2003 Conference

Reports on
The Call from Tomorrow
2003 Witherspoon Society Conference

Belonging to the God of Grace

Doug Ottati's talk at the Witherspoon conference explores the meaning of grace for us today [3-26-03]

Prof. Douglas Ottati of Union Seminary/PSCE, speaking at the Witherspoon Society conference, invited us to look toward the future of the church (and the world) in light of the very fundamental Reformed affirmation that "We Belong to the God of Grace." This basic tenet of our faith, he said, amounts to far more than a narrow "God-gives-you-a-break theory of salvation." It leads us toward a whole-hearted affirmation of the world and of all humanity.

It leads, he suggests, to a view of salvation which asks not who can be saved, or how, but rather "How far does the faithfulness of the faithful God extend? How far does the grace of the gracious God extend? The classical answer is even to the sinner, even to the betrayer. If we believe this, then we have little reason to exclude either ourselves or anyone else from the scope of redemption."

And it leads us to see the church not "primarily as an elite corps of spiritual and moral gymnasts - the few, the righteous, the deserving. It will rather see itself as a ragtag collection of wayward but nevertheless graced sinners." So its mission will be one of welcome rather than of superiority, for "a gracious God is one in relation to which all things not only exist but also are seen to be worthy in existence."

Living into the challenge of difference [3-14-03]

Mary McClintock Ferguson, who is Associate Professor of Theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School, spoke at the conference under the title "Redeeming Obliviousness: the Church and the Challenge of Difference." Her central point was that diversity continues to challenge us, for our reaction to diversity in many cases is "obliviousness" - a more or less intentional choice to be unmindful of people who are different or marginalized. We maintain our obliviousness through a systemic pattern of privilege that allows our beliefs about the dominant group's world-view to go unchallenged.

Whether it's an attitude of "color-blindness" that claims simply to ignore race, or the pretense that lgbt people just don't exist in our churches and communities, this "obliviousness" keeps us from enjoying and serving the fullness of God's creation

Here's the full text of her presentation.

A sermon for "Liberals and Other Aliens"
[3-13-03]

Chris Glaser -- writer, preacher, activist -- led worship on Friday and Saturday for the conference.

His sermon on Friday offered spiritual depth, humor, and much more. You can read it here!

A good summary of the conference [3-13-03]

Arch Taylor attended the conference on behalf of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation. He highlights the conversation with Wendell Berry, and adds notes on other presentations.

"Hear Us Now, We Come Confessing" [3-13-03]

Hymn-writer Edith Sinclair Downing sent a hymn with her note of support to the Moderator. We're happy to post the text here as reflections appropriate to this season in our church and our world.

Witherspooners speak out and pray in support of Moderator
[3-8-03]

Near the close of the Witherspoon conference, participants joined to sign a very short statement of support to Moderator Fahed Abu-Akel. Most of the signers also added notes of their own.

You can read the statement, the notes that were added, and the many names and notes the people have sent in since then.

And then you may want to add your own!

Witherspoon president Kent Winters-Hazelton offers a quick, objective, sober summary of the conference [3-10-03]

Friends,

There will be more coming about our 30th anniversary conference, but I wanted to say just a few words. IT WAS GREAT. Other than that, there are many things to report.

We had a great turnout (a bit over 100), great spirit, great presentations, great worship, great boat cruise, great discussions over meals, great display of books to draw from, great challenge for the future witness of progressive theology in the PCUSA, great workshops, great enthusiasm for Witherspoon, great support for the staff at the national headquarters, a great visit from Clif Kirkpatrick, great connections and networking, great friendships made and renewed, and last but not least, the great question, "When are we going to do this again?"

Jack Rogers: "The Spirit Gives Us Courage"

[3-10-03]

Friday afternoon of the conference (March 7, 2003) began with the Rev. Dr. Jack Rogers, who shared reflections on his year as Moderator of the PC(USA). Acknowledging the difficulties of his year as both he and the Presbyterian Church faced heated accusations of "apostasy" and more, he yet found hope in the church's persisting unity and its renewed affirmation of "hope in the Lord Jesus Christ." He offered thoughts also on the need for a healthy way to deal with the issues raised by the "fidelity and chastity amendment" and the other tensions created by the very small group of "hard-core fundamentalists who continually and falsely try to represent themselves as the majority."

He praised current moderator Fahed Abu-Akel for his efforts at peacemaking both in the church and in the Middle East. (And he has expressed his own support for Dr. Fahed by signing on to the conference's note of support.)

He closed by acknowledging the powerful experience of knowing the thousands of people were praying for him, and for the church, through his difficult year as Moderator. It made him, he said, "acutely conscious that God's grace was sufficient and that God's steadfast love would never fail."

There's more to come -- a general report on the conference, plus the text of addresses:

	Mary McClintock Fulkerson on "Redeeming Obliviousness: the Church and the Challenge of Difference."
	Doug Ottati on "Looking to the Future: We Belong to the God of Grace."
	Chris Glaser's meditation on "Liberals and Other Aliens."
	Joe Hough on "Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism."
	and a conversation with author Wendell Berry