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[12-10-02]

We recently posted an exchange of correspondence between the Presbytery of Baltimore and the Presbyterian Layman, revolving around charges again the Rev. Donald Stroud. That posted invited comments from other congregations dealing with similar issues, and we have received an interesting response from Christ Church, Presbyterian, of Burlington, VT.

Since the passage of G-6.0106b, Christ Church, Burlington, VT, has been struggling to find a way to comply with the strictures imposed by that amendment, while remaining faithful to their conviction that they must "extend fully the grace and hospitality of Jesus Christ to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters."

Recent reports on the case against the Rev. Donald Stroud have included charges that Paul Jensen, the lawyer who first filed complaints against Stroud, was not properly informed of his opportunity to testify against Mr. Stroud.

Here's a helpful resource for celebrating Advent and Christmas without getting overwhelmed by the lures of commercialism. [11-22-02]

Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Issues Analyst, reports on the 2002 conference of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, held in Minneapolis on November 7 - 9.

Presbyterian News Service has reported that five Presbyterian pastors recently visited the Presbyterian national office in Louisville, to tape near the main entrance their "Call to Confession and Repentance," calling the church "irretrievably apostate under current management."

Their call for repentance, widely circulated, has so far garnered about 100 signatures.

The Presbyterian News Service has reported recently on the death of the Rev. Clinton M. Marsh, a patriarch of the Presbyterian church who served as moderator of the old United Presbyterian Church in the USA.  He has also served for some years as Chairperson Emeritus of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.

The Rev. Dr. Richard Shaull died peacefully in his sleep last Friday, October 25, after fighting cancer for nearly a decade. He had spent his last five weeks in hospice care. His wife, Nancy wrote this: 'He was ready to go and I supported his leaving. We had many hours of song, scripture reading, and great conversations. We both felt that we had no 'unfinished business.'"

Jane Hanna, past president of the Witherspoon Society, writes:

Richard Shaull was a Presbyterian missionary who first went to Latin America in 1942; there his theology, commitment and biblical understanding were deepened by exposure to liberation theologians who were influenced by the marginal and dispossessed Christians of Central and South America. From 1962-1980 he was Professor of Ecumenics at Princeton Theological Seminary where he articulated a theology of liberation learned from the poor but aimed at liberating mainline Protestants. Dr. Shaull's interpretation of Scripture challenged us to envision a different economic order, one that met the basic needs of all. From 1980 on, he divided his time between North and South America, communicating to Christians in the north the theological thought and vibrant Christian life he found amid the poor in Latin America.

Reactions are many and varied   [10-19-02]

Reports have been pouring forth over the past few days about the effort by Dr. Alex Metherell, who was an elder commissioner to the 214^th General Assembly in June, 2002, to force an extraordinary reconvening of that assembly to deal with what he calls "a full-blown constitutional crisis" in the Presbyterian Church.

Here's a brief outline of the situation thus far, with links to reports far more complete than we can provide.

We recently were asked about ways to give extra contributions to our church, to compensate for those who are withholding their support.  We've called it our "Up Your$" campaign.

The latest update on plans for the Covenant Network Conference, November 7-9, 2002:

The Witherspoon Society's executive committee has been fascinated by the statement published on PresbyWeb on October 2, 2002, in which five Presbyterian pastors have issued a "call to confession and repentance."  We have been especially interested in the suggestive placement of one comma in a crucial sentence as they "call all churches that wish to be part of the faithful remnant of the Presbyterian Church, USA, to: ... remain within the denomination while refusing to fund any work of the denomination, which is antithetical to the will of God."

[10-4-02]

Bruce Gillette calls our attention to a great collection of worship resources for World Communion Sunday, which has been distributed across the church in the Peacemaking Offering packet.

Now in HTML format, these liturgical resources - and a new hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette - can be cut and pasted into bulletins.

In one, he argues that the very nature of religious belief means that no particular belief can be required.

Church & Society, the Presbyterian "Journal of Just Thoughts," has published a special issue with papers from the February 2002 conference on the Confession of 1967, plus added essays.

Kent Winters-Hazelton, incoming president of the Witherspoon Society, compares "Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ," the Christological statement adopted overwhelmingly by the 2002 General Assembly, with the statement adopted by the 2001 Assembly.  He wonders why the earlier statement was so scathingly rejected by conservatives, while almost all of them (but not all!) seem willing to support the newer one.  What's the difference between them, he asks.

On not "believing what we please"

And another contributor, a frequent visitor to this site, who wishes not to be identified, sent these thoughts after observing the the deliberations of the GA committee that recommended approval of the document, "Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ." 

He raises provocative questions about charges from the right that people are being allowed to believe what they please and do what they please.

GAPJC dismisses complaint against Synod PJC

[posted here 7-30-02]

The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) has dismissed a complaint from the Presbytery of San Joaquin against the Synod of the Pacific and its PJC. San Joaquin Presbytery called on the Synod to issue a stay of enforcement for the ordination of Katie Morrison, after the Presbytery of the Redwoods approved her for ordination, and a few members of that Presbytery called for a stay of enforcement.

The GAPJC dismissed the complaint primarily on the grounds that San Joaquin Presbytery lacked standing to appeal to the Synod PLC.

William "Beau" Weston, who teaches sociology at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, has analyzed the results of a recent survey of 686 readers of Presbyterian Outlook. He finds that they see the authority of scripture as the deeper issue in the current church debates. While they are concerned about the level of conflict in the church, they are also willing to tolerate a variety if differing viewpoints.

While nearly a two thirds still view homosexual practice as condemned in the Bible, nearly half believe that homosexual practice would be OK within some kind of "committed relationship."

Only 28 percent of respondents agreed with the Confessing Church movement, while 55 percent thought it would be harmful to the church. In asking respondents' views of the spectrum of Presbyterian advocacy groups, the survey used the Presbyterian Coalition and the Covenant Network representatives of "right" and "left." Fifty percent disagreed with the Coalition (35 percent strongly disagreed, while 31 percent agreed. Fifty-eight percent agreed with the Covenant Network, while just 28 percent disagreed.

Weston continues: "About the Lay Committee, 65 percent disagreed (54 percent strongly disagreed), versus only 18 percent in agreement. This supports the liberal-leaning interpretation of The Outlook readership in general. On the other hand, the even division of opinion about the More Light Presbyterians -- 39 percent agree, 40 percent disagree -- shows the limits of that liberalism, and the generally centrist inclinations of these grassroots leaders."

On-the-scene reports from the 214th General Assembly

For reports on the controversy over the Peacemaking Conference (Summer, 2000) and statements by speaker Dirk Ficca, 
click here.

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