The Covenant Network conference –
a continuing struggle with the ambiguities and ambivalence of our situation
a special report by Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Issues Analyst
[11-8-05]
Since the first organizing meeting of the Covenant Network of
Presbyterians in 1997, its annual conference has grown in the number of
participants and the intensity of the experience.
This year's conference, with 500 in attendance, was held
in the Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis. The location in the South
was significant by itself. But there is also some "background." In the
repressive style that is all too familiar in the region, 27 of the 80
ministers in the Presbytery of the Mid-South urged the Idlewild session to
cancel their sponsorship of the event, and there was a vague threat of legal
action. Well, the session rethought it, decided to continue, and were joined
by nine other churches in the presbytery and two outside it as co-sponsors.
The conference met under the shadow of two recent
decisions by the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church. In one of
them the removal of Beth Stroud, a self-avowed lesbian in a committed
relationship, was affirmed. In the other a minister who had refused to let a
gay choir member become a member of his (yes, I did say "his") congregation
was restored to office and his bishop was rebuked.
Each service of worship at Idlewild was an impressive
experience, starting with the 2500-pipe organ. Memphis composer Thom
Pavlechko had set the Call to Covenant Community to music, and it was used
as a response to litanies during each of the services. There was increased
diversity, too. The Stillman College Choir sang at one of the services;
Melva Costen led in worship several times; and Margaret Aymer of the
International Theological Seminary preached.
Preachers and Speakers
Kathleen Norris was a featured speaker, and she fulfilled
expectations with a mixture of autobiography, commentary on events, and
readings of poetry (her own and others'). She chided liberals for not being
consistent in their advocacy of diversity and reminded the gathering of the
astounding diversity of the body of Christ. Noting that there are constant
reminders that we do not have the authority to control whom God will invite,
she called it "the mystery of discipleship" and concluded that "only Christ
could have brought us together." In response to a question from the audience
she commented on Keats's notion of "negative capability," the ability to get
beyond one's own perspective, consider opposing viewpoints, and be aware of
mystery.
During the discussion two interesting issues emerged, and
perhaps only a poet can deal adequately with them: the conflict between
believing old stories from the Bible, toward which many people have
sentimental attachments, and taking a "critical" point of view; and the
conflict between the verbosity of Presbyterians (perhaps even more, the
verbosity of those who treasure being personal and improvisatory) and the
poet's search for terseness.
Theologian Eugene Rogers offered a complex but suggestive
perspective on "marriage as mystery"
Ž of God and
Israel, Christ and the church, the bridegroom at the wedding feast.
Developing a "nuptial hermeneutics" of embodiment as sacrament, he noted
that the body is the vehicle of a mutual self-giving and promise. And it
applies to same-sex relationships, too. "Coming out" is an important
symbolic statement of one's personal identity; and mutual relationship
involves self-giving, in this case not through so- called complementarity
with the "opposite" but with one who is "apposite" with oneself.
Ethicist Larry Rasmussen discussed "The Public Face of
Discipleship," noting that discipleship was born in the context of Empire,
and against Empire; Paul called baptism a new creation, multi-ethnic and
non-violent, ending an old world.
A similar theme was developed by preacher Tom Long, who
took the difficult text (John 11:21), "Lord, if you had been here, her
brother [Lazarus] would not have died." Jesus comes into a situation in
which death is evident, he said, and this highlights the contrast between a
life that has run out of time and one where God, through incarnation, makes
time for us.
Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase also addressed the gathering.
He said that he is often asked whether he is hopeful about the church, and
his inclination is to answer with more questions: Whether a privileged
denonmination can really change; whether we can develop a genuine
eco-theology based on God's delight in all creation; whether the church's
racism can be overcome; whether faith can be authentic as long as we are
citizens of Empire; whether people will learn to live from faith, not from
violence and military might; and whether we can ever have a church that is
fully welcoming of all who respond to the inclusive love of Jesus Christ. He
acknowledged that he remains hopeful but ambivalent after seventeen months
as moderator.
He mentioned the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, in which
he had been co-moderator, and its annual witness at the School of the
Americas, its ministry of accompaniment in Colombia, and its formation of
peacemaking teams that are preparing to go to world trouble spots. (He did
not mention the Occupied Territories, a focus of controversy in Louisville
during the past year.) And when Jane Spahr reminded him that sexuality is
also an issue of power and violence, he acknowledged that her group, That
All May Freely Serve, is "living into a new thing."
