to join her on a December daily photo journey, and I have accepted. It is from theidearoom.net if any of you are interested in playing along. The topics are very Christmas and New Year’s oriented, and I hope to give them a spiritual, Advent-Christmas twist. Let’s see how well I do…
Day #1: Red & White
November 5, 2014
Dear Presbytery Colleagues;
If you’re like me (or at least how I was before serving as a Presbytery Stated Clerk), the press of many things means that you likely don’t take much time to get ready for a Presbytery meeting.
I recently attended an event that reminded me of the importance of deep and intentional prep
aration for meetings, gatherings and conversations.[i] The way we prepare for any conversation or meeting determines much of the outcome of those encounters. What are the deep reasons for my participation in this gathering? How do I wish to engage with others? How does this gathering relate to my/our calling as a Presbyterian Christian?
If we truly believe that God is present in our Presbytery gatherings, meeting us there to form us as His people and to guide us in the way we are to go, then I would suggest that getting ready for a Presbytery gathering is spiritually and practically critical. Every member and each commissioner’s presence, attention and voice is important and vital to our worship and to our deliberations on matters both large and small.
Therefore, I would invite all of us to be deliberate in making ourselves ready for our upcoming meeting of November 18th. Specifically, I would invite us to get ready in two ways: practically (prepare); and spiritually (pre-prayer). Here are some suggestions for both movements:
Prepare
Pre-prayer (Set aside 15-20 minutes for prayer)
I am looking forward to being with you on November 13th, and eager to discover what God will do as we gather in Christ’s name to be the church and to do the work which God calls us to do. I can’t wait to get ready to be with you.
Your sister and colleague;
Mission Coordinator/Stated Clerk
End Notes:
i At the Association of Mid-Council Leaders, we were led by Rev. Terry Chapman, author of Sabbath Pause and Claudia Eisinger, Managing Associate of Fifth Element Associates. We talked about the Sabbath journey as well as how we come together for conversations and meetings that matter. They introduced us to a book called The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations by Craig and Patricia Neal.
A while back, I did a Google Map search for Christian churches in some of the counties of Cherokee Presbytery where we do not have a Presbyterian church. I was rather startled to discover how very many churches there are in our area. Click on this link to see the results (the red dots are churches — you can zoom in to see more details). Clearly, our region is NOT under-churched!
But, we ARE under-kingdom-ed!
It would appear that the fruits of the Spirit and signs of the Kingdom are under-represented even though divine worship is being maintained. While the gospel is clearly being proclaimed, it is not being made manifest in the world.
These statistics cause me to believe that there is a great need for the Presbyterian Church in our region. We Presbyterians are really good at incarnational and social justice ministries. We feed the hungry and work to eliminate the causes of poverty. We have a long history of educational ministries (colleges, Sunday schools, GED and tutoring programs) and we support free public education for all. We build/repair houses, heal the sick and the brokenhearted, and we advocate for full access to clean water and healthcare (physical, spiritual and emotional).
Perhaps we need to think less about adding new members, and more about generating missions and ministries that will allow our neighbors taste the Kingdom of God and develop such a hunger for more that they seek to know and follow the One who is our Host.
This last weekend was filled to the brim for me… moving my husband to his new living quarters in Memory Care and celebrating the 10th anniversary of Faith Presbyterian Church yesterday in Blue Ridge. Tomorrow, I move into my new living facility (thanks to the help of TE Carrie Scott from Ray Thomas Memorial and RE Carol Berry of Woodstock Pres.). With so much going on, it’s just now dawning on me that I fly out this Friday (the 13th!) for Detroit to attend the 221st meeting of our denomination’s General Assembly.
I always enjoy General Assembly, because for me, it is my chance to worship; much like Presbytery gatherings are times for Presbytery pastors to worship. And the worship at General Assembly is always amazing, with inspiring preachers from around the country and around the world, tremendous music, liturgical arts, etc. General Assembly is also a time for me to connect with friends from around the country. Oh yes… and there is the Exhibition Hall — a magic place filled with all manner of resources, information and goodies to buy. Despite my late preparations, I am really looking forward to attending.
You may wonder what a Stated Clerk/Mission Coordinator does at a General Assembly. Many of my colleagues serve as committee assistants or parliamentarians, or even as bloggers during the week. None of those tasks appeal to me much, so I have volunteered to be “presence keeper.” Presence Keepers are assigned to be present at various times to hold the body and its deliberations in prayer. Now that’s a task I feel called to! So, I will be sitting in prayer during all of the committee meetings for the Middle East Concerns Committee and for a number of the plenary sessions. Other folks will be serving other committees and other times in plenary session.
So, while our commissioners and YAAD are serving their committees; while others blog, oversee parliamentary procedure and assist committees; while I and others hold the community in prayer; and while yet others come to share their concerns and opinions, I would ask this of you: please keep all of US in prayer this coming week. And if you get a chance, check in at http://oga.pcusa.org/section/ga/ga221/ to see live streaming beginning with opening worship at 11am on Saturday the 14th.
The PC(USA) is about to convene the 221st meeting of its General Assembly. Commissioners are busily preparing for the week by reading and studying the many overtures that have been presented to them by Presbyteries around the country.
Some of overtures and recommendations are administrative in nature (budgets and so forth), but many are requests for the church to speak about important questions of our day: Political (such as Israel-Palestine), Ethical (abortion and end of life issues), and Theological (the definition of marriage and reconsideration of the Belhar Confession). Commissioners will be asked to hear input from many people and advocacy groups. They will read and pray and debate. Clearly, on some issues, there will be considerable energy and emotion on all sides. Thus, there is great potential for contention, hostility and division. Because of that, two of our seminaries (Columbia and Austin) have issued “A Witness to Christian Love.” (link here for more info) in an effort to encourage the commissioners in their work.
While I applaud the actions and intentions of the seminaries in encouraging us to not be divisive, I do have a small but (I think) important quibble with part of the statement from Austin Theological Seminary. Their offering asks the Assembly to exercise mutual forbearance, defining it this way: “We think that “bearing with one another in love” should discourage us both from pressing too quickly for changes not widely supported across the church and from opting too readily for actions that would further the schism already taking place in our fellowship. ”
It seems to me that they are suggesting that the primary question for discernment and decision is one of “what is the church ready for?” This is the wrong question to ask. I would propose that the better question is this: What is God ready for us to do?
Because… honestly… when is the church ever ready for what God wants us to do? From Moses to Peter and the Jerusalem council (Acts 10-15), God frequently calls us to things for which we do not feel ready… sometimes even calling us (like Peter) to do things that we believe violate God’s will. Yet, scripture assures us that as we respond in obedience to God’s call, we are made ready in the doing. It seems that God knows more about what we are ready for than we do.
So, as I pray for the commissioners to this General Assembly, my prayer is that they will treat one another well, and that they will listen with open hearts, open minds and open spirits to those that share testimony and thoughts. But most of all, I pray that they will strive to know what the Living Lord requires of us right now, and then have the courage to obey, saying “not my will, but thine, O Lord.”
Note:
Picture can be found at: http://advicedoctor1.tumblr.com/post/1167963936/answers-are-easy-its-asking-the-right-questions
Thoughts & Images from the Heart 