[10-4-02]

A Witherspoon response:

The executive committee of the Witherspoon Society, meeting in Albuquerque October 4, 2002, has read with sorrow the "call to confession and repentance" published October 2 by five pastors. We join the five pastors in affirming that "our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies are captive to the Word of God as enfleshed in Jesus, recorded in the Bible, and upheld by our constitution." To use their term, we also are "appalled" at the call for congregations to "remain within the denomination while refusing to fund any work of the denomination," which we agree is antithetical to the will of God, as far as we are able to discern it.

The five pastors' call for removal of any stated clerk(s) has no basis in the Book of Order. We are baffled that that call is followed by ascribing extraordinary and extraconstitutional powers to the sitting Stated Clerk of the whole PC(USA). The actions they have called for would constitute an abuse of power, making the Stated Clerk a pope and grand inquisitor, and violating the constitutional rights and responsibilities of governing bodies at all levels. We agree on the importance of honoring our confessional, constitutional, and connectional relationships, which provide all necessary and orderly means for dealing with disagreements.

We appeal to the five pastors, following the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the Christians in Rome:

"[12:1a] So then, my brothers, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: ... [4-5] We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. ... [10] Love one another warmly, as Christian brothers, and be eager to show respect for one another. ... [12] Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. ... [14] Ask God to bless those who persecute you. Yes, ask God to bless, not to curse. ... [21] Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good."

[From Today's English Version, with the gender-exclusive language of the translation retained as appropriate in addressing the five male pastors who have written the "call to confession and repentance."]

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