Approaching the "Ordination Question"
In the first address of the conference, Amy Plantinga Pauw
opened up many of the issues surrounding the ordination of GLBT church
members, and further issues were opened up during the discussion afterward.
She noted that "spiritual practices" are not just inward
and individual, not just the application of prior theory. They are bodily
and communal. They may be begun or continued for a variety of reasons
(including the wrong reasons). But they are "graceful" because God meets us
there, and our role is to be receptive rather than assertive. As a specific
example she took Calvin's challenge to the established and normative
practice of celibacy, which he regarded as a self-justifying idolatry.
Commenting that it is always difficult to have honest
conversation about deeply emotional matters, she asked how it is possible to
shape graceful communities with graceful practices. Certainly it involves
mutual listening. And she commented that it is usually misleading to ask
"What does the Bible say about them?" and a more graceful way of reading is
to ask "What does the Bible say about us?"
Most in the audience agreed when she said that mutuality
involves listening to gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons. But
there was lots of response to her suggestion that it also involved listening
to brothers and sisters in the global South, many of whom think it is wrong
to ordain these persons. She pointed out that they hear us in the context of
an aggressive foreign policy which is often indifferent to both the methods
it uses and the impacts of its actions.
Mitzi Henderson of More Light Presbyterians mentioned the
current Anglican dispute and suggested that these bishops had decided not to
wait for the rest of the world. Another respondent commented that Rosa
Parks, whose funeral had just been held, had not been afraid to be offensive
rather than dialogical. Lisa Larges objected to the implication that we
might atone for the sin of colonialism by perpetuating the sin of
heterosexism, and noted that Archbishop Tutu saw the links between apartheid
and heterosexism. Robert Ludwig noted the irony that our missionaries were
the ones who taught this attitude to the Two-Thirds World; he also reminded
the audience that there are GLBT Christians and pastors in their part of the
world, too.
We might remember that at last year's conference there was
a similarly engaged discussion. Jack Stotts recalled that there had
objections from the Two-Thirds World when the committee drafting the Brief
Statement of Faith mentioned God's calling "women and men" to all ministries
in the church, and at that time a wise leader simply replied, "We do not
agree with you and we hope you will change your mind." Gene Bay, who had
been in East Africa and acknowledged that this is a difficult issue, said
that we cannot be held hostage by this one issue but must take the
initiative in seeking dialogue.
Responding to the Task Force Report
The report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace,
Unity, and Purity of the Church (TTF from now on) was interpreted by two of
its members, Barbara Wheeler and John Wilkinson. They offered clarification
on a number of points, three of which I shall single out.
The TTF's recommended authoritative interpretation of
G-6.0108, they emphasized, is an interpretation of what is already in the
Constitution, not new legislation (although there are those in the church
who think this is what it is); and only the General Assembly or its
Permanent Judicial Commission can issue an authoritative interpretation,
saying how the Constitution is to be read.
Second, they emphasized once again, as the TTF's report
already does, that what it recommends is not "local option" or a weakening
of the Constitution. All the standards in the Constitution persist. But not
all of them are essentials of Reformed faith and practice.
Third, it has always been affirmed, from the 1729 Adopting
Act through G-6.0108, that those being ordained have the right to state
their "scruples" or state their conscientious "departure" from non-
essentials. What may need to be emphasized in the current situation, when
overtures to the contrary are being urged by the Presbyterian Coalition, is
that this applies to matters of both doctrine and practice; it would be
especially bizarre, they commented, to make adherence to works more
important than faith.
Wheeler noted that this is the only task force or special
commission in the entire history of our church to issue a statement not
accompanied by a minority report. She emphasized that this was possible only
because the report and its recommendations were adopted as a package, all
together. If various factions in the church start to "cherry pick,"
emphasizing some features and excluding others, we will be back to business
as usual, she said; and that means arguing and trying to win majority votes
in a way that is sure to alienate the minority. She expressed the hope that
this chapter in the history of our church might end not like a Shakespeare
tragedy, with the stage littered with corpses, but like a Chekhov play, with
all the characters alive yet disappointed in their various ways.
