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GA06119
Forum looks at challenges, hopes
Three Presbyterian denominations celebrate the past, ponder the future
By John Sniffen
BIRMINGHAM, June 21 * Commissioners from the three Presbyterian general assemblies meeting concurrently here participated in a forum on their joint heritage Wednesday morning.
The event began with a video presentation on the 300 years since the first American presbytery was convened in 1706 in Philadelphia.
Representatives from the three denominations * the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) * spoke briefly on issues facing the church. Participants then discussed each presentation with those seated around them in the convention center concert hall.
The Rev. Tiffany McClung of Savannah, TN, representing the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, noted the need for a vision for the church in the 21st century. Some folks are trying to change to keep pace, she said, but others say they like the way things are. "They say, 'If you don’t like it, you can leave,' and the people do."
"The church is being urged to put aside 'business as usual,'" she said. "We’re getting back to our roots of being a spiritual movement."
The Rev. Dr. Mitchell Walker Sr., pastor of Church Street Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America in Huntsville, AL, noted the challenges his denomination faces "in the midst of societal and cultural change."
The historically African American denomination, created out of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church after the Civil War, must plan intentionally and strategically to meet issues especially important to its membership, Walker said.
Among these issues, he said, are the large number of young black males in prison, a higher rate of unemployment than the national average and the crisis of consumer debt.
The Rev. Anna Case-Winters, professor at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, represented the PC(USA). She noted that congregations were often ahead of denominational leaders when it comes to working ecumenically.
"Church unity now happens at the grassroots level," she said, adding that unity "is a gift of God," and "divisions obscure that unity."
Case-Winters urged the church to look into global issues, especially the economic crisis that is deepening the divide between wealth and poverty.
The forum concluded with a question-and-answer session moderated by Army Daniel Jr., moderator of the 132nd General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America.
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