Deep and Wide

Our work continues in San Jose as Presbyterians come together in a time of discernment, seeking the mind of Christ for our church's worship and mission.

None of us thought this would be easy, but then discernment is never an easy task. Discernment means reaching across divisions, encountering each other and God in spite of our human proclivity to only look at what we want. As I wrote earlier, I was particularly moved when the moderator of the committee on which I served (Church Polity) closed our committee's work with a time of mutual forgiveness. We don't talk much about mutual forebearance anymore--but it is a cornerstone of our faith as Reformed Christians.

The meetings yesterday began to scratch the surface of our discernment this week. Included on yesterday's docket were a range of appointments, reports, and celebrations. Mixed in that was a recommendation to develop a new curriculum for youth on human sexuality (someone quipped that we're always talking about money, sex, or power). There was significant debate about wording regarding an ecumenical statement calling for improved communication with the Muslim community. Click on www.pc-biz.org and you can find details about all reports--but beware, navigating this maze can be hard!

A couple of items worth mentioning:

• Worship on Wednesday featured our ecumenical guests, and included an outstanding address by Archbishop Elias Chacour of Galilee, of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Chacour has spent his ministry working for peace between Arabs and Israelis, embodying what he calls his unique "DNA" as an Arab Christian living in a Jewish state. Reminding the Assembly of the words Jesus, who called his disciples to find him in Galilee, Chacour invited the Assembly to become peacemakers. "We are waiting for you in Galilee," he said.
• Rev. Byron Wade, an African-American pastor from Raliegh, NC, was confirmed as the vice-moderator of the 218th General Assembly. Byron and I both grew up in Southern California, and attended neighboring colleges at about the same time. During a reception the other evening, we both agreed we had met at sometime in the past! According to the PC(USA) news site, Byron says the election of young pastors as moderator and co-moderator "represent a 'huge change,' in the national life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “Seeing younger people in leadership is a positive experience for both young and old in the church,” he said. An African American and an Asian “represent what the church can become... As the Spirit of God leads us, we can help propagate the faith, helping people in and outside the church develop a living relationship with Jesus Christ. We will find new ways to do that, and that’s exciting.”
• A call from the assembly's committee on youth was particularly iteresting to me. The committee, one of two committee's practicing intentional communal discernment this year instead of traditional parliamentary business, recommended that copies of a video, Soul Searching, be sent to each Presbytery's resource center. The video highlights the results of the National Study of Youth and Religion, which is familiar to members of Woodlawn Chapel because of the conversations led by colleague Rev. Ed Zumwinkel over the past several years. Sometimes, it's nice to know we're somewhat cutting edge!
• Finally, the church committed itself to an emphasis on evangelism as "deep and wide," broadening the church by telling the story of faith and increasing in spiritual depth. This is also familiar to our ministry at Woodlawn--and has been the exact , nearly verbatim, conversation topic in many our groups and meetings recently. I wonder what God is saying to us?

I need to get back to the business. You can follow the business yourself by clicking on www.pcusa.org/ga218