wfn.org | Learning to Talk Without Anger are Keys to Unity

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

GA99022 
19-June-1999 
 
           New Moderator Says Prayer, Learning to Talk  
                 Without Anger are Keys to Unity 
 
FORT WORTH Presbyterians need to develop a deeper commitment to praying 
together if they are to overcome the divisions that threaten the unity of 
the church, new moderator Freda A.  Gardner told a crowded press conference 
after her election Saturday night. 
     "It's Christ's church, not ours," Gardner said, "and we get in trouble 
whenever we think otherwise." 
     As moderator, Gardner said she hopes to work with congregations, 
pastors and elders to learn anew how to talk with one another about the 
issues that divide the church.  "I like to think that my election means 
that these commissioners want to be open, caring and considerate ... to say 
what they think honestly without being angry or defensive." 
     Asked about the depth of the divisions in the Presbyterian Church 
(U.S.A.), Gardner responded that she "is not optimistic about early 
consensus on many of these issues, but too many of us feel called to be 
God's last defender."  She said the whole church, not just individuals, are 
seeking truth "and God will protect the church and take care of God's 
self."  Our job, she continued, "is to take care of each other." 
     People are leaving the church for good reasons, Gardner said.  "They 
are not finding what they are looking for and we should be asking them what 
they are looking for and we're failing to provide it."  She said she 
recently asked a group of young people why they don't go to church on 
Sunday morning.  "Some of them said its because they want to sleep in on 
Sunday morning and no banner we can wave will make sleeping in look less 
desirable to them." 
     But more importantly, she added, " many said, 'I don't know enough 
about the Bible to come to church.'" 
     "Hello?" Gardner said.  "That's what Bible study is for and we have to 
make to make it all right for them to come seeking." 
 
by Jerry Van Marter 

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