wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Task Force proposes 'season of discernment' in PC(USA)

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8871 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05443
Aug. 25, 2005

Theological Task Force proposes
'season of discernment' in PC(USA)

Group lifts up unity of church, calls for 
suspension of ordination-standards debate

by John Filiatreau

CHICAGO - The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) unveiled its long-awaited recommendations here
Thursday, urging church members and officers not to continue trying to
resolve the issues and disagreements that divide the church, but instead to
"seek ways for the church to live the gospel joyfully and productively amid
inevitable disagreement."

	Meeting Aug. 23-24 primarily in closed session, as has become common
practice during its last couple of meetings, the task force put the finishing
touches on its final report, which will be released to the public in final
form on Sept. 15. Final action on the report will be taken by next summer's
217th General Assembly in Birmingham, AL.

The task force's first recommendation - and the one from which the others are
derived - is that the currently polarized denomination "witness to the
church's visible oneness" and "avoid division into separate denominations
that obscure our community in Christ."
	
	Task force member Jack Haberer of Houston said that recommendation is
based on the 20-member task force's discovery during its four years together
"that what we hold in common in our beliefs and practices is far greater than
what divides us."

	The task force was created by the 2001 General Assembly and charged
"to lead the PC(USA) in spiritual discernment of our Christian identity in
and for the 21st century. Specifically, the group was charged to address the
issues of Christology, Biblical authority and interpretation, ordination
standards and power.

	Insisting all along that it has no "silver bullet" that will solve
all the problems and answer all the questions, the group proposes a "season
of discernment" in the church and a temporary moratorium on efforts to change
the PC(USA)'s constitutional ban on the ordination of sexually active gays
and lesbians as church officers. 

	Several overtures have already been submitted to next summer's 
General Assembly seeking to repeal the ban, G-6.0106b of The Book of Order. 

	

	The task force's other recommendations:

	* That the General Assembly urge governing bodies, congregations and
other groups of Presbyterians "to follow the example of the task force and
other groups that have engaged in processes of intensive discernment in the
face of difficult issues through worship, study, community-building and
collaborative effort."

	* That the Assembly commend for churchwide study the "Theological
Reflection" portion of the task force's report, released last month.

	* That the Assembly direct the church governing bodies "to explore
the use of alternative forms of discernment and decision-making as a
complement to parliamentary procedure, especially in dealing with potentially
divisive issues."

	The task force adopted for itself a method of decision-making based,
not on Roberts Rules of Order and up-or-down votes, but on consensus.	   

	Victoria Curtiss of Portland, OR, the principle champion of the
"decision-by-consensus" model, characterized it as an effort "to avoid
premature forcing into just binary choices."

	 That next year's 217th General Assembly approve a new "authoritative
interpretation" of section G-6.0108 of The Book of Order, which has to do
with standards for ordination. 

	The proposed authoritative interpretation notes that "ordination
standards are determined by the whole church" and interpreted by the General
Assembly and Permanent Judicial Commissions, but "ordaining and installing
bodies ... have the responsibility to determine their membership by applying
these standards."

	* That the 217th General Assembly be strongly urged "to adopt no
additional authoritative interpretations, to remove no existing authoritative
interpretations, and to send to the presbyteries no proposed constitutional
amendments that would have the effect of changing denominational policy on
any of the major issues in the task force's report, including Christology,
biblical interpretation, essential tenets, and sexuality and ordination."

	It further urges all Presbyterians "to acknowledge their traditional
biblical obligation, as set forth in Matthew 18:15-17, Matthew 5:23-25, and
in the "Rules of Discipline" of The Book of Order, to conciliate, mediate and
adjust differences without strife ... prayerfully and deliberately ... and to
institute administrative or judicial proceedings only when other efforts fail
to preserve the purposes and purity of the church."

	The seventh and final recommendation merely recommends that the
General Assembly accept the task force's report as the discharge of its
mandate.

	The proposed authoritative interpretation says that ordaining bodies
must decide whether a candidate for church office "has departed from
scriptural and constitutional standards for fitness for office" and whether
any such departure constitutes a failure to adhere to the essentials of
Reformed faith and polity under G-6.0108."

	The task force described the proposal for the new authoritative
interpretation as an effort to "restore a greater degree of both rigor and
flexibility" to the process of examining what the report calls
"officer-elects."

	It goes on to say that "all parties should endeavor to outdo one
another in honoring one another's decisions, according the presumption of
wisdom to ordaining/installing bodies in examining candidates."

	This is not, several members pointed out, a "local-option" proposal.
The rationale presented for the recommendation notes: "Standards are
aspirational in character. No one lives up to them perfectly (for this
reason, G-6.0108 permits 'departures' from standards that are not deemed
essential). Essentials, by the terms of G-6.0108 ... are those matters of
faith and polity that the officer-elect's governing body discerns are
indispensable for ordained service."

	The rationale notes: "Ordaining bodies may not dispense with the
church's standards or promulgate their own. G-6.0108 also requires the
application of the standards with integrity. It insures freedom of conscience
in interpretation of scripture within certain bounds, requires
ordaining/installing bodies to determine whether there is a "serious
departure" from standards ... and makes an important distinction between
"standards" and "essentials."

	The rationale further notes: "Though current practice varies from
session to session and presbytery to presbytery, it is often reported that
examinations lack rigor by not fully investigating the scope of each
candidate's beliefs, practices, willingness to uphold Presbyterian polity,
scruples and gifts."

	The Rev. John "Mike" Loudon of Lakeland, FL, said the most probing
question posed during many examinations is "Read any good books lately?"
	
	The Rev. William Stacy Johnson of Princeton, NJ, said it is important
to signal to the church that the group is presenting its report "not as a
perfect or finished product, but as a starting point."

	Scott Anderson, of Milwaukee, WI, said he began his service on the
task force "presuming that we lived on different theological planets," but
discovered during the four-year experience that "We really do live on the
same theological planet."

	The Rev. Milton "Joe" Coalter of Richmond, VA, said he hopes the
report won't "begin crowding out the confessions" or be regarded as "a
quasi-confessional starting point for where the church is going"

	The report notes that the proposed new interpretation of G-6.0108
contains nothing new and proposes no new church policy, but affirms the
"essentials of the Reformed faith and polity." It notes that a church officer
"chooses  to exercise freedom of conscience within certain bounds" and says
candidates for office "shall have their attention drawn to the foundational
documents of the church."	
	
	The Rev. Mark Achtemeier of Dubuque, IA, said, "As Presbyterians who
don't have a pope to fall back on... all we have is effort to work toward a
place where "we're not in intractable disagreement any more."

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