wfn.org | A Message From The Stated Clerk

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

22-September-1997 
 
 
            A Message From The Stated Clerk to 
           The Covenant Network of Presbyterians 
                   September 19, 1997 
                    Chicago, Illinois 
                           and 
              "A GATHERING OF PRESBYTERIANS II" 
                    September 29-30, 1997 
                        Dallas, Texas 
 
Friends in Christ, I want to thank you for your kind invitations to be 
present at both the initial gathering of The Covenant Network of 
Presbyterians and A Gathering of Presbyterians II.  These gatherings have 
significance for shaping the heart, soul and mind of the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) and our future together as a people of God.  I am 
especially pleased to be invited in my role as Stated Clerk of the General 
Assembly and, in this capacity, have chosen to share the same message with 
both groups. 
 
As your Stated Clerk, I am committed to doing everything in my power to 
uphold our Constitution, to support its polity and to ensure a fair and 
open process throughout the church in dealing with issues such as Amendment 
A around which there is strong feeling.  It is not my task to be an 
advocate for or against the adoption of Amendment A but rather to be a 
resource to enable this church to faithfully seek to discern the mind of 
Christ. 
 
As your Stated Clerk I also have another role that I take very seriously: 
to promote the unity of Christ's Church.  I appeal to you to join me in 
that quest and in all that you do an as advocate this year to affirm the 
common ordination vows we share: 
 
   *   To trust Jesus Christ as our Savior. 
   *   To be governed by our church's polity. 
   *   To be a friend to colleagues [even those who oppose our position] in 
       ministry. 
   *   To work for reconciliation. 
   *   To further the peace, unity and purity of the church. 
 
Remember that we hold strong core values that link every Presbyterian 
together regardless of our position on Amendment A: 
 
   *   That Jesus Chris is the living head of the church. 
   *   That the Great Ends of the Church are our fundamental calling. 
   *   That we exist, not for ourselves, but to be a living witness to the 
       love of God in Jesus Christ. 
   *   That we are called to be the body of Christ, united with one another 
       and the church ecumenical. 
   *   That the church is "a provisional demonstration of what God intends 
       for all humanity." (G-3.0200) 
 
These core values are the heart of the Gospel and the covenant we share as 
Presbyterians.  In our focus this year on items that divide us, it is far 
too easy to forget the fundamental calling that we share together. 
 
As most of you know, I have spent the last 15 years helping our church 
respond to the suffering caused by conflict rooted in religious fervor.  I 
have walked with Presbyterians in South Sudan, where the church is growing 
as fast as anywhere in the world, and seen the gruesome results of 25 years 
of ethnic and religious conflict on the people of that nation.  I have 
stood with Christians in Croatia who have literally wept that one side 
bombed Catholic and Protestant churches while another blew up Orthodox 
churches, all in the name of Christian civilization.  I have been with 
Presbyterians in Northern Ireland, a place from which my ancestors came to 
North Carolina almost 200 years ago.  There I have seen twenty-five foot 
high walls and militia and paramilitary units all built up in the name of 
two different branches of the Christian community: one Protestant and one 
Catholic. 
 
In all of this I am proud that our church has been such a strong force for 
reconciliation as a part of its witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I 
have come to hold very dear in my heart Pauls' message in II Corinthians 
5:19: "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself ... and 
entrusting the message of reconciliation to us." I hold that same vision 
for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 
 
With all of my heart I do not want to see the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 
go the way of Sudan or Croatia or Northern Ireland.  That is not God's 
intention for the world nor is it God's intention for our church.  The Book 
of Order reminds us that "the church of Jesus Christ is the provisional 
demonstration of what God intends for all humanity" (G-3.0200). Like the 
body of Christ our members in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are not all 
alike.  We have strongly-held convictions, often at odds with one another. 
But like the members of the body of Christ we are called to be united in 
our devotion of Jesus Christ and in our love for one another. We must never 
loose sight of that vision as we work as advocates this year for what we 
believe. 
 
I am convinced that in God's time the church will indeed find a greater 
understanding of the mind of Christ for the difficult issues surrounding 
Amendment A.  What I worry about is what shape the church will be in by the 
time we reach that understanding together of the mind of Christ.  When all 
of this is resolved, will the church be divided? Will so many have 
dissented form our Constitution that it has little meaning for our common 
life together" Will so many have withheld their funds and gone their own 
way in ministry, that we have little possibility of making a corporate 
witness together to the love, mercy and justice of Jesus Christ? I hope 
not! 
 
I am grateful for the personal friendship in Christ that I share with so 
many of you and for your passionate convictions and deep love for the 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). As we seek to help our church find the mind 
of Christ this year, may we do so in a spirit of love, a commitment of 
prayer for one another and a common devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. May the grace of God be with all of you and with this church that 
we love! 

------------
For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
  phone 502-569-5504             fax 502-569-8073  
  E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org   Web page: http://www.pcusa.org 
  mailed from World Faith News <wfn-news@wfn.org>  

--