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Note #6187 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

search for greater understanding
12-September-2000
00325

Foes start hammering swords into plowshares, dig into Bible in search for
greater understanding

Liberal and conservative Presbyterians meet to "speak the truth in love"

by Eva G. Stimson

GLEN ELLYN, Il. -- The atmosphere was more than a little tense when 10
Presbyterians from opposite ends of the theological spectrum sat down
together in a church parlor here on Sept. 8 for the purpose of "speaking the
truth in love" (Eph. 4:15) to each other while studying passages from the
New Testament book of Ephesians.
	As the marathon Bible study drew to a close the next morning, participant
Michael Adee admitted, "When I first came into this room, I felt like I
could hardly breathe." But in the course of the conversation, he said, "the
level of tension went down, and the level of trust began to grow."
	Adee, an openly gay elder from Santa Fe, N.M., sat with Bible and
commentary in his lap within spitting distance of the Rev. Parker
Williamson, executive editor of The Presbyterian Layman, an independent
publication known for its strident critiques of liberal theology. Pam Byers,
an elder at Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco and executive
director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a group that supports the
ordination of gays and lesbians, shared a sofa with the Rev. Jerry Andrews,
a co-moderator of the Presbyterian Coalition, which opposes gay ordination.
	With Ephesians as the launching pad, the discussion rocketed toward the
crucial issue of biblical authority. The participants acknowledged that
their disagreements on sexuality and other issues were rooted in their
differing interpretations of the Bible. Before adjourning on Sept. 9, they
agreed to meet again early next year for a more in-depth study of what the
Reformed tradition teaches about biblical interpretation.
	The idea of studying the Bible together emerged in Long Beach, Calif., in
June, in a groundbreaking meeting that took place on the fringes of the 2000
General Assembly, when representatives of the Coalition and of the Covenant
Network talked frankly about some of their differences and decided to
continue the conversation.
	Heads nodded around the room in Glen Ellyn as Terry Schlossberg, an elder
of National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and executive director
of Presbyterians Pro-Life, expressed one of her reasons for participating.
"I've spent plenty of time talking about you," she said, addressing those
aligned with the Covenant Network.  "Now I'm going to talk to you."
	The September meeting took place at First Presbyterian Church in Glen
Ellyn, a suburb west of Chicago, where Andrews is pastor. Before the group
got down to business, Andrews and his wife, Lois, were hosts of a Sept. 7
dinner in their home, the first of five meals together, during which the
group talked about families, favorite foods and hobbies, told jokes and
compared air-travel horror stories.
	Each day's discussion began and ended with a time of prayer. Andrews and
the Rev. Deborah Block,  a Milwaukee pastor and co-moderator of the Covenant
Network, planned the agenda and chose the Bible passages for study (Eph.
2:11-22; 4:1–5:2).
	The format of the meeting allowed those present "not only to engage one
another's minds, but to see each other as human beings," commented the Rev.
Anita Bell, a suburban Philadelphia pastor and co-moderator of the
Presbyterian Coalition.
	Continuing a policy in operation for the Long Beach meeting, the group
invited press coverage by the Presbyterian News Service, The Presbyterian
Layman and The Presbyterian Outlook. Because Williamson was a participant,
editor John H. Adams covered the meeting for The Presbyterian Layman.
Several participants admitted to being uncomfortable in the presence of
reporters, and concerned about being quoted out of context.
	"I don't want anything I say to be taken as a summation of my theology or
as the opinion of any organization that I'm a part of," said Mitzi
Henderson,  an elder of First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, Calif., and
co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians, a group that advocates for the
full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church.
	But Schlossberg said the conversation had the potential to help the rest of
the church "come to terms with whatever divides us," and therefore needed to
be open. "It is important for the church not only to know we're meeting but
to know as much as they can about what we say."
	While divisions were clearly evident, some surprising points of unity
emerged. The group began its study on Friday morning by reading aloud the
entire book of Ephesians.  After the reading, Williamson commented, "As we
read the Scriptures together it's as if there's a bonding occurring through
this common language."
	In the middle of a discussion on how to "maintain the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3), Block asked abruptly, "Have we done the
church a disservice by forming these groups (the Coalition and the Covenant
Network)?"
	The Rev. Bill Giles, a retired presbytery and synod executive from
Birmingham, Ala., the executive director of the Coalition, responded, "I
think it's a sad commentary on the church today that the energy is in these
groups and not in the work of the church."
	In one intense exchange, Andrews spoke directly to Adee, lamenting the fact
that when they met each other they were introduced "as being on opposing
teams."
	Andrews told Adee, "I'd like to see a way forward where you and I wouldn't
start out at cross purposes. I would like to be a companion with you, to be
on a journey with you in Christ."
	However, the tentative movements toward unity did not coalesce into
concrete action, except for the agreement to schedule another meeting. The
Rev. Laird Stuart, a San Francisco pastor and a co-moderator of the Covenant
Network, floated a proposal that the two groups develop a joint mechanism
for "holding the church accountable" when controversies arise. He said he
was not proposing "a truth squad," but a group that "would have credibility
with both liberals and conservatives," and could represent more than one
side of a disagreement.
	The proposal sparked mild interest, but no action was taken.
	Block drafted a short statement to the church summarizing the content of
the Glen Ellyn meeting, and encouraging others to undertake similar
endeavors. However, several participants said they thought it was premature
and unnecessary for the group to issue a statement, although they had no
objection to the contents of Block's.
	"If some of our members are not comfortable with the letter," said Byers,
"it would be a pity for this to become a point of controversy." Those who
had supported sending out the statement did not press the issue.
					