The TTF's purpose, she said, is not to ignore debate over
the ordination question, and certainly not to declare a "moratorium" on such
debate, but to take the debate into the practice of governing bodies,
relating it to specific persons and their statements, so that it will not
continue to be a matter of abstract debate. If the TTF's recommendation for
a new authoritative interpretation is not adopted, she predicted, the
alternative will not be speedier change but rather continued conflict for at
least ten years.
Wheeler's address ended with an eloquent acknowledgment of
the role that many people had played in the TTF's deliberations, both GLBTs
who are concerned that the church stop discriminating, and evangelicals who
have often been convinced that what these others want would amount to
apostasy. She said that she had served on the TTF because of her sensitivity
toward those who for more than twenty-five years have been neither honored,
respected, nor safe. The report does not repair the damage that has been
done, she continued, but it does offer a way forward.
Tim Hart-Anderson of Westminster Church in Minneapolis
made the much-awaited report in behalf of the Board of the Covenant Network.
He emphasized that the Board in its statement dated August 31, 2005, did not
take a position on the report of the TTF and did not endorse the
recommendations of the TTF. While it did express gratitude for the TTF's
shared dedication and careful work, the Board noted sadly that "the final
recommendations do not address all of our hopes for the church," in
particular the full inclusion of its GLBT members. The statement concluded
with a declaration that the Covenant Network "remains committed to changing
ordination standards we believe to be a departure from Presbyterian
tradition and Jesus' own teaching and practice."
He added that this statement is likely to be the only one
that the Board will issue concerning the TTF's report. But he noted that the
Covenant Network will continue to support overtures from presbyteries to
remove G-6.0106b from the Book of Order and will ask commissioners to listen
for divine guidance during the deliberations of the General Assembly in
June.
The reaction of the assembled body seemed to be one of
uncertainty about what had been said and emotional ambivalence in responding
to it. Witherspoon's Jenny Stone started off the comment period with an
eloquent statement expressing her gratitude for the board's work, and urging
that they not end up by simply saying "wait." In a church that is
already split, one in which she feels cast off and spit out, she expressed
hope that further conflict will lead not to further attempts to exclude but
to engage the issues more directly.
Some called for more immediate action. The Rev. Terry
Hamilton-Poore of Mason City, IA, noted that the liturgical color for the
seasons of waiting is purple, and that red is used only for Pentecost (and
for ordinations, someone added). Pentecost has already happened, she said,
and it might be appropriate to use red not on just one Sunday but on every
Sunday, as the color of fire, which can be dangerous. But she is tired, she
concluded, of a bloodless church.
In answer to several suggestions that the Board had
repudiated its earlier pledge, in a statement dated September 29, 2004, to
work for the full participation of GLBT persons at the 2006 General
Assembly, the Covenant Network's co-moderator Jon Walton said that this
pledge had not been repudiated. He reminded the gathering that dueling
overtures will indeed come before the next General Assembly. Even though the
TTF has recommended that no action be taken on them, the Covenant Network
does not take that position, and the implication is that the Assembly might
well act on them favorably.
Walton sounded a tactical note in the course of the
discussion. Because the TTF's report does take an important step forward,
too quick an endorsement of the TTF's report by the Covenant Network might
well have been met with the assumption that it "is really their report."
He went on to comment that the voice that has not been
heard is that of the moderates, and the moderate evangelicals, in the
church. This point was seconded by Witherspooner Jake Young, who told of a
dialogue meeting in his own presbytery in South Carolina that was deserted
by the moderates, leaving the discussion to firm advocates and opponents of
GLBT ordination.
And this may be an appropriate point on which to conclude.
The sense of uncertainty and ambivalence was appropriate. The TTF's
Recommendation 5, if adopted, would be an important step forward, setting
G-6.0106b in perspective as a non-essential feature of the Book of Order.
And yet this would not yet be the removal of discrimination or the creation
of safe space.
The Task Force report will doubtless be considered earlier
in the agenda of the Assembly than the overtures that are coming from the
presbyteries. What many seem to hope for is that the report's Recommendation
5 be adopted with such a good spirit that the Assembly will then go on to
respond to these overtures, removing the discriminatory authoritative
interpretations that are left over from a past era and recommending that the
presbyteries repeal G-6.0106b as a burdensome interference with governing
bodies as they carry out their responsibilities. |
