And they're off!

The 220th General Assembly of the PCUSA is off and walking...running....soaring in hope!  The meeting opened, as it always opens, with worship.  Moderator Cynthia Bolbach, donning a green cellophane "wig" in recognition of the chemotherapy she is undergoing brought down the gavel.  Immediately identical green wigs appeared on heads all over the worship arena in a moving display of solidarity.  The worship included lively and spirited music, much of it drawn from a sampler of the new Presbyterian Hymnal, and a commissioning of each of the Commissioners and Advisory Delegates which reminded them of their baptismal calling and called them to renew their ordination vow to serve the church this week with energy, intelligence and imagination and love. Moderator Bolbach, speaking from a wheel chair, delivered a homily based on Mark 2:1-12 - the story of the four people who brought a paralyzed man on a pallet, cut a hole in the roof where Jesus was speaking and lowered the man through the roof so that he could see Jesus.  She noted that two years ago she had used this text while running for moderator.  At that time, she had imagined that the church most resembled the paralytic in the story, a church paralyzed by theological divisions, economic down-sizing, cultural upheaval and an uncertain future.  But after two years of traveling around the church, she told us, she no longer sees the church as the paralytic. Far from it! She told stories of the amazing movement and ministries happening in and through congregations and presbyteries all over the country and, in partnerships, throughout the world. She told of the outpouring of support and prayer she has received in the "paralysis" of her own cancer from around the church - those who know and love her as well as those who know and don't like her, as well as those who don't know her at all.  Yet all of them a place around the pallet on which she finds herself and lifted her up so that she could see Jesus.  As a result, she now views the PCUSA not as the paralytic but as the four unnamed pallet-bearers commended by Jesus in the story and she challenged the Assembly and, indeed, the whole church, to be the ones who will lift up others and stop at nothing so that they might see Jesus and be healed and whole.  In song and prayer, reverence and praise, challenge and comfort, call and response, the 220th General Assembly is underway!  


Nourished by the Word, the worship and the sharing of bread (plus little groups hitting the many wonderful local eateries around the convention center) the Assembly reconvened in plenary.  The significant order of business for the evening plenary was the election of the moderator. After a thoughtful process of speeches, questions and answers (centered around such things as the definition of marriage, how to embody missional communities, how we deal with conflict and develop relationships), and prayer, the Assembly, on fourth ballot (balloting continues until some candidate receives a majority vote) elected Rev, Neal Presa as Moderator.  


After a moving "passing of the mantle" - a beautiful cross forged in the heat of tension during WWII, and the moderator's stole - from Cynthia Bolbach to Neal Press (and after a charge to the new moderator and prayer by his young sons which had the whole assembly in tears)         the  assembly sang and prayed and wept and laughed and dispersed for the night with praise and thanksgiving to God.   


Tomorrow, commissioners will attend worship at congregations throughout the Pittsburgh area and then reconvene at 2:00pm in plenary after which the committees will begin their work.  


Signing off from Pittsburgh.... 

220th General Assembly of the PCUSA

The 220th General Assembly of the PCUSA is meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from June 30 through July 7, 2012.  The theme of this year's assembly is taken from the prophet Isaiah.  "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint."  (NIV)


Join me on this site for regular updates, news and reflections from the assembly.  In the NRSV the text is translated, "Those who wait for the Lord....."   And so we wait. 


220th General Assembly

July, July 30th, 2010
Dateline: Tucson, AZ

They say there are two ways to die in the desert. Dehydration. And drowning. Monsoon season here now so the latter is the greater risk today anyway. I was once on my way back from Rocky Point headed north from Lukeville through Organ Pipe National Monument. Far to the east I could see clouds massive clouds; it was raining somewhere. But where I was the sun, the sole occupant of a piercingly blue sky, aimed its relentless searchlight at the utterly dry arroyo over which the road now led. Just as I headed across the bridge, I chanced to glance upstream. There, some quarter of a mile up, at the edge of where the parched river bed bent slightly north and out of sight, a wall of water came suddenly tumbling down the arroyo. Not a trickle. Not a gentle swelling stream. No. It was a solid wall - three feet high - of roiling water! I stopped in the middle of the bridge (kids, do not try this at home) and watched in reckless amazement as the arroyo filled, from bank to bank and then some, with the tumbling, crashing water. Where there had been no water at all, suddenly there was a full-blown river carrying in its powerful movement the refuse of life in these desert borderlands - backpacks and water jugs, tires and family Bibles, wallets and clothing, make-up bags and diapers. Tumbling one over the other, all swept up in one great river that, only moments ago, seemingly hadn't existed. But it had. It does.

Dateline: Minneapolis, July 9, 2010

Be assured that the de Cristo commissioners and YAAD worked hard at the Assembly. (In fact, each of them has exercised significant leadership here). The big news on Friday was the passage of the study paper on the Middle East, "Breaking Down the Walls." The paper underwent a series of revisions which sought to strengthen a perceived lack of support for the nation of Israel. Seven previous moderators of the Presbyterian Church USA including John Fife, Rick Ufford Chase and Fahed Abu-Akel joined in support of recommending this study paper to the church. I commend the study paper to you; it will be important for us to understand the witness the PCUSA chose to make as we interpret this, as we will surely be called upon to do, in our own communities.