	Bible versus

	When 10 Presbyterians with different theological perspectives got together
for Bible study, they found -- not surprisingly -- that they had different
understandings of how Scripture is to be read and interpreted. Here is a bit
of their conversation:

	Parker Williamson: To affirm that Scripture says we are called to be holy
does not mean I think I'm holy and you're not, or that I'm part of a Fred
Phelps brigade (a reference to the Kansas minister who led a virulent
anti-gay protest at this year's General Assembly). I was repulsed by that.
It was wrong.
	Anita Bell: I don't think it's our business to define holiness.
	Mitzi Henderson: It is in community that I discover what holiness means. I
don't find it sitting alone and reading the Bible.
	Terry Schlossberg: We can't discover for ourselves what is good and what is
bad. It has to come from somewhere. Presbyterians say we find it in the
Bible.
	Laird Stuart: It's dangerous for us to limit where God speaks. God's
revelation comes through the Holy Spirit speaking to individuals, through
Christ, through Scripture -- even through nature. The problem is, we don't
always get the message.
	Henderson: I sense that one fear you (Coalition members) have of us is that
we're throwing out the Bible.
	Pam Byers: Some say there's only one true message of Scripture, and you're
either stupid or wicked if you don't see it. I don't hear anyone here saying
that.
	Jerry Andrews: We've got a lot of work to do as a church to come to a
common understanding of what the Scripture says. ... Do you think our church
has the courage to acknowledge that we believe those who do not know Christ
are without "hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12)? ... I firmly
believe God has provided for the world one Saviour. My role is to be
exclusive, to lift up Christ, but he can be as inclusive as he wants to be.
	Anita Bell: We are fairly gutless in proclaiming boldly what is so
politically incorrect. ... We can be so busy being nice that we don't speak
the truth.
	Michael Adee: I really struggle with persons and groups that say they want
to uphold biblical standards and then come to different conclusions (on
homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, ordination of women). I don't get
that. I need some help.
	Henderson: It's such an insult for people to assume that we (supporters of
the ordination of gays and lesbians) haven't looked at Scripture seriously,
that we haven't thought about morality. ...  After my son came out as a gay
man, I spent five years dealing with my faith and the Bible before I stepped
forward to take a leadership role (in the Presbyterian wing of PFLAG --
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). It grieves me deeply
that my son has left the church because he cannot bear to always be labeled.
	Stuart: I believe Scripture is inspired, but what does that mean? Some
passages are more illuminating for faith and life than others.
	Bell: (When I hear statements like that) I get nervous about where truth is
coming from. I chose the Presbyterian Church because it was confessional. I
wanted to serve in a denomination that was grounded in more than my
experience.
	Henderson: Is Scripture the only place we discover Christ? Is all of
Scripture equally valid? I think we have different views.
	Williamson: Scripture is God's Word, and we know Jesus Christ through
Scripture.  Otherwise, Christ becomes a mascot for our ideas generated by
other sources.
	Byers: My colleagues and I are trying with everything we have to follow the
Jesus revealed in Scripture. It's not some made-up Jesus. It's the Jesus
whose ministry is described in this book.
	Henderson (to Williamson): You feel very strongly that the Bible has given
you truth on gays and lesbians. I think you're wrong on that. I don't think
that conforms to the Christ I have experienced.
	Block: I hope one of the things we walk away with is a new respect for each
other's commitment to basing our life on the Word of God. I want us to do
this (find common ground on sexuality issues) the right way, by having it
emerge from the Word.
	Henderson: What excites me about (continuing this conversation) is not that
I think we are going to agree, but that we're going to take each other
seriously.

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