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07733 November 9, 2007
Covenant Network leaders outline position, way forward
by Toya Richards Hill Presbyterian News Service
ATLANTA - The Covenant Network of Presbyterians' leadership pledged to be on the front lines to assist individuals, congregations and middle governing bodies in implementing the authoritative interpretation (AI) of the Book of Order that gives ordaining bodies greater leeway in applying ordination standards.
"We pledge our legal, advisory, and educational resources for those in the ordination process," the network said. "As we look toward the next General Assembly, we will continue to monitor both local ordination/installation practices and judicial decisions to determine which additional measures we should pursue at this time to achieve our longstanding goal: a church as generous and just as God's grace."
The Covenant Network's statement, "Toward a Church as Generous and Just as God's Grace," was released during the group's 2007 convention Nov. 1-3. Held at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, the event brought together those committed to removing the portion of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Book of Order that bans the ordination of non-celibate gays and lesbians.
"We simply must be there to help usher this new thing in," said the Rev. John Wilkinson, a member of the Covenant Network executive committee. "This is our time."
A member of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, Wilkinson told conference attendees that the AI ratified by the 217th General Assembly makes clear that the fitness of candidates should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
"What does that mean for us?" he asked during a session where network leaders outlined the group's plans for the future. It means pressing on with the network's educational agenda, holding conferences, hearing and telling stories, and being active in legal efforts to be sure the AI is being properly implemented, said Wilkinson, pastor at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY.
Network board member Timothy Cahn, an attorney and elder at Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA, outlined the legal work the group has been involved in.
Cahn told the body of several actions by presbyteries to create a "super standard" that would violate the AI, and efforts to have those actions shot down. Among those was a move by Sacramento Presbytery not to recognize anyone who has been ordained or installed under a scruple.
The Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of the Synod of the Pacific ruled against the presbytery, and also struck down the presbytery's attempt to bypass the AI through a resolution that "all candidates for ordination, installation, and/or membership in the presbytery shall comply with all standards for ordination set forth in the Constitution of the PC(U.S.A.) (G-1.0500) or shall be ineligible for ordination, installation and /or membership."
Cahn said appeals to some of the decisions are being sought, and some will go before the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) in February.
The Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig, national organizer of the Covenant Network, said the network has held nine polity consultations to help people come "to a fuller understanding," and highlighted the group's ongoing engagement with ordination candidates.
She added that the network's legislative focus would be to build on the gains of the 217th General Assembly, and encouraged attendees to think of overtures for the upcoming 218th GA scheduled for June 2008 in San Jose, CA.
"We ordain people for ministry," she said. "Lets remember the point."
"Lets keep the main thing, the main thing," Koenig said.
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