Two items of interest related to the Board of Pensions. First, the funding of abortion came up. The Board of Pensions currently covers medically related abortion procedures. It also provides a "relief of conscience" recourse to any church which does not wish for any of its BOP dues to be used in such a way. Dues from those churches are set aside in a special fund that provides financial grants to families who are adopting. The Assembly also directed the Board of Pensions to include "domestic partners" in its benefits plan. Our pension/medical plan is somewhat unique in that it automatically covers the children and spouse of its members at no additional cost. Now those benefits will be extended to the domestic partners of covered plan members. The Board of Pensions anticipates that this will require up to a 1% increase in pension dues beginning in January 2012. You may recall, from an earlier blog, that the Assembly chose not to change the definition of marriage (which is still considered a covenant between a man and a woman). This action in no way changes that definition. Rather, it merely extends the same human right/need for health insurance to domestic partners as it does to spouses.

Friday evening, a visibly weary Assembly considered mission funding and the allocation of our mission resources. We heard inspiring stories of how communities around the world are being transformed by Christ through the PCUSA's mission funding. It was here that the de Cristo overture regarding funding for the Young Adult Volunteer in Mission Program was acted on. The bottom-line is that this Assembly recognized that the USA itself is part of the global mission field and that the coordinators of YAV sites in the USA will be treated, as they are in non-USA sites, as mission co-workers. Both Jason Chavez, YAAD and Commissioner Dave Rockwell addressed the Assembly eloquently on this matter. I learned in the process that the three USA Young Adult Volunteer sites whose continued financial viability was at stake (the Tucson site among them) provide placements for nearly half of the young adult volunteers the PCUSA places in mission. As an aside, alumni of the Young Adult Volunteer Program were very much in sight at this assembly - as a significant contingent of the volunteers who helped this assembly run, as the majority of the youngest commissioners taking their place at microphones during discussion, as actively engaged participants in all aspect of the church's life and witness. One twitter comment put it this way, "We're not going to have a church if we're not intentional about young adults. Look around. Add 10 years. Who's left?" I am proud of de Cristo's investment in the YAV program and very proud of the outstanding YAV alumni who are changing the world and the church!

By Saturday morning, the bags were packed, the goodbyes said and, with the music of the closing hymn still ringing in their ears, the several thousand commissioners and guests of the 219th General Assembly headed back into the world. That God was present in the worship and work of the 219th General Assembly was compellingly evident. What God will do with that now, remains to be seen.

With you, I wait and work and pray.

In Christ,

Sue

PS. For more informationn on the Assembly, please check out the new PCUSA web site at www.pcusa.org.

Dateline: Minneapolis, July 8, 2010

This blog follows a blog that contains images from today's assembly. From the top, they pictured Revs. Jon Ashley and John Fife conferring with one another, Rev. Jon Ashley on the platform making the minority report on item 11-11, and finally, the assembly in song following the vote on G-6.0106b.

My blog page has a little different look today because earlier today I accidentally deleted the whole thing in the process of trying to edit a post. But I am still here (or back again, I am not sure which) blogging away at the 219th General Assembly of the PCUSA.

In this picture, please meet the vice-moderator of the 219th General Assembly, Rev. Landon Whitsitt from Heartland Presbytery. He was actually elected along with the moderator but was not installed till yesterday and since then has been sharing the moderator duties with humor, skill and grace. Welcome. Landon!

Well, the news of today that was picked up on NPR, was the assembly's 53% t0 46% decision to send to the presbyteries an overture to delete G-6.0106b - the "fidelity in marriage" and "chastity in singlenesss" clause. As you can imagine, this decision was taken after much discussion and prayer. It will now go to the presbyteries. In de Cristo, we will take this matter up with prayer and conversation and, I am sure, utmost respect for one another and the working of the Holy Spirit. In a previous post, I posted some pictures (trying to post more than one along with text is what led to the deletion of the whole blog so I am not going to try it again right now). One of those pictures is of the assembly immediately following the vote, holding hands and singing, with full voice and heart, "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."

In other news, the Assembly voted to approve the commissioner's overture 11-11 which denounces SB1070 and calls for a boycottt of Arizona until the bill is revised. (Please see pcusa.org/ga219 for the complete wording of this resolution because I do not have space here to do it justice.) Rev. Jon Ashley, a member of the committee that considered this overture, offered a substitute motion which would have focused on accompaniment and education rather than boycott and condemnation. This allowed for much conversation, illustrative of the diversity of opinion on the matter. To my mind, both reports shared a common goal and differed only on the way to get to that goal. But the goal - to acheive a just, compasionate and biblical resolution of immigration issues - was the same. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Finally, the Assembly took up the matter of marriage and civil unions. (12-12 if you're following this on pcusa.org/ga219 and, again, it's too long to include the full report here). The Assembly voted to send a study on Marriage and Civil Unions to the presbyteries for study. Interestingly, this committee also offered a minority report and the assembly voted to include the minority report in the majority report and commends both for study. This prompted a comment from one twitterer who quipped, "We just married the majority and minority report. At least we didn't marry two minority reports." Several additional items related to the definition of marriage were put on hold until after the church has an opportunity to study the report.

Ok. With the words of "The Summons" ringing in our ears, the asssemly recessed for the night, praying, together, "Even so, Lord, come quickly."