General Assembly 2008

 

Tres Rios Commissioners:
Brittney Springer (YAD) Rev. Jim Miles and Elder Kay Long		 San Jose Convention Center

 

Jose Luis Casal (General Missioner) and Glenda Harbert (Alternate Commissioner) Cheryl Homsher (Presbytery Moderator)

 

Chuck Dobbins (Alternate Elder Commissioner) and Sue Dobbins Rev. Jose Luis Casal, Tres Rios; Elder Helis Barraza, National Moderator of Presbyerian Church in Colombia; Rev. Juan Abelerado Schwindt, Secretary of Evangelical Church of the Rio de la Plata; [Evangelical Church in Argentina]. Rev. Milton Mejia

 

Day 8 - Scenes from Tres Rios Presbytery Dinner on Thursday evening

A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!

 

Dear sisters and brothers,

The 218th General Assembly closed the last business session with an invitation to meet again in Minneapolis , MN on July 3-10, 2010. When we look back, it is difficult to understand how the Assembly could handle all the issues, overtures, resolutions and activities in just 8 days! So maybe the first thing we need to recognize is the awesome and faithful work of our three commissioners. Rev. Jim Miles, Elder Kay Long and YAD Brittney Springer who were superb in their work and we are proud of their participation. Certainly Tres Rios was very well represented by them. Thanks to our God for their lives! You will have the opportunity to hear their report at the next Presbytery meeting.

We also had an enthusiastic group of observers. This year we had 16 members of Tres Rios attending the General Assembly. Our alternate commissioners Rev. Glenda Harbert and Chuck Dobbins learned and gained a lot of experience. They will share with us their impressions. We also enjoyed the presence of our 207th General Assembly Moderator Marj Carpenter who was honored by the Presbyterian Writers Guild, Rev. Flynn Long (HR) former Associate Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Sue Dobbins, Brenda Perryman, Judia and Dan Foreman (Judia worked on the Committee on Bills and Overtures representing PW), Rev. Cheryl Homsher , Rev. John Nelsen, Cecilia Casal (who was elected to serve on the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns of GA), Rev. Patty Lane our Stated Clerk and your General Missioner Rev. Jose Luis Casal. The presence of all these people is a confirmation of the interest and love our Presbytery has for our PC(USA).

It is important to say that General Assemblies speak on their own behalf but not on the Church’s behalf. This is one of the reasons some of the actions of our General Assemblies must be ratified by presbyteries and it becomes official when the majority of presbyteries reaffirm the action. This clarification is important because we need to say that at this point the 218th General Assembly did not alter or change any constitutional standard of our Book of Order. Several actions were referred to presbyteries for ratification and the majority of our 172 presbyteries have to confirm the action in order to be approved.

 The most important actions of the 218th General Assembly are:

       1-      To refer to the Office of the General Assembly “The New Form of Government” for a two-year period of consultation and study with churches and presbyteries. This means we will              have the opportunity to share and discus this project during the next two years.

2-      To leave intact the definition of marriage as a covenant relation between one man and one woman.

3-      To refer for the vote of the presbyteries a new language on G-6.0106b which requires church officers to live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” and replacing it with language to allow for wider discretion of the ordaining body. There is also a new Authoritative Interpretation on ordination that renders the previous AI from 1978 and 1979 regarding ordination of homosexual persons from no longer in effect.

4-      On Confessions, a new “Social Creed for the 21st Century” was approved. The Creed is focused on the main realities of our modern world. It was also approved to begin the process of including the Belhar Confession in the Book of Confessions. This Confession is based on the experience of the church in South Africa and their struggle against racism. Finally, it was referred to a committee that will be appointed by the 218th GA Moderator, the revision of the Heidelberg Catechism to correct translation problems not included in the original versions, one of them is the inclusion of the phrase “homosexual perversion” that was not part of the original version. These two Confessions will go first to the next 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis and if passes will be send to presbyteries for approval.

5-      On Mission the new call to Mission elaborated by the Mission Consultation held in Dallas on January 2008 was approved.  This calls all churches and presbyteries to be more mission oriented; exploring new avenues to do mission work; and it was announced that the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts and Hands had raised pledges totaling $33 millions to renew the church for mission and support the work of our mission workers.

6-      On the area of Peacemaking and Social Justice, was called for “responsibly” in bringing the troops home from Iraq with special pastoral attention to the need of soldiers, families and veterans; continuing peacemaking in Israel and Palestine and supporting the human rights in Zimbabwe, the Philippines, North Korea and Colombia. It was also approved a call for better practices to enforces immigration laws, challenging churches, presbyteries and synods to work with children, youth and families affected by the application of these laws.

7-      On Church Growth, it was approved two church growth strategies: one for African American churches and another four-year emphasis on Church Growth for the General Assembly. And it was approved a revised sexuality curriculum for adolescence.

8-      The youngest moderator in the history of PC(USA) was elected; a 39 year-old pastor of a Multicultural New Church Development, Bruce Reyes-Chow. Also elected a former pastor and presbytery exec, Rev. Gradye Parsons as the new Stated Clerk replacing Rev. Cliff Kirkpatrick who held that position for the last 12 years.

9-      On Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, a motion was defeated seeking divestment from Caterpillar and Motorola for their connections with the state of Israel; it was approved a calling for tolerance and peaceful relations between the Christian and Muslim communities; and it was approved the new ecumenical stance of the Presbyterian Church prepared by the Consultation held in Louisville, KY on September 2007, reaffirming our call to ecumenism.

10-  On Spiritual Formation, a call “to seek God for spiritual renewal of the Church”, was approved, inviting presbyteries and churches to “put a new and right spirit within us” (Psalm 51:10) and gather in time set aside for spiritual renewal through intentional gatherings such as spiritual assemblies which may include personal and community worship, meditation, confession, forgiveness, fasting and prayer.


If you asked us which one, in our opinion, would be the action of the General Assembly that may create the most drastic changes in the life and future of the church, we need to say that No.10 on our list is the most important changing action approved by the 218th General Assembly.

 

During the question-and-answer time for the Stated Clerk election, Gradye Parsons the new elected Stated Clerk, spoke of the story of Jesus being in the boat with his disciples in the middle of the lake when a storm arose (Luke 8). Gradye offered the following mantra as a summary of the Luke story: Get into the boat. Go across the lake. There will be a storm. You will not die. I am sure our church will not die. But there is an implicit formula to keep us alive: “put a new and right spirit within us”.

 

 

As we move forward into this new "kairos" of God, let us hold each other in prayer, let us gather for “worship, meditation, confession, forgiveness, fasting and prayer”.

 

This is the time to seek God for the spiritual renewal of the church. I have no doubt our Presbytery started this process several years ago; let’s continue moving forward with new energy everyday because the right and new spirit is already within us.

 

Rev. Jose Luis Casal                                                               Rev. Patty Lane
General Missioner                                                                   Stated Clerk