The final full day of the PCUSA General Assembly was approached by commissioners with a sense of apprehension and foreboding. The Assembly, it was now clear, was divided almost 50 50 with razor sharp numerical divisions. The Rev. Jack Baca from San Diego Presbytery, moderator of the assembly’s Middle East Peacemaking Committee, put a brave [...]
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Rabbi Gil Rosenthal of the National Coucil of Synagogues was to start Thursday morning of the General Assembly with “ecumenical” greetings. I had always thought “ecumenical” referred to those specifically Christian but this definition has now been broadened to include an imam and a rabbi. But instead of appealing to the liberals in the denomination [...] Fireworks came early this fourth of July when Tara Spuhler McCabe, Vice Moderator, announced her unexpected resignation. From the moment the Presbyterian Outlook revealed that she had performed a same-sex marriage in April questions had been raised. “I think I embody the reality of a growing number of pastors,” she stated, ” who find themselves caught [...] When commissioners to the PCUSA General Assembly woke up on 3 July and had their Pittsburgh Post-Gazette delivered to their hotel rooms they were greeted by the front-page headline “Presbyterian divestment proposal spurs heated debate here.” Speaking of what it called “impassioned testimony from American Jews, Palestinian Christians and Presbyterians,” the Chair of the Mission Responsibility Through [...] “Our church is like fudge: sweet, with a few nuts.” Brian McClaren, gadfly agent provcateur for recovering evangelicals, addressed commissioners and advisory delegates over breakfast Monday, bringing a message of hope and encouragement for the embattled mainline. “Congtatulations,” he stated, “You are further along than you think you are. ” In a later interview he explained: [...] Sunday, the second day of General Assembly, is traditionally a time for worship in local congregations. In Pittsburgh, the heartland historically of American Presbyterianism, you have many options. The three most popular for commissioners appeared to be First Church, which many chose because of its nearby location and history, East Liberty if you wanted spectacular [...] I was privileged to be one of the 3000 Presbyterians that gathered on 30 June for the 220th General (i,e., national) Assembly in Pittsburgh. As we worshipped together in the opening communion service that Saturday there was a mood of anxious expectancy, some might even say dread. A common recognition that resonated continuously was the fact that the [...] |
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