Grassroots Movement Grows into a "Cloud of Witnesses"

from Paul Peterson, Minister of Outreach and Education for That All May Freely Serve - Michigan

[5-13-04]

The affirmation "Upholding Our Ordination Vows as We Seek an Inclusive Church" was put forward in late March 2003 by a small group of people active in That All May Freely Serve - Michigan. The initial goal of the TAMFS-Michigan group was to identify and gather the names of supporters in the Detroit area. Word of the project quickly spread to other presbyteries. Signers to the affirmation began to trickle in from across the nation.

As the April 8, 2003 disciplinary trial of Rev. Steve Van Kuiken of Mt. Auburn Church in Cincinnati approached, the trickle turned into a flood. On the day of the trial, a thirty foot banner listing the names of the first 350 signers was unveiled at the press conference as Rev. Van Kuiken spoke to reporters. Steve Van Kuiken was surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. Since the trial in Cincinnati, hundreds and hundreds more names have been added to the list of signers.

At the 2003 General Assembly in Denver, as commissioners entered Sunday worship they saw the visible witness of 750 signers on a fifty foot banner. Currently, there are more than 1000 signers.

The project has been endorsed by several organizations and well-known activists and moved from the TAMFS-Michigan web site to a national web site called "Cloud of Witnesses."

The long-range goal of supporters is very simple. Organizers believe the list of names builds community, seeks justice, and provides courage. The "Cloud of Witnesses" project will demonstrate:

Please consider adding your name to this important witness to show commissioners at the 2004 General Assembly that there is a multitude of people who take a public stand for a truly inclusive church.

Community, Justice, Courage

[5-19-03]

The Cloud of Witnesses project to gather signers for "Upholding Our Ordination Vows as We Seek an Inclusive Church" has crossed the 500 mark. As of May 17, there are 518 signers from a 138 different churches.

At General Assembly in Denver, which begins Saturday, May 24, the Cloud of Witnesses banner, with the names of the signers, will be displayed at several events. It will also be stretched out along the hallway outside the committee that is dealing with the overture to remove G-6.0106b from the Book of Order.

To help in expanding the size of the banner, at this point 40 to 50 feet long, please think one more time of minister, elders, deacons, and members of Presbyterian churches that you know and invite them to sign on. A personal email or phone call or conversation in church may give them the encouragement needed to make a public witness about God's desire for an inclusive church.

www.cloud-of-witnesses.org

from Paul Peterson
Minister of Outreach and Education
That All May Freely Serve - Michigan
www.tamfs-michigan